Positive Psychology and Attachment: Positive Affect as a Mediator of Developmental Outcomes

Fredrickson’s (1998) broaden-and-build model and Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory provide alternate explanations for positive cognitive, social, physical, and psychological outcomes, positive affect and secure attachments, respectively. This study examined whether affect mediates the relationship between attachment and positive outcomes. The sample consisted of 99 undergraduate students from a small, public liberal arts college in the mid-Atlantic region. For people high in attachment anxiety, but not those high in attachment avoidance, affect partially mediated social and psychological outcomes and fully mediated health outcomes. People who scored high in attachment anxiety reported less positive affect and more negative affect, which results in poorer social, physical, and psychological outcomes than those with lower levels of attachment anxiety. Perhaps children with caregivers who are more responsive to their needs experience more positive affect; and, it is the experience of positive affect that yields developmental advantages

The Effects of Helicopter Parenting on Academic Motivation

There is a growing concern that overinvolved, helicopter parenting may have negative consequences for college students’ well-being and academic achievement. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of helicopter parenting on constructs related to academic achievement and success such as motivation for learning, perfectionism, and entitlement. Survey data are presented from 192 college students and their mothers (N = 121). Children’s report of maternal helicopter parenting was related to extrinsic motivation to learn, perfectionistic discrepancy, and avoidance goals for learning, which have been associated with lower academic performance in prior research. Mother’s report of helicopter parenting was related to children’s sense of entitlement. This study suggests that helicopter parenting is related to maladaptive academic motivations that may have negative implications for academic achievement

Insight into the Parenthood Paradox: Mental Health Outcomes of Intensive Mothering

Though people often report wanting to have children because they think it will make them happier, much research suggests that parenting is associated with decreased well-being. Other studies have found that parenting is related to increased life satisfaction. The goal of this study was to provide insight into this paradox by investigating the relationship between a specific way of parenting, intensive parenting, and maternal mental health. An online survey was completed by 181 mothers with children ages 5 and under. Intensive mothering beliefs correlated with several negative mental health outcomes. Controlling for perceived family social support, the belief that women are the essential parent was related to lower life satisfaction and believing that parenting is challenging was related to greater depression and stress. The results of this study suggest that aspects of intensive mothering beliefs are detrimental to women’s mental health. It may not be parenting per se, but specific and particularly intensive ways of parenting, that relate to negative mental health outcomes

Maternal Guilt and Shame: The Role of Self-discrepancy and Fear of Negative Evaluation

Guilt and shame are emotions commonly associated with motherhood. Self-discrepancy theory proposes that guilt and shame result from perceived discrepancies between one’s actual and ideal selves. Fear of negative evaluation by others may enhance the effects of self-discrepancy especially for shame, which involves fear of others’ reproach. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between self discrepancy, guilt, shame, and fear of negative evaluation in a cross-sectional, self report study of mothers. Mothers of children five and under (N = 181) completed an on-line survey measuring guilt, shame, fear of negative evaluation, and maternal self-discrepancies. Guilt and shame were related to maternal self-discrepancy and fear of negative evaluation. In addition, fear of negative evaluation moderated the relationship between maternal self-discrepancy and shame such that mothers who greatly feared negative evaluation had a very strong relationship between these variables. Maternal self-discrepancy and shame were not related among mothers who had low fear of negative evaluation. The results are discussed in terms of the detrimental effects of internalizing idealized standards of perfect motherhood

Stressed and Happy? Investigating the Research between Happiness and Perceived Stress

Developing interventions to increase happiness is a major focus of the emerging field of positive psychology. Common beliefs about the need to reduce stress to obtain happiness suggest that stress management activities should be included in these interventions. However, the research on the relationship between positive and negative affect is equivocal. Theoretically, they are conceptualized as independent dimensions, but research has often found an inverse relationship between happiness and stress. In addition,the research generally attempts to assess stress objectively rather than in terms of the cognitive appraisal process. The current study examines the relationship between perceived stress and happiness among 100 college students to determine if the same inverse relationship exists. Linear correlations between happiness and perceived stress were significant indicating that there was an inverse relationship between these variables. The discussion focuses on several factors that might help to explain the observed relationship

