中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: Many mothers feel pressure from trying to work and care for their children at the same time. When employed mothers try to play a good mother role, they are more likely to intensify their motherhood ideology (Hattery, 2001). This study investigated how employed mothers perceive their experience and role as a mother, how this role conflicted with their own needs, and how their motherhood ideology affected their employment. Methods: Working mothers with children in primary school were selected for interviews using judgment sampling. Eighteen in-depth interviews were collected from 10 married mothers and 8 single mothers from metropolitan Taipei with a variety of education levels and occupations. Their ages ranged from 30 to 50 years old. Results: Results indicated that their idea of motherhood entailed the belief that they should raise their children themselves by nursing them, teaching them, and showing them warm care and concern. They also believed that motherhood is a natural duty requiring sacrifice and devotion. They frequently felt conflict between child care and their own needs. However, their beliefs about motherhood were positive overall. They used 4 strategies in order to participate in employment: interrupted employment (quitting their jobs to restart when the children are older), gender-equality and self-actualization (refusing to accept motherhood ideology and insisting on equal co-parenting), flex-time, and unconstrained work (working in a position that allows them to do all their own childcare). Conclusions: This study provides an understanding of the employment strategies of mothers.