The mothers’ stories; representations of authenticity, authority, agency and autonomy

This thesis is an exploration of matricentric feminism, an emerging theory of a mother focused feminism that positions mothers and mothering at its centre based upon the scholarly work and definition of Andrea O’Reilly. The thesis considers how embedded within matricentric feminism is empowered mothering which is focused on a woman’s practice of mothering from a position of authenticity, agency, authority and autonomy(O’Reilly, 2016). It sits in the field of Maternal and Motherhood Studies. The purpose of this research was to collect mother focused narratives to understand experiences of mothering from marginalised mothers, explore if they presented the attributes of empowered mothering and to centre lesser-known experiences of mothering. The methodological framework for the research was matricentric autoethnography which enabled the inclusion of my own maternal narrative alongside those of the mothers. My narrative is woven throughout the study and alongside the other stories of mothering each are presented together as layered accounts. Adopting an autoethnographic approach created the opportunity to unite both our life and experiences with theory. By offering the reader our stories we invite her/him to understand marginalised mothers more and in turn to further understand their selves.The research explored aspects of our experiences that have been neglected or overlooked within conventional social science research and revealed findings that conclude marginalised mothers can and do practice as empowered mothers and implement authenticity, agency, authority and autonomy into their mothering. This signifies the importance of exploring mothers and mothering using a mother focused lens. The study makes an important contribution to the portrayal and understanding of mothering in challenging circumstances illustrating the strength and assets asserted in our mothering as well as signifying the value of mother focused autoethnography. In addition, it strengthens the integration of matricentric feminism into academia while illustrating various versions of mothering that move beyond stereotypical identities

Using Photovoice to Understand the Experiences of Life as a Mother in Thetford, Norfolk, England—A Community-Based Participatory Action Research Method Embodying Matricentric Feminism

Using photovoice to demonstrate a matricentric approach with mothers involved in community research illustrates a powerful example of a methodology that aligns with matricentric feminism and exhibits its value. The purpose of this community-based participatory research was to gain insight into the experiences of mothers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in Thetford, Norfolk, England, where there are pockets of high deprivation. The researcher provided disposable cameras to a group of mothers and asked them to photograph their experiences as well as the issues affecting them as mothers. Once the photographs were developed, the mothers discussed the photographs through unstructured interviews. The results produced sixty-four photographs, and the discussions yielded further stories. There were four main themes discovered upon analysis: crime and safety; housing; appropriate areas for children and environment; and surroundings. The author recommended further research in this locality to acknowledge the strengths and assets mothers demonstrate while mothering and to encourage using a matricentric feminist lens within scholarly work for further policy development and community empowerment

Does activity-related social support differ by characteristics of the adolescent?

BACKGROUND Previous research has shown a positive relationship between activity-related social support provided by parents and peers and adolescents' physical activity. However, more information is needed on whether activity-related social support differs by sociodemographic characteristics. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in activity-related social support in a sample of adolescents, by characteristics such as age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and physical activity level and to determine which characteristics are the most important predictors of activity-related social support. METHODS Information was provided by 578 boys and 588 girls (11-14 years) on demographic factors, physical activity, and activity-related support. ANOVA, correlations, and multiple regression were performed to address the purposes of the study. RESULTS Boys, White British, younger, more physically active, and high-SES adolescents perceived more support for physical activity. Age predicted all types of support excluding peer support; ethnicity predicted mother logistic support and sibling support; gender predicted peer support, father explicit modeling, and father logistic support; and SES predicted mother and father logistic support. CONCLUSIONS Families and peers of adolescents who are female, from Black and minority ethnic groups, older, of low-SES, and less active should be targeted for intervention

Cognitive and psychiatric symptom trajectories 2–3 years after hospital admission for COVID-19: a longitudinal, prospective cohort study in the UK

