Past experience with maternal parenting among mothers of pre-school children and maternal acceptance-rejection: The moderating role of the care-giving system

The theory of parental acceptance-rejection and Bowlbys' attachment theory were used as the framework for examining how the parenting style experienced by the mothers in childhood is related to acceptance-rejection of their pre-school children in the present, as well as for examining the moderating role of the care-giving system. The sample consisted of 150 Israeli mothers, who were asked to complete self-report questionnaires relating to: maternal acceptance-rejection; experience with maternal parenting in childhood; care-giving system; and personal variables. The findings indicate that maltreatment experienced in childhood contributes to the mother's acceptance-rejection of her children in the present, and that an avoidant care-giving style moderates the relationship between permissive maternal parenting in childhood and the mother's acceptance of her children in the present. The study highlights the importance of the care-giving system as a moderating factor, as well as the role of therapeutic intervention aimed at 'breaking' inter-generational transmission in cases where childhood experiences with maternal parenting were less positive.