This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0192513X07307851v1 29/3/373    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gaunt, R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Maternal Gatekeeping

Antecedents and Consequences

Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel, gauntr{at}mail.biu.ac.il

This study examined maternal gatekeeping, its background and psychological antecedents, and its consequences for paternal and maternal involvement in child care. In sum, 209 couples with 6- to 36-month-old children completed extensive questionnaires. Analyses revealed that various dimensions of gatekeeping were differentially associated with the psychological antecedents and consequences of maternal gatekeeping. The standards and responsibilities dimension of gatekeeping was related to the mother's self-esteem, and it predicted the father's involvement in child care. The maternal identity confirmation dimension of gatekeeping was related to the salience of the mother's maternal identity, and it predicted her own involvement in child care. The importance of examining sociopsychological characteristics that account for gatekeeping tendencies is discussed, and the need is stressed to further explore the implications of these tendencies for various forms of involvement in child care.

Key Words: child care • father involvement • maternal gatekeeping • parenting

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?