Contact: Jennifer S. Barber, PhD
(734) 936-0046
Jebarber@umich.edu

Unwanted Birth Affects Mother's Relationships With All Her Children

Women who have unwanted births experience more depression and unhappiness than do mothers without unwanted births – affecting the quality of their relationships with all their children, University of Michigan researchers report.

"Experiencing unwanted childbearing reduces the time and attention that mothers give their young children, and these early mother-child interactions set the stage for long-term lower quality relationships," said Jennifer S. Barber, PhD, head of the study. "These lower quality relationships are not limited to the child born as a result of the unwanted pregnancy; all the children in the family suffer."

The researchers examined data acquired in two studies: The National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), which surveyed more than 2,100 white mothers in 1987 and 1988; and the Intergenerational Panel Study of Parents and Children (IPS), which followed 882 white mothers and their children from birth in 1961 to age 31. The researchers report their findings in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Data from the NSFH revealed that mothers with unwanted births suffered from higher levels of depression and greater unhappiness than did mothers who did not have unwanted births. Mothers with unwanted births also spent less leisure time with their children and spanked or slapped them more frequently.

By the children's early adulthood, these factors apparently have taken a toll on the relationship between mothers and their children, according to data from the IPS. Mothers with unwanted births consistently showed less affection and offered less social support to children from age 18 through 31 than did mothers without unwanted births. These effects held true for all of the women's children, not just those from unwanted pregnancies.

"We believe that unwanted childbearing is likely to have a particularly important influence on mother-child relationships because it affects the mother's mental health which, in turn, is likely to affect many inter-related aspects of these relationships throughout the life course," said Barber.

The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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The Journal of Health and Social Behavior is a peer-reviewed quarterly publication of the American Sociological Association. For information about the journal, contact John Mirowsky, PhD, (614) 688-8673.