1 Introduction

Although the transitions to motherhood and grandmotherhood are considered joyful events in a woman’s life, they may also exact certain costs. Along with the happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction they typically arouse, they may also be stressful experiences, generating anxiety, feelings of incompetence and interpersonal loneliness, and a sense of loss in terms of autonomy, time, appearance, and occupational identity (e.g., Nicolson 1999; Peterson 1999; Somary and Stricker 1998). Moreover, adverse childbirth experiences, such as pain or threat of death, may intensify the negative response of new mothers, engendering moderate to severe stress reactions (Olde et al. 2006). In a similar fashion, while becoming a grandmother is a happy occasion, it is associated symbolically with the notion of old age, regardless of a woman’s chronological age or vitality, and may therefore also induce stress (Gauthier 2002).

Theory and empirical research in the last two decades have highlighted the potential benefits in challenging life events (Linley 2003), indicating that the need to adapt to demanding circumstances may engender personal growth (Tedeschi and Calhoun 2004). Although most of this literature deals with traumatic life events, such as death of a loved one or serious illness, growth is not exclusively related to negative experiences; it may also follow on a challenge to, and consequent re-examination of, core beliefs (Tedeschi et al. 2007). As growth refers to positive psychological changes experienced as a result of the struggle with demanding life circumstances (Calhoun and Tedeschi 2001), which require adaptive resources and challenge the way people understand the world and their place in it (Janoff-Bulman 1992), Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004) argue that some degree of enduring psychological distress is necessary not only to set the process in motion, but also for the enhancement and maintenance of growth. Thus, insofar as positive experiences are life-altering and entail stress they, too, may challenge the individual’s schemas and life narrative, and thus have similar effects on growth.

Evidence is beginning to accumulate indicating that the birth of a child is a life event which might generate the experience of growth among parents, especially mothers (Sawyer and Ayers 2009; Spielman and Taubman - Ben-Ari 2009; Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2009, 2010), and even grandmothers (Ben Shlomo et al. 2010). Obviously, the moment a woman becomes a mother, her own mother becomes a grandmother, so that in many ways these are comparable events. However, they happen at very different times in life, and may therefore lead to different perceptions of the event, as well as to a different potential for growth as a result.

The term “growth” is used to indicate an experience of improvement that may sometimes be profound, rather than a return to a baseline condition following a significant event. Three broad areas of growth in the wake of stressful events are generally identified: interpersonal, psychological, and life orientation changes (Tedeschi and Calhoun 2004). More specifically, individuals tend to report that their interpersonal relationships are enhanced and their appreciation of others has grown; that their own self-perception has changed in the direction of increased resilience and maturity; and that their life philosophy has been reevaluated and they have set new priorities in life. Thus, in the transition to motherhood, women may gain self-esteem, new meaning in life, a sense of competence, and awareness of the resources in themselves and their social environment (Wells et al. 1999). Similarly, the transition to grandparenthood offers the potential to experience biological renewal, continuity, self-fulfillment, a chance to succeed in a new emotional role, and indirect expansion of the self through the grandchild’s achievements (Neugarten and Weinstein 1964).

Meaning in life is a crucial concept in the study of growth. Personal meaning is an expression of the value people place upon the events and course of their life and the significance they attach to their existence (Reker and Wong 1988). An individually constructed, culturally based cognitive system, it influences a person’s choice of activities and goals, and endows life with a sense of purpose, personal worth, and fulfillment (Wong 1998). Two distinct quests for meaning in human experience have been identified, one revolving around comprehensibility and the other around significance (Janoff-Bulman and Yopyk 2004). In trauma survivors, the inability to make sense of what happened and the apparent meaninglessness of the event may promote the creation of meaning in the form of an existential reevaluation of life or an enhanced sense of its worth and value (Janoff-Bulman 2000). In the wake of life transitions, such as motherhood and grandmotherhood, this turning point may engender a search for meaning and a reassessment of life that comes to bear in many ways. The importance of meaning as a possible outcome has traditionally been acknowledged in studies of parents of children with disabilities or chronic disease. Empirical evidence indicates that many parents of children with disabilities experience a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life (Stainton and Besser 1998), and parents of children with autism often report experiencing personal and spiritual growth and increased strength as a result of their child’s disability (Bayat 2007). Similar evidence in the general population, however, is scarce. A recent study reports that the domain of growth most endorsed by mothers was appreciation of life, followed by personal strength, relating to others, new possibilities, and spiritual change (Sawyer and Ayers 2009). Other studies relating to growth in motherhood indicate that mothers of pre-term twins report higher growth than mothers of either full-term twins or single babies 1 year after delivery (Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2010); that first-time mothers report significantly higher levels of growth than first time fathers 1 month after the birth; and that first-time parents of premature infants report a higher level of growth than those of full-term infants (Spielman and Taubman - Ben-Ari 2009).

