Nel, L.Van der Watt, R.Brown, Lisa Joy2019-03-252019-03-252017-01http://hdl.handle.net/11660/9769English: This qualitative study aimed to explore and describe how mothers’ own childhood experience of mother-child relating shapes their mothering of the next generation. While secure attachment is recognized to be an important determinant of psychological wellbeing, South Africa’s socio-economic circumstances pose challenges to the forging of such health promoting bonds for many children. Intergenerational transmission of parenting patterns can either enhance or decrease the likelihood of mothers being able to offer attachment security to their children. The question of how mothers experience and possibly even direct or regulate this intergenerational transmission has been less researched, with few studies in the South African context. This is therefore the focus of this study. Seven participants, all the biological mothers of at least one child in the developmental phase of middle childhood, were purposively selected from a small peri-urban town in the Eastern Cape. Each participant engaged in two semi-structured interviews, and attended two focus groups, over a one-year time span. Six rich cases and the focus groups were identified for analysis. Analysis of the data was according to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). An intergenerational and attachment literature lens was used in the final stages of interpretation to conceptualize the findings. Thorough elucidation of the findings yielded six themes of significance across the cases, which were presented in a model. These are intention, reflection, central positioning, enactment, individuality and change. The results indicate that the experiences of the participants were multi-faceted, with both rewarding and challenging dimensions. Participants reported identifying within themselves the intention of improving their mothering, based on their childhood experience of mother-child relating. This was achieved through reflection processes, although the extent and depth of reflection varied. In addition, by making use of the ‘central positioning’ of themselves between their children and their mothers, participants showed how they gained insight into intergenerational processes, which enabled them to establish aspects requiring change. This awareness was operationalized as enactment in the form of either compensatory or over-compensatory approaches. The manner in which the mothers sift, organize and make meaning of the phenomena of mothering and being mothered is achieved through the four mutually influencing themes of reflection, intention, enactment and central positioning. Reflection acts as a backdrop against which the other three themes interact and shapes how they inform each other. These themes are then filtered through a layer which consists of the theme of individuality, incorporating factors specific to the participants’ intrapsychic structure and life context. Culture is an important aspect of this contextual experience. The product of the sifting and filtering process is a unique, individualized meaning which in all participants also showed change, the final theme. This change occurred either in themselves or in their approach to and practice of mothering. The results of this research have theoretical and practical significance. A contribution is made towards addressing the gap in the literature relating to the intergenerational focus of mothering. In particular, this provides insight into how mothers’ childhood experience shapes the mother-child relationship in the next generation, in the South African context. The study captures an in-depth, nuanced understanding of these issues and develops a conceptual model. The accessibility of the conceptual model for those with little background in psychology has implications for implementation, as it could be valuable in promoting understanding among mothers of how their own experience informs the way in which they relate to their children. This, with further research, can be generalized to any caregiver involved in the raising of children, which would be particularly important in the South African context.Afrikaans: Hierdie kwalitatiewe studie het ten doel gehad om te verken en te beskryf hoe moeders se eie kinderjare-ervarings van moeder-kindverhoudings hulle moederskap van die volgende geslag gevorm het. Terwyl geborge gehegtheid as ʼn belangrike bepaler van sielkundige welstand erken word, rig sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede in Suid-Afrika uitdagings tot baie kinders ten opsigte van die smee van sulke bande wat welstand bevorder. Oordrag van ouerskappatrone tussen geslagte kan egter die waarskynlikheid van moeders se vermoë om gehegtheidsekerheid aan hulle kinders te bied, bevorder of verlaag. Min navorsing is gedoen oor die vraag hoe moeders hierdie oordrag tussen geslagte ervaar en moontlik selfs rig of reguleer, met slegs enkele studies in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Sewe deelnemers, almal die biologiese moeders van ten minste een kind in die ontwikkelingsfase van die middelkinderjare, is doelgerig uit ʼn klein peri-stedelike dorp in die Oos-Kaap gekies. Elke deelnemer het oor ʼn tydperk van ʼn jaar aan twee semigestruktureerde onderhoude deelgeneem en twee fokusgroepsessies bygewoon. Ses ryk gevalle en die fokusgroepe is vir ontleding geïdentifiseer. Ontleding van die data is volgens die interpretatiewe fenomenologiese analise gedoen. ʼn Tussengeslagtelike en gehegtheidliteratuurlens is in die finale stadiums van vertolking gebruik om die bevindings te konseptualiseer. Deeglike opheldering van die bevindings het ses belangrike temas oor die gevalle heen opgelewer, wat in ʼn model aangebied is. Hulle is voorneme, nadenke, sentrale posisionering, rolspel, individualiteit en verandering. Die resultate dui daarop dat die ervarings van die deelnemers meervlakkig was, met beide belonende en uitdagende dimensies. Deelnemers het rapporteer dat hulle in hulself die voorneme geïdentifiseer het om hulle moederskap te verbeter, gebaseer op hul ervarings van moeder-kindverhoudings tydens hulle kinderjare. Dit is bereik deur prosesse van nadenke, hoewel die omvang en diepte van nadenke verskil het. Bykomend, deur van die ‘sentrale posisionering’ van hulself tussen hul kinders en hul moeders gebruik te maak, het deelnemers gewys hoe hulle insig intussengeslagtelike prosesse verkry het, wat hulle in staat gestel het om aspekte wat verandering vereis het, te bepaal. Hierdie bewustheid is geoperasionaliseer as rolspel in die vorm van óf kompenserende óf oorkompenserende benaderings. Die manier waarop die moeders die verskynsel van moederskap en die ontvangs van moederskap sif, organiseer en daarvan sin maak, word deur die vier wedersydse temas van nadenke, voorneme, rolspel en sentrale posisionering bereik. Nadenke dien as ʼn agtergrond waarteen die ander drie temas optree en vorm gee aan hoe hulle op mekaar inwerk. Hierdie temas word dan gefiltreer deur ʼn laag wat bestaan uit die tema van individualiteit, wat faktore eie aan die deelnemers se intrapsigiese struktuur en lewenskonteks inkorporeer. Kultuur is ʼn belangrike aspek van hierdie kontekstuele ervaring. Die produk van die sifting- en filtreerproses is ʼn unieke, geïndividualiseerde betekenis wat by al die deelnemers ook verandering, die finale tema, getoon het. Hierdie verandering het óf in hulself óf in hulle benadering tot en uitoefening van moederskap plaasgevind. Die resultate van hierdie navorsing het teoretiese en praktiese betekenis. ʼn Bydrae is gelewer tot vernouing in die gaping in die literatuur wat verband hou met die tussengeslagtelike fokus van moederskap. In besonder bied dit insig in hoe moeders se ervaring in hul kinderjare die moeder-kindverhouding in die volgende geslag in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks vorm. Die studie lê ʼn diepgaande, genuanseerde begrip van hierdie kwessies vas en ontwikkel ʼn konseptuele model. Die toeganklikheid van die konseptuele model vir diegene met min agtergrond in sielkunde het implikasies vir implementering, aangesien dit waardevol kan wees in die bevordering van begrip onder moeders van hoe hulle eie ervaring die manier waarop hulle met hulle kinders omgaan, rig. Met verdere navorsing kan dit veralgemeen word na enige versorger betrokke by die grootmaak van kinders, wat veral in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks van belang sou wees.enThesis (Ph.D. (Child Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2017MotheringIntergenerational parenting patternsAttachment theoryAttachmentPhenomenologyInterpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)Focus groupsThesisUniversity of the Free State