Background: COVID-19 is known to be associated with increased risks of cognitive and psychiatric outcomes after the acute phase of disease. We aimed to assess whether these symptoms can emerge or persist more than 1 year after hospitalisation for COVID-19, to identify which early aspects of COVID-19 illness predict longer-term symptoms, and to establish how these symptoms relate to occupational functioning. Methods: The Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of adults (aged ≥18 years) who were hospitalised with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 at participating National Health Service hospitals across the UK. In the C-Fog study, a subset of PHOSP-COVID participants who consented to be recontacted for other research were invited to complete a computerised cognitive assessment and clinical scales between 2 years and 3 years after hospital admission. Participants completed eight cognitive tasks, covering eight cognitive domains, from the Cognitron battery, in addition to the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire for depression, the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue Scale, and the 20-item Cognitive Change Index (CCI-20) questionnaire to assess subjective cognitive decline. We evaluated how the absolute risks of symptoms evolved between follow-ups at 6 months, 12 months, and 2–3 years, and whether symptoms at 2–3 years were predicted by earlier aspects of COVID-19 illness. Participants completed an occupation change questionnaire to establish whether their occupation or working status had changed and, if so, why. We assessed which symptoms at 2–3 years were associated with occupation change. People with lived experience were involved in the study. Findings: 2469 PHOSP-COVID participants were invited to participate in the C-Fog study, and 475 participants (191 [40·2%] females and 284 [59·8%] males; mean age 58·26 [SD 11·13] years) who were discharged from one of 83 hospitals provided data at the 2–3-year follow-up. Participants had worse cognitive scores than would be expected on the basis of their sociodemographic characteristics across all cognitive domains tested (average score 0·71 SD below the mean [IQR 0·16–1·04]; p<0·0001). Most participants reported at least mild depression (263 [74·5%] of 353), anxiety (189 [53·5%] of 353), fatigue (220 [62·3%] of 353), or subjective cognitive decline (184 [52·1%] of 353), and more than a fifth reported severe depression (79 [22·4%] of 353), fatigue (87 [24·6%] of 353), or subjective cognitive decline (88 [24·9%] of 353). Depression, anxiety, and fatigue were worse at 2–3 years than at 6 months or 12 months, with evidence of both worsening of existing symptoms and emergence of new symptoms. Symptoms at 2–3 years were not predicted by the severity of acute COVID-19 illness, but were strongly predicted by the degree of recovery at 6 months (explaining 35·0–48·8% of the variance in anxiety, depression, fatigue, and subjective cognitive decline); by a biocognitive profile linking acutely raised D-dimer relative to C-reactive protein with subjective cognitive deficits at 6 months (explaining 7·0–17·2% of the variance in anxiety, depression, fatigue, and subjective cognitive decline); and by anxiety, depression, fatigue, and subjective cognitive deficit at 6 months. Objective cognitive deficits at 2–3 years were not predicted by any of the factors tested, except for cognitive deficits at 6 months, explaining 10·6% of their variance. 95 of 353 participants (26·9% [95% CI 22·6–31·8]) reported occupational change, with poor health being the most common reason for this change. Occupation change was strongly and specifically associated with objective cognitive deficits (odds ratio [OR] 1·51 [95% CI 1·04–2·22] for every SD decrease in overall cognitive score) and subjective cognitive decline (OR 1·54 [1·21–1·98] for every point increase in CCI-20). Interpretation: Psychiatric and cognitive symptoms appear to increase over the first 2–3 years post-hospitalisation due to both worsening of symptoms already present at 6 months and emergence of new symptoms. New symptoms occur mostly in people with other symptoms already present at 6 months. Early identification and management of symptoms might therefore be an effective strategy to prevent later onset of a complex syndrome. Occupation change is common and associated mainly with objective and subjective cognitive deficits. Interventions to promote cognitive recovery or to prevent cognitive decline are therefore needed to limit the functional and economic impacts of COVID-19. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, Wolfson Foundation, MQ Mental Health Research, MRC-UK Research and Innovation, and National Institute for Health and Care Research.</p