Lenain, Catherine;
(2023)
A qualitative exploration of parenting representations and experiences amongst mothers at risk of parenting difficulties and care proceedings.
Doctoral thesis (D.Psych), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Mothers who are at risk of losing custody of their children represent a vulnerable and stigmatised population, whose voices are seldom heard. Exploring their perspectives of parenting, their child and the relationship with their child – their ‘parenting representations’ – can improve our understandings of their struggles and inform interventions seeking to interrupt cycles of transgenerational trauma. Research in this area so far has been predominantly quantitative, meaning valuable information about subjective experiences is often lost. The present study sought to address this gap by thematically analysing interviews with eight mothers with under-3-year-olds on the edge of Local Authority care, completed at the beginning of a specialist therapeutic intervention. Results are reported around five themes: ‘Idealistic portrayal of the child and relationship’, ‘Struggling as a parent’, ‘Shadows of the past’, ‘The child and motherhood as comfort’ and ‘Anxiety about loss and fighting for the child’. The parenting struggles of mothers in this population are complex and multi-faceted, fuelled by ongoing relational trauma, fears of further pain, adversity, and difficulties in accessing and trusting support. Successful interventions are likely to require comprehensive, long-term approaches which holistically address mothers’ unmet physical and emotional needs, and begin with building relational trust.
Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
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Qualification: | D.Psych |
Title: | A qualitative exploration of parenting representations and experiences amongst mothers at risk of parenting difficulties and care proceedings |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
Keywords: | Parenting representations, Parenting experiences, Parent Development Interview, Motherhood, Risk, Care proceedings, Qualitative |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10164952 |
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