Research has shown that both internal and external resources may contribute to growth (Tedeschi and Calhoun 2004). In the current study, we concentrated on women’s perception of self (self-esteem) and their perception of the situation (cognitive appraisal of threat, challenge, and self-efficacy) as internal resources, and on perceived social support as an external resource, and examined their association with growth in the transitions to motherhood and grandmotherhood.

Studies indicate that certain personality traits, or ego resources, may be closely associated with the experience of growth. One of these is self-esteem, generally defined as the overall positive or negative attitude one holds toward oneself, including feelings of self-worth, self-respect, and self-acceptance (Rosenberg 1979). Self-esteem has been found to be positively related to mothers’ psychological adjustment, with women displaying high self-esteem perceiving the transition to motherhood as less threatening to their health (Terry et al. 1991). Results regarding growth, however, are inconclusive. Whereas in one study of new mothers, higher self-esteem was associated with greater experience of growth (Spielman and Taubman - Ben-Ari 2009), two other studies examining the transitions to motherhood and grandmotherhood found that although self-esteem contributed to women’s mental health, it was not associated with reported growth (Ben Shlomo et al. 2010; Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2009).

Cognitive appraisal of an event has also been found to be an important factor in predicting the ability to derive benefit from the experience (Folkman and Lazarus 1985; Lazarus and Folkman 1984). Cognitive appraisal is defined as the process by which a person evaluates whether a particular encounter with the environment is relevant to his or her well-being, and if so, how (Folkman et al. 2000). Primary appraisal relates to the question of whether something has occurred which might affect the individual’s social image or self-esteem. Aspects of primary appraisal include threat appraisal, that is, the belief that a transaction with the environment may endanger the person’s well-being, and appraisal of the challenge involved, i.e., the possibility for mastery or benefit (Lazarus and Folkman 1984). Secondary appraisal relates to coping options and evaluation of the personal resources available for contending with the situation. In effect, this is an appraisal of self-efficacy, of one’s ability to manage the demands of an encounter or actualize personal commitments (e.g., Folkman and Lazarus 1985).

Studies have shown that mothers of newborns in intensive care who believe they have greater personal control over their child’s recovery tend to experience less depression and significantly fewer major stress reactions (Affleck et al. 1985). Moreover, Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. (2009, 2010) found that a higher appraisal of motherhood as a challenge contributed to a higher sense of personal growth during pregnancy among expectant first-time mothers. It is interesting to note that although growth 2 months after delivery was explained most substantively by its level during pregnancy, the appraisal of motherhood as a challenge during pregnancy was the only factor measured before the birth that contributed to growth after delivery. In contrast, the cognitive appraisal of control was not found to be associated with growth after the birth of the child (Sawyer and Ayers 2009).

Finally, social support is widely recognized as a crucial resource that is related to growth (Tedeschi and Calhoun 1995). Social support is defined as an interpersonal transaction involving both an emotional dimension, that is, the expression of love, caring, solidarity, and fulfillment of personal needs, and an instrumental dimension, including the rendering of goods, services, and tangible assistance such as money and help with tasks (Wandersman et al. 1980). The association between external resources such as social support and the ability to perceive benefits and experience personal growth has been established in several studies (e.g., Park et al. 1996), including research relating to parenthood and grandparenthood. Thus, a prospective study found that a better marital relationship during a first pregnancy contributed to women’s reports of growth in that period, and higher maternal grandmother’s support enhanced the experience of growth a few months after the birth (Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2009, 2010). In another study, which compared the mothers of pre-term twins, full term twins, and single babies a year after the birth, maternal grandmother’s support appeared to enable mothers’ growth, especially among mothers of full-term twins. Marital adaptation was also found to contribute to mothers’ growth, mainly among women with less education and those who harbored negative feelings toward their baby/ies (Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2010). Not all studies, however, confirm the connection between social resources and growth. One investigation reported no contribution to mother’s growth of support from healthcare professionals during childbirth (Sawyer and Ayers 2009), and another found no association between grandmothers’ sense of intimacy with their daughters and their own experience of growth during the daughter’s pregnancy or after delivery (Ben Shlomo et al. 2010).

