Investigating Relationships Between Guilt, Shame, Self-discrepancy and Fear of Negative Evaluation in Mothers: A Replication and Extension

Research shows that maternal guilt and shame are commonly felt by mothers. A mother’s fear of being negatively evaluated has been shown to relate to such feelings. Self-discrepancy theory suggests that women may experience a discrepancy between their actual sense of self and how they perceive they should be as mothers, which also relates to feelings of shame and guilt. The current study is a replication of the study by Liss et al. (2013). We also extended it with a UK and Ireland sample and employ a maternal guilt measure in addition to general guilt and shame scales. Women who are biological mothers to at least one child under ten years (N = 94) completed an online survey measuring maternal self-discrepancies, fear of negative evaluation, maternal guilt, general guilt and shame. Age ranged from 25 to over 50 (M = 37.8 years). Maternal self-discrepancies and fear of negative evaluation predicted maternal guilt and shame. Mothers who internalised the idea of maternal perfection are more likely to experience maternal guilt and shame. In contrast to previous studies, fear of negative evaluation did not moderate the relationship between maternal self-discrepancies and maternal guilt and shame. Maternal self-discrepancies were greater for younger mothers than older mothers. Maternal self-discrepancies and fear of negative evaluation significantly predict maternal guilt and shame. Fear of negative evaluation does not moderate the relationship between maternal self-discrepancies and maternal guilt and shame. Younger mothers undergo greater levels of maternal self-discrepancy when contrasted with older mothers. The study employed a sample from the UK and Ireland to broaden the findings from Liss et al. (2013), revealing cultural variations in maternal experiences. Further studies should employ longitudinal designs and include mothers from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to explore maternal guilt and shame.