INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL STRESS ON CHILD UPBRINGING AMONG WORKING AND NON-WORKING CLASS MOTHERS

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of maternal stress on child upbringing among working and non working class mothers in Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State. The study adopted descriptive survey design method. Purposive sampling technique was used to randomly choose ninety working mothers and ninety-five non working mothers. The sampling size of the study was one hundred and eighty-five (185) respondents. Four research questions and two hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of Significance guided the study. The research instrument used for data collection was Influence of Maternal Stress on Child Upbringing among Working and Non-Working Class Mothers’ Questionnaire (IMSWNMQ). The instrument was subjected to both face and content validation by both the researcher’s supervisor and other two experts in the Department of Home Economics. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency of the items and the correlation coefficient of 0.6 was obtained. The data collected were analysed using frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. The study reviewed that difficulties in balancing job with family life causes maternal stress on child’s upbringing (X > 3.97) family and economic behaviour can make mothers display aggressive behaviour towards their children. (X > 4.08) failure to teach kids the fundamental moral values is a challenge to Working and Non-Working Mothers. (X > 3.92) among others. The study concluded that Working and non-Working Class Mothers experience parental stress, with higher proportion on working mothers. The study therefore recommended that Working Class and Non- Working Class Mothers should maintain a positive towards the management of maternal stress and time.