Women's Psychological Distress in Midadulthood: The Role of Childhood Parenting Experiences

Abstract

Abstract. This study explored the role of parental family structure, perceived father figure's involvement, and perceived mother figure's involvement in childhood in women's psychological distress in midadulthood. Six hundred and seventeen 28-59-year-old women with secondary school age children from three areas in South England completed the GHQ-12, scales retrospectively assessing mother's involvement and father's involvement, and items on parental family structure, educational attainment, social class (housing tenure), family size (number of children under age 21 in the household), partner status, employment status, and age. It was found that, even after controlling for current sociodemographic confounding variables, mother's involvement and father's involvement were negatively related to psychological distress. Parental family structure was unrelated to psychological distress. Family structure did not moderate the relationship between parental involvement and daughters' psychological distress, and the effect of father's involvement on a daughter's psychological distress did not vary with the level of mother's involvement.

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