The Associations among Computer Mediated Communication, Relationships, and Well-being

Social support provided by interpersonal relationships is one of the most robust correlates of well-being. Self-disclosure serves as a basic building block of these relationships. With the rapid growth of the internet in recent years, the question remains how self-disclosure, and subsequently relationships and well-being, differ when people communicate over the internet rather than in person. The purpose of this article is to describe current internet usage patterns as well as explore the association of internet usage and well-being. Additionally, it directly compares the perceived benefits of face-to-face communication and computer mediated communication. A questionnaire was administered to 99 undergraduates to measure internet usage patterns, communication partners, self-disclosure, extraversion, and subjective well-being. Although internet communication was found to be common, individuals perceived computer mediated communication to be less useful than face-to-face communication. In addition, increased internet usage was associated with decreased well-being. Implications are discussed in terms of a new internet paradox in which people increasingly use the internet for communication although they perceive it to be less beneficial than face-to-face interactions and it is associated with reduced well-being

Intensive Parenting: Does it Have the Desired Impact on Child Outcomes?

Although parental involvement is generally thought to be beneficial for children, it is unclear whether the intensive level of parenting that has become commonplace results in improved child outcomes. Intensive parenting may involve the desire to anticipate and solve children’s problems as well as to enroll them in numerous, structured activities that might enhance their physical, cognitive, and social abilities. We surveyed 241 parents to assess intensive parenting beliefs, anticipatory problem solving (APS), enrollment in structured activities, and developmental outcomes of their children ages 2–5. Using structural equation modeling, we found that intensive parenting beliefs predicted more APS, which predicted greater enrollment in creative and physical activities. However, enrollment in structured activities did not predict children’s developmental outcomes. Although parents may believe that expensive and time-consuming activities are the keys to ensuring their children’s health, happiness, and success, this study does not support this assumption

Mood Over Matter: Can Happiness Be Your Undoing?

Research in the field of positive psychology has revealed many advantages of positive emotions. According to the undoing hypothesis (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998), positive affect can undo the physiological effects of negative emotion. The present study examined whether positive emotions could undo the cognitive effects of negative emotion. A letter identification task was used to measure changes in cognitive processing of 86 college students who were induced into a positive, negative, or neutral affective state by viewing various film clips. The results of this study provided preliminary support for the hypothesis that positive emotions undo the cognitive effects of negative emotions

Development and Validation of a Quantitative Measure of Intensive Parenting Attitudes

Intensive mothering (IM) attitudes have been considered the dominant discourse of motherhood, but have only been assessed qualitatively The goal of this study was to develop a quantitative scale to assess these ideologies, their construct validity, and their relationship to relevant constructs (i.e., work status and division of household labor). An on-line questionnaire was given to 595 mothers asking 56 questions assessing different aspects of IM attitudes as well as several validation measures. An Exploratory Factor Analysis on 315 randomly selected mothers yielded a 5 factor solution. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the remaining 280 mothers demonstrated good fit. The five factors expressed the ideas that 1) women are inherently better at parenting than men (Essentialism), 2) parenting should be fulfilling (Fulfillment), 3) children should be cognitively stimulated by parents (Stimulation), 4) mothering is difficult (Challenging), and 5) parents should prioritize the needs of the child (Child-Centered). Scales had adequate reliability and construct validity compared to the Parental Investment in Child scale, the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, and Beliefs about Maternal Employment. The Essentialism, Fulfillment, and Challenging scales were positively related to having more responsibility for childcare and household chores. Stay-at-home mothers had higher scores on Essentialism and lower scores on Stimulation than both part-time and full-time working mothers supporting the notion that both working and non-working mothers have intensive parenting ideologies that are manifested in different ways