Personal growth among mothers of children starting first grade: The contribution of personal, environmental and perceptional characteristics of the mother and behavioral characteristics of the child

A child’s transition from kindergarten to school is a developmental life change which is naturally accompanied by stress. To date, studies have emphasized the important role played by parents, particularly mothers, in the child’s successful academic, emotional and social adjustmentto this transition. However, no study has examined the way in which this meaningful transition may promote processes of growth and development among mothers.

The current study is based on the theoretical model of positive psychology (Tedeschi& Calhoun, 2004) and examines: (1) whether the stress that accompanies a child’s transition to first grade may lead - in the long term - to maternalpersonal growth; and (2) which personal, environmental and perceptional characteristics of the mother and behavioral characteristics of the child facilitate the process of growth, as well as the possible role of social support as a moderator of the association between the general perception of stress and the specific perception of the child as difficult, and personal growth.

The sample was comprised of 151 mothers who had a child starting first grade in the same academic year in which the study was conducted, and that at least two months - but no more than 10 months - had passed since the beginning of the academic year. Convenience sampling and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants. After consenting to participate in the study, the mothers completed several structured questionnaires, including: self-esteem, social support, perception of stress, parental acceptance-rejection, perception of the child as difficult, child’s ranking in the birth order, personal growth and background characteristics.

The findings of this study, first and foremost, support the notion that a child’s transition to first grade has the potential for maternal personal growth. Additionally, characteristics of both the mother and the child predict maternal personal growth. Specifically, younger age and fewer years of education among mothers predicted higher levels of personal growth. A greater perception of the child as a “difficult” child was also associated with more personal growth. Social support was not directly associated with maternal personal growth but was found to moderate the association between the perception of the child as difficult and personal growth; among mothers who reported more social support, grater perception of the child as difficult was associated with higher levels of personal growth.

On a practical level, these findings can be used to develop preventative and pragmatic interventions for mothers of children starting first grade. Such interventions would need to address the interactions between child and mother characteristics, as well as the moderating role of social support available to the mother.