1.1 The Current Study

The review of the literature indicates that existing knowledge pertaining to variables that might be associated with growth and meaning in life among new mothers and grandmothers is insufficient and sometimes equivocal. Nevertheless, there is evidence that factors such as perception of self, the perceived characteristics of the situation, and perceived social support may aid the individual to regulate distress and thus be associated with the reported experience of personal growth and meaning in life in the wake of demanding circumstances. We therefore sought to examine the associations with growth and meaning in life of first-time mothers and their own mothers, first-time grandmothers, of the internal resources of self-esteem and cognitive appraisal of threat, challenge, and self-efficacy, and the external resource of social support. Approaching these pairs of mothers and grandmothers in a cross-sectional design allowed us to investigate not only the correlates of growth and meaning in life in each group, but also whether and how each generation’s resources and experience of growth and meaning may be related to those of the other generation.

In addition, previous studies of growth among mothers have shown age to be an important variable, indicating that the younger the mother, the higher her reported growth (Sawyer and Ayers 2009; Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2010). We therefore included this variable in the current study, as well as the frequency of meetings between mothers and grandmothers. It was felt that the latter might reflect both the level of closeness between the two women, and also the actual proximity of their place of residence, and consequently should be taken into account.

Based on the literature, the following hypotheses were formulated:

  1. 1.

    Higher levels of growth and meaning in life among both mothers and grandmothers will be associated with higher levels of self-esteem, higher appraisals of challenge and self-efficacy, and a lower appraisal of threat.

  2. 2.

    Higher levels of growth and meaning in life among both mothers and grandmothers will be associated with higher perceived social support.

  3. 3.

    For mothers, higher level of growth and meaning in life will be associated with lower age and a higher frequency of meetings with the grandmother.

Four further issues were examined exploratively as we were unable to locate any previous findings that could help in formulating specific hypotheses. These issues are: (a) the unique and combined contributions of the internal and external resources to growth and meaning in life, for both mothers and grandmothers; (b) associations between grandmothers’ growth and meaning in life on the one hand, and age and frequency of meetings with the mother on the other; (c) associations and differences between the two generations in the level of growth and meaning in life; (d) the unique and combined contributions to growth/meaning in life in each generation of the internal and external resources of both groups and the level of growth/meaning in life in the other generation.

2 Method

2.1 Participants

The sample consisted of 152 first-time Jewish Israeli mothers aged 21–37 (Mean age 26.9, SD = 3.92) who had given birth 6–24 months prior to the study (Mean age of the child 12.63 months, SD = 5.5), and their mothers (n = 152), who were also first-time grandmothers (i.e., they did not have grandchildren from any other offspring), aged 42–72 (Mean age 52.6, SD = 5.35). Most mothers (85.6%) and grandmothers (55.9%) had an academic education (BA), and about half defined their economic status as average (56.6 and 57.2% for mothers and grandmothers, respectively). All mothers and most of the grandmothers (86.2%) were married. It should be noted that the paid maternity leave in Israel lasts for 12 weeks. After this period mothers either go back to work (leaving the child with a nanny or in a nursery), or prolong this period on their own expense (it is formally allowed to prolong this period until 1 year after birth without having to worry about losing one’s job).

2.2 Instruments

The Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg 1979) was employed to assess the perceived self-esteem of the mothers. The questionnaire consisted of 10 items rated on a 4-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Cronbach’s alphas for all items in the current sample were .83 for mothers and .82 for grandmothers. Each participant was thus assigned a self-esteem score equal to the average of her responses on all 10 items, with higher scores indicating more positive self-esteem.

