Negotiating motherhood: women with troubled upbringings and their self‐conceptions as mothers

摘要: This paper examines how women who experienced severe adjustment problems during adolescence, and had troubled childhoods in families with high levels of conflict, construct their self-conceptions as mothers. Applying data from a 30-year-long follow-up study, this participants upbringings experience social norms motherhood. Two overall themes emerged along associated subcategories, these are identified significant findings. The first theme is the stigmatizing gaze, exemplifying intervention child welfare service recognized essential to women's self-conception; its three subcategories prejudiced motherhood, predestined motherhood self-critical second relationships, mothers' personal bonds contributing greatly other half, next kin disturbed relations. findings reveal that way view themselves mothers cannot be separated others them, addition, they must negotiate positions through normative discourses apply both theoretical practical work, addressing need for an understanding within field welfare.