Perception of Mother in Four-and-a-Half-Year-Old Children; A Comparison with the Mother's Social and Emotional History

Abstract

In a projective play session 70 first-born children, 41/2 years old described their mother. The information from the children was comprised in two scales measuring the 'strictness' and the 'warmth' of the mother. Information about the mother was independently obtained from a longitudinal study, starting when the mother was expecting the investigated child. Thus the child's experience of its mother could be compared to the previous and present social and emotional situation of the mother. Mothers described as 'strict' or as 'not warm' characterized their child in a more negative way than others. The same mothers had reported less good mental health than others, especially for the growing-up period (retrospective information) and the post partum period. Mothers described as 'strict' or as 'not warm' also reported less good parental relations than others. When the child was a boy the mother's contact with her father seemed to be more important than her contact with the mother. When the child was a girl, however, the mother's relationship with her mother was the more important. Generally the child's description of the mother was not associated with the social situation of mother and child.