The Appraisal Scale (Folkman and Lazarus 1985) was adapted to specifically assess women’s cognitive appraisal of pregnancy and childbirth. The scale consisted of 12 items, 3 evaluating challenge appraisals (the degree to which the woman a) believed that motherhood/ grandmotherhood would help her know herself better; b) perceived motherhood/ grandmotherhood as a challenge; c) saw motherhood/grandmotherhood as a challenge to her relationship with the other generation), 6 assessing threat appraisals (the degree to which she believed that a) motherhood/grandmotherhood would limit her independence; b) motherhood/grandmotherhood would disturb the lifestyle she is used to; c) being a mother/grandmother is difficult; d) motherhood/grandmotherhood would harm her professional promotion; e) motherhood/grandmotherhood would cause economical stresses; and f) motherhood/grandmotherhood would impair her leisure time), and 3 assessing self-efficacy (how well she believed she could a) cope efficiently with the demands of motherhood/ grandmotherhood; b) cope efficiently with the frequent stresses which may raise sometimes in motherhood/grandmotherhood; c) conduct the motherhood/grandmotherhood tasks in a good way). Responses were given on a 5-point scale from 1 (very little) to 5 (very much). In the present study, Cronbach’s alphas were .60, .60 for challenge, .81, .86 for threat, and .82, .72 for self-efficacy, for mothers and grandmothers, respectively. Each participant was therefore assigned 3 scores for cognitive appraisal by averaging her responses on the relevant items, with higher scores indicating a higher level of each aspect of appraisal.

The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MPSS; Zimmet et al. 1988) was used to assess the support provided by family, friends, and a significant other. This self-report scale consists of 12 items, and responses are marked on a 7-point scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). In the present study, Cronbach’s alphas were .89 for mothers and .93 for grandmothers. A total score for perceived social support for each participant was therefore computed by averaging her responses on all items, with higher scores indicating higher perceived support.

The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; Tedeschi and Calhoun 1996), adapted to relate specifically to the transitions to motherhood and grandmotherhood, was employed to measure personal growth. The 21-item self-report scale taps personal and spiritual strengths, appreciation of life and new possibilities, and relationships with others by presenting participants with statements such as: “I learned a great deal about how wonderful people are”; “I am able to do better things with my life.” For each statement, participants were asked to indicate the degree to which the change occurred in their life since giving birth/becoming a grandmother. Responses were marked on a 6-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 0 (I did not experience this change) to 5 (I experienced this change to a very great degree). In the present study, Cronbach’s alphas were .93 and .97 for mothers and grandmothers, respectively. Each participant was thus assigned a personal growth score, computed by averaging her responses on all items, with higher scores indicating greater personal growth.

The Purpose in Life Test (PIL; Crumbaugh and Maholick 1969) was used to assess meaning in life. The PIL consists of 20 items relating to sense of direction in life, clarity of life goals, fullness of life, and so forth. Respondents were asked to mark their position in respect to each item on a 7-point scale representing polar descriptions of the dimensions, with higher scores indicating greater sense of meaning and purpose in life. As Cronbach’s alphas for the 20 items in the current sample were high (.83 and .91 for mothers and grandmothers, respectively), each participant was assigned a meaning in life score equal to the average of her responses on all items.

A Demographic Questionnaire was administered to obtain the participants’ age, education, and economic and family status. In addition, we asked mothers and grandmothers to report on the frequency of meetings between them.

2.3 Procedure

A purposive convenience sample was gathered by a group of research assistants who were asked to recruit new mothers, whose own mothers became grandmothers for the first time. The assistants were social work students who have undergone a course on research methods, surveys and interviewing, were specifically trained for recruiting participants, and thoroughly informed regarding this specific study. They came from all over Israel, a fact which enabled a large heterogenic sample, and were instructed to look for mothers in their neighborhoods and ask for their consent to complete a set of questionnaires, as well as permission to approach their mothers with the same request. The goals of the study were explained to all the women and they were promised full confidentiality. All mothers who were approached agreed to participate in the study. Thus, one hundred and sixty mothers and their own mothers gave their informed consent to participate. The final sample consisted of 152 first-time mothers and 152 first-time grandmothers who completed the full set of questionnaires.

3 Results

Data analysis was conducted in three stages. First, t-tests for paired samples were performed to discover the associations and differences between mothers and grandmothers in order to determine the degree of similarity between the experiences of becoming a mother and becoming a grandmother. Next, the associations between the independent and outcome variables were examined in an effort to identify the factors that might contribute to growth and meaning in life of first-time mothers and grandmothers so as to gain insights into whether the two transitions can be explained by the same or different resources. The third stage of the analysis examined the unique and combined contribution of the study variables for each group to the personal growth and meaning in life of the other. Here we sought to explore the question of whether the resources, experience of growth, and sense of meaning in life of one generation contribute to growth and meaning in the other, beyond the contribution of the woman’s own resources.

