College of Education
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1647
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item A Biopsychosocial Model of Body Image in New Mothers(2009) Welsh, Anne Cavanaugh; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The vast majority of eating disorders literature to date focuses on adolescent and college aged women. However, recent research suggests that eating disorders and struggles with body image are not limited to younger women, but instead occur in women of all ages (e.g. Hay, 1998). One group of women that might be particularly at risk for decreases in body image are first time mothers, as their bodies go through immense changes during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Thus far, the literature has shown a relationship between biological changes, such as weight retention, and low body image in postpartum women (e.g. Walker, 1998). However, little research has explored the role of psychosocial factors in postpartum body image. The current study explored a biopsychosocial model of postpartum image, drawing on psychosocial variables that had been shown to relate to body image in adolescent and college aged women. This study found that psychosocial factors (internalization of the thin ideal, pressure for thinness, and negative affect) accounted for variance in body satisfaction and disordered eating, above and beyond that of biomedical factors (weight change, postpartum BMI, and shape change). Additionally, psychosocial factors partially mediated the effect of weight change and shape change on body satisfaction and disordered eating. These findings have important implications for psychologists and health care professionals who work with new mothers.Item Exploring the Role of Playfulness, Social Support and Self Esteem in Coping with the Transition to Motherhood(2006-05-04) Cavanaugh, Anne Fenton; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)First time parenthood is a major transition in the lives of many young adults, and can lead to both positive and negative outcomes in terms of marital satisfaction and individual adjustment. New mothers are particularly at risk for declines in satisfaction and adjustment as they are often the primary caregivers. The current study examined the coping processes of 197 women in their first year of motherhood. Playfulness, social support and self esteem were examined as possible personal resources during this transition. Data were collected using a web based survey and analyzed with cluster and correlational analyses. Results suggested postpartum adjustment is unrelated to relationship satisfaction. Additionally, while the variables of interest, particularly playfulness, predicted a large amount of variance in relationship satisfaction, they only predicted a small amount of variance in postpartum adjustment. These findings will help counseling psychologists develop and implement interventions to help new mothers in this transition.