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Published Version (Advanced Access)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Comparing, competing, and the good mum ideology — Maternal well-being in the context of social media
Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, Vol.Advanced access
2024
Abstract
Maternal competitiveness requires that mothers engage in a process of social comparison, and social media may facilitate this competition. However, social media may also perpetuate an unrealistic ideology about motherhood, which can have negative effects on well-being when mothers inevitably fail to stack up. To date, however, these relationships have not been explored. To test these relationships, participants consisting of 252 mothers ( M age = 31.50, primarily from Australia) completed an online survey. We found maternal competitiveness increased social comparison tendencies which subsequently increased investment in Instagram as well as internalization of intensive mothering ideology. Social comparison had both direct and indirect effects on well-being. Internalization of an intensive mothering ideology does not appear to be dependent on investment in social media, specifically. Overall, these results have theoretical implications for our understanding of the role of maternal competitiveness in social comparison, social media use, and maternal well-being.
Details
- Title
- Comparing, competing, and the good mum ideology — Maternal well-being in the context of social media
- Authors
- Danielle Wagstaff (Corresponding Author) - Federation UniversityNatalie Wolf - Charles Sturt UniversityNaomi Smith - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Publication details
- Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, Vol.Advanced access
- Publisher
- American Psychological Association
- DOI
- 10.1037/ebs0000348
- ISSN
- 2330-2933; 2330-2925
- Copyright note
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). This license permits copying and redistributing the work in any medium or format, as well as adapting the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991014497802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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