3.1 Associations and Differences in Women’s Personal Growth and Meaning in Life in the Transitions to Motherhood and Grandparenthood

In the first step of the analysis, we looked at the associations and differences between first-time mothers and first-time grandmothers in both the dependent and independent research variables. A series of t-tests for paired samples was conducted to examine mother’s and grandmother’s self-esteem, cognitive appraisal, social support, personal growth, and meaning in life. The results for each group, along with the Pearson correlations between them, appear in Table 1.

Table 1 Means, standard deviations, t scores (for paired samples), and correlations for the study variables for mothers and grandmothers
Full size table

As Table 1 reveals, mothers tended to report higher threat and challenge appraisals, higher social support, and higher personal growth in the transition to motherhood as compared with their own mothers, whereas grandmothers reported higher meaning in life than their daughters. In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between mother’s and grandmother’s self-esteem, showing that the higher the grandmother’s self-esteem, the higher her daughter’s self-esteem. Significant positive correlations were also found between the grandmother’s and mother’s threat and challenge appraisals, so that the more the grandmothers appraised grandmotherhood as a threat or challenge, the greater threat or challenge appraisals of motherhood were reported by her daughter. Furthermore, the analysis yielded a significant positive association between the two generations in personal growth and meaning in life, indicating that the higher the personal growth experienced by a woman in her transition to grandmotherhood and the higher meaning in life she perceives, the more growth and meaning reported by her daughter.

3.2 Associations Between the Independent and Outcome Variables in the Transition to Motherhood and Grandmotherhood

Pearson correlations were then performed to examine the relationship between growth and meaning on the one hand, and each of the independent variables on the other. The results appear in Table 2 (left columns for mothers and right columns for grandmothers).

Table 2 Pearson correlations between the study measures for mothers and grandmothers
Full size table

As Table 2 shows, for both mothers and grandmothers, higher frequency of meetings was related to higher growth. Higher age was related to higher growth among grandmothers, and to lower growth among mothers. In both generations, meaning in life was not found to be related to either of these background variables.

Among mothers, as expected, lower threat appraisal, higher challenge appraisal, and greater perceived social support were related to higher levels of personal growth. In addition, higher self-esteem, challenge appraisal, self-efficacy appraisal, and perceived social support, as well as lower threat appraisal, were related to greater meaning in life.

In respect to grandmothers, lower self-esteem and higher threat and challenge appraisals were related to higher levels of personal growth. In addition, higher self-esteem, self-efficacy appraisal, and perceived social support, and lower threat appraisal, were related to greater meaning in life.

It is important to note that the correlation between meaning in life and personal growth was r = .25, p < .05 for mothers, and r = −.09, p > .05 for grandmothers, indicating that meaning in life and personal growth are separate entities.

In the next stage of the analysis, two sets of hierarchical regressions were conducted in order to examine the unique and combined contribution of the study variables to the explained variance of mothers’ and grandmothers’ personal growth and meaning in life following the transition to motherhood or grandmotherhood. The background variables of age and frequency of meetings between the generations were entered in Step 1, self-esteem in Step 2, cognitive appraisals of challenge, threat, and self-efficacy in Step 3, and social support in Step 4. In Step 5 the interactions between the independent variables were entered using a stepwise method, so that only variables showing significant contributions were entered in the equation. The results appear in Table 3.

Table 3 Hierarchical regression coefficients (beta weights) for meaning in life and personal growth among mothers and grandmothers
Full size table

As can be seen from Table 3, in the regression for mothers the independent variables explained 46% of the variance in personal growth and 45% of the variance in meaning in life. In respect to growth, mother’s age and the frequency of her meetings with the grandmother accounted for 8% of the variance, with higher growth perceived the younger the mother and the higher the frequency of meetings. Cognitive appraisal accounted for 30% of the variance, indicating that lower threat and higher challenge appraisals contribute to greater growth. Neither self-esteem nor social support were found to contribute to the explained variance in mother’s personal growth. However, in the final step, the interactions between mother’s appraisal of challenge and both frequency of meetings and age, and between threat appraisal and social support accounted for an additional 7% of the variance in this variable.

