Maternal parentification history impacts evaluative cognitions about self, parenting, and child
Abstract
Parentification occurs when children are unfairly charged with fulfilling parental instrumental and emotional needs. Parentification is associated with risk to evaluative self cognitions from childhood to emerging adulthood, but this association has not yet been studied among parents. The transition to parenthood is typically characterized by declines in self-esteem, suggesting it is a critical period for understanding the risk parentification history poses to evaluative self-cognitions and evaluative cognitions about children. The present study addresses these gaps using longitudinal data (N = 374 first-time mothers) to examine the influence of maternal parentification history domains (emotional and instrumental caregiving, role unfairness) on trajectories of maternal evaluative cognitions about the self (self-esteem, parenting self-efficacy) and about the child (difficult child temperament, dissatisfaction with child contributions to relationships) in early parenthood. A spillover model was also examined such that evaluative cognitions about the self were examined as potential mediators between parentification history and evaluative cognitions about children. Results support associations between the role unfairness domain of parentification and each domain of maternal evaluative cognitions and a significant indirect effect of unfairness on risk to maternal evaluative cognitions about child contributions via parenting self-efficacy. Implications for mother-child relationships and processes of intergenerational transmission of parentification are discussed.
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Most quantitative studies were cross-sectional, and only six were longitudinal.
“Most quantitative studies were cross-sectional and only six [19,70,80,92,95,104] were longitudinal studies.”
From Parentification Vulnerability, Reactivity, Resilience, and Thriving: A Mixed Methods Systematic Literature Review (2023) · cites this paper as [80]
Self-esteem was positively associated with perceived benefit of parentification and with parentification, and negatively linked with perceived role unfairness.
“Parentification was not associated with self-esteem in general as only three of the 11 associations tested in the five studies were significant: Self-esteem was positively associated with perceived benefit [45] and parentification [106], and negatively linked with perceived role unfairness [80].”
From Parentification Vulnerability, Reactivity, Resilience, and Thriving: A Mixed Methods Systematic Literature Review (2023) · cites this paper as [80]
Parentification was not associated with self-esteem in general, as only three of the 11 associations tested in the five studies were significant.
“Parentification was not associated with self-esteem in general as only three of the 11 associations tested in the five studies were significant: Self-esteem was positively associated with perceived benefit [45] and parentification [106], and negatively linked with perceived role unfairness [80].”
From Parentification Vulnerability, Reactivity, Resilience, and Thriving: A Mixed Methods Systematic Literature Review (2023) · cites this paper as [80]
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Dariotis, J. K., Chen, F. R., Park, Y. R., Nowak, M. K., French, K. M., & Codamon, A. M. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20136197 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
“[80] 2021 374 (mother-child dyads) Mothers, children 21.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluential
- Authors
- Nuttall, A. K., Ballinger, A. L., Levendosky, A. A., & Borkowski, J. G.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- University of Notre Dame (US)
- Corresponding author
- Nuttall, Amy K.
- Venue
- Infant Mental Health Journal
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021-02-11
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 315-330
- ISSN
- 0163-9641 (ISSN-L)
- 1097-0355
- OpenAlex
- W3128015830
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 0.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Infant Mental Health Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD39456)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Institute on Drug Abuse
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Keywords
- parentification, self-esteem, parental self-efficacy, intergenerational transmission, primiparous women, early parenthood, mother-child relationship
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Cognition, Female, Humans, Mother-Child Relations, Mothers, Parents, Parenting
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