Simple slope analyses (Aiken and West 1991) revealed that although the assessment of challenge was positively and significantly associated with personal growth among mothers characterized by higher frequency of meetings with their own mothers (1 SD above the mean), b = .22, p < .01, it was even stronger among mothers with lower frequency of meetings (1 SD bellow the mean), b = .55, p < .001. Thus, whereas challenge appraisal and growth were found to be positively related regardless of frequency of meetings, it was among mothers who met less often with the grandmothers that a higher appraisal of challenge was more strongly related to a higher experience of growth. Similarly, the assessment of challenge was positively and significantly associated with personal growth among younger women (1 SD bellow the mean), b = .25, p < .01, and even stronger among older women (1 SD above the mean), b = .51, p < .001. In other words, the older the mother, the stronger the relationship between a higher appraisal of challenge and greater personal growth. Finally, the assessment of threat was negatively and significantly associated with personal growth among women with lower perceived social support (1 SD bellow the mean), b = −.23, p < .01, but was not significant for women with higher social support (1 SD above the mean), b = .02, p > .05. This indicates that higher appraisal of threat was related to lower personal growth only among mothers who perceive less social support.

In respect to meaning in life, age and frequency of meetings with the grandmother accounted for non-significant 2% of the variance in mother’s meaning in life. Self-esteem accounted for 27% of the variance, indicating that the higher the mother’s self-esteem, the greater her meaning in life. Cognitive appraisals added 5% to the explained variance, so that the higher the mother’s perception of self-efficacy, the higher her meaning in life. Social support contributed an additional 6%, showing that the greater the perceived support, the higher the women’s meaning in life. The interactions between mother’s appraisal of challenge and both self-efficacy and self-esteem accounted for an additional 5% of the variance in meaning in life. Simple slope analyses (Aiken and West 1991) revealed that the assessment of challenge was positively and significantly associated with meaning in life among women higher on self-efficacy (1 SD above the mean), b = .21, p < .05, but was not significant for women scoring low on self-efficacy (1 SD bellow the mean), b = −.08, p > .05. In other words, only among mothers displaying a higher appraisal of self-efficacy was higher challenge appraisal related to greater meaning in life. Similarly, the assessment of challenge was positively and significantly associated with meaning in life among mothers characterized by higher self-esteem (1 SD above the mean), b = .17, p < .05, but was not significant among mothers with lower self-esteem (1 SD bellow the mean), b = −.04, p > .05. Thus, only among those with higher self-esteem was a higher appraisal of challenge related to higher meaning in life.

The results of the regression analysis for grandmothers show that the independent variables explained 41% of the variance in personal growth, and 61% of the variance in meaning in life. Grandmother’s age and frequency of meetings with her daughter accounted for 10% of the variance in personal growth, with higher growth perceived the older the grandmother and the more often she met with her daughter. Self-esteem contributed an additional 4% to growth, showing that the lower the self-esteem, the higher the experienced growth. Cognitive appraisal accounted for 27% of the variance, indicating that higher threat and challenge appraisals contribute to growth. Social support did not contribute to the explained variance of grandmother’s growth, and no significant interactions emerged.

In respect to meaning in life, self-esteem accounted for 36% of the variance, indicating that the higher the grandmother’s self-esteem, the greater her meaning in life. Social support contributed an additional 24%, so that the greater the perceived support, the higher the grandmother’s meaning in life. Neither age and frequency of meetings with her daughter nor cognitive appraisals were found to contribute to the explained variance in this variable, and no significant interactions emerged.

3.3 The Contribution of Grandmother’s Characteristics to First-Time Mother’s Personal Growth and Meaning in Life

In this stage of the analysis, two hierarchical regressions were conducted in order to examine the unique and combined contribution of the mother’s and grandmother’s variables to the explained variance in mother’s personal growth and meaning in life following the transition to motherhood. The background variables of mother’s age and frequency of meetings with the grandmother were entered in Step 1; mother’s resources (self-esteem, cognitive appraisals of challenge, threat, and self-efficacy, and perceived social support) were entered in Step 2; grandmother’s age was entered in Step 3; grandmother’s resources (self-esteem, cognitive appraisals of challenge, threat, and self-efficacy, and perceived social support) were entered in Step 4; and either grandmother’s meaning in life or personal growth was entered in Step 5. In Step 6, using a stepwise method, we entered the same interactions between the mother’s independent variables as in the previous regression, along with interactions between mother’s independent variables and grandmother’s growth or meaning in life.

The results revealed that the independent variables accounted for 54% of the explained variance in mother’s growth. In Step 1, 8% of the variance was explained by mother’s age and frequency of meetings with the grandmother, so that the lower the mother’s age and the more often she met with her own mother, the more growth she reported. In Step 2, mother’s personal resources added 32% to the explained variance, indicating that lower appraisal of threat and higher appraisal of challenge contribute to growth. No significant contribution was found in Step 3 for grandmother’s age. In Step 4, grandmother’s self-efficacy contributed 3% to the explained variance, so that the lower the grandmother perceived her own self-efficacy, the greater the personal growth reported by the mother. Grandmother’s report of personal growth in Step 5 contributed an additional 3%, indicating that the higher the grandmother’s experience of growth, the higher her daughter’s as well. Three interactions added 7% to the explained variance in mother’s growth: the interaction between mother’s self-esteem and grandmother’s growth; the interaction between mother’s perceived social support and grandmother’s growth; and the interaction between mother’s self-esteem and her challenge appraisal.

Simple slope analyses (Aiken and West 1991) revealed that grandmother’s growth was positively and significantly associated with mother’s personal growth among mothers characterized by higher self-esteem (1 SD above the mean), b = .35, p < .01, but was not significant among mothers with lower self-esteem (1 SD bellow the mean), b = .07, p > .05. Thus, only among mothers displaying higher self-esteem, was grandmother’s higher experience of growth related to growth in their daughters. In addition, grandmother’s growth was positively and significantly associated with mother’s growth among mothers with lower social support (1 SD bellow the mean), b = .36, p < .01, but was not significant for mothers perceiving higher social support (1 SD above the mean), b = .05, p > .05. In other words, only among mothers with lower levels of social support, was a stronger experience of growth in the grandmother related to higher growth in the mother. Finally, mother’s appraisal of challenge was positively and significantly associated with personal growth among all mothers, but the association was stronger among those displaying higher self-esteem (1 SD above the mean), b = .53, p < .001; b = .29, p < .01, for higher and lower self-esteem, respectively. In other words, higher challenge appraisal was related to higher personal growth especially among mothers higher on self-esteem.

The independent variables also accounted for 50% of the explained variance in mother’s meaning in life. In Step 1, no significant contribution was found for mother’s age or frequency of meetings with the grandmother. In Step 2, mother’s personal resources accounted for 37% of the variance, indicating that the higher her self-esteem, perception of self-efficacy, and perceived social support, the greater her meaning in life. Grandmother’s age in Step 3 did not add to the explained variance, and while grandmother’s resources and meaning in life in Steps 4 and 5 added 3 and 1%, respectively, no significant contribution was made by any one variable. In Step 6, three interactions accounted for an additional 6% of the variance in mother’s meaning in life: the interaction between mother’s appraisal of challenge and grandmother’s meaning in life; the interaction between mother’s self-esteem and her own challenge appraisal; and the interaction between mother’s age and self-esteem.

Simple slope analyses (Aiken and West 1991) revealed that grandmother’s meaning in life was positively and significantly associated with mother’s meaning in life among mothers with lower challenge appraisal (1 SD bellow the mean), b = .21, p < .05, but was not significant among mothers with a higher appraisal of challenge (1 SD above the mean), b = −.09, p > .05. Thus, only among mothers who assessed the transition to motherhood to be more challenging, was grandmother’s higher meaning in life related to higher meaning in life in her daughter. In addition, mother’s assessment of challenge was positively and significantly associated with her meaning in life among women higher on self-esteem (1 SD above the mean), b = .13, p < .05, but was not significant for women scoring lower on self-esteem (1 SD bellow the mean), b = −.05, p > .05. In other words, a higher appraisal of challenge was related to greater meaning in life only among mothers displaying higher self-esteem. Finally, mother’s self-esteem was positively and significantly associated with meaning in life for all mothers, but this association was stronger for older women (1 SD above the mean), b = .15, p < .05; b = .25, p < .01, for younger and older women, respectively. Thus, the older the new mother, the stronger the relationship between higher self-esteem and greater meaning in life.

3.4 The Contribution of Mother’s Characteristics to First-Time Grandmother’s Personal Growth and Meaning in Life

Finally, two hierarchical regressions were conducted in order to examine the unique and combined contribution of the grandmother’s and mother’s variables to the explained variance in grandmother’s personal growth and meaning in life following the transition to grandmotherhood. The regressions were similar to those described above, with the background variables of grandmother’s age and frequency of meetings with her daughter entered in Step 1; grandmother’s resources (self-esteem, cognitive appraisals of challenge, threat, and self-efficacy, and perceived social support) entered in Step 2; mother’s age entered in Step 3; mother’s resources (self-esteem, cognitive appraisals of challenge, threat, and self-efficacy, and perceived social support) entered in Step 4; and mother’s personal growth or meaning in life entered in Step 5. In Step 6, using a stepwise method, we entered the interactions between grandmother’s independent variables as in the previous regression, along with the interactions between grandmother’s independent variables and mother’s growth or meaning in life.

The independent variables were found to explain 51% of the variance in grandmother’s personal growth. In Step 1, grandmother’s age and frequency of meetings with her daughter accounted for 10% of the variance, with higher growth perceived the older the grandmother and the more often she met with her daughter. In Step 2, grandmother’s resources contributed an additional 32% to growth, showing that the lower her self-esteem, and the higher her appraisals of both challenge and threat, the higher her experienced growth. Whereas mothers’ age in Step 3 did not contribute significantly to grandmother’s growth, mother’s resources in Step 4 added 2% to the explained variance in this variable, with lower assessment of threat by mothers contributing significantly to grandmother’s growth, and mother’s personal growth in Step 5 contributing another 3%. Finally, the interactions between grandmother’s self-efficacy and both frequency of meetings with the daughter and mother’s growth accounted for an additional 4% of the variance in grandmother’s growth.

Simple slope analyses (Aiken and West 1991) revealed that mother’s sense of personal growth was positively and significantly associated with grandmother’s growth among grandmothers who assessed the transition to be more threatening (1 SD above the mean), b = .51, p < .001, but it was not significant among grandmothers who assessed it as less threatening (1 SD bellow the mean), b = .06, p > .05. Thus, only among grandmothers with a higher appraisal of threat, was a higher experience of growth in their daughters related to higher growth in the grandmother. In addition, grandmother’s self-efficacy was positively and significantly associated with growth among those grandmothers with a lower frequency of meetings with their daughters (1 SD bellow the mean), but was not significant for grandmothers with a higher frequency of meetings (1 SD above the mean), b = .28, p < .01; b = −.08, p > .05, for lower and higher frequency, respectively. In other words, the stronger the grandmother’s perception of self-efficacy, the greater her sense of personal growth only among grandmothers who met less often with their daughters.

The independent variables also explained 67% of the variance in grandmother’s meaning in life. No contribution was found for grandmother’s age and frequency of meetings with the daughter in Step 1. In Step 2, grandmother’s resources accounted for 60% of the variance, indicating that the higher the grandmother’s self-esteem and perceived social support, the greater her meaning in life. Whereas mother’s age did not add to the explained variance in Step 3, her personal resources added 3% in Step 4, showing that the higher the challenge appraisal reported by the mother, the higher the meaning in life experienced by the grandmother. Mother’s meaning in life in Step 5 did not contribute to the meaning experienced by grandmothers. Finally, the interactions between grandmother’s social support and both her age and her self-esteem contributed an additional 3% to the variance in grandmother’s meaning in life.

Simple slope analyses (Aiken and West 1991) revealed that grandmother’s perceived social support was positively and significantly associated with grandmother’s meaning in life among older women (1 SD above the mean), b = .31, p < .01, and this association was even stronger among younger women (1 SD bellow the mean), b = .51, p < .001. Thus, the higher the grandmother’s perception of social support, the more meaning in life she reported, especially among younger grandmothers. In addition, grandmother’s perceived social support was positively and significantly associated with meaning in life for all women, but this association was stronger for those with higher self-esteem (1 SD above the mean), b = .32, p < .01; b = .49, p < .001, for lower and higher self-esteem, respectively. In other words, the stronger the grandmother’s perception of social support, the greater her meaning in life, particularly for women with higher self-esteem.

4 Discussion

The current study examined the experience of growth and perception of meaning in life among mothers and grandmothers, who recently underwent a major transition in a woman’s life: becoming a mother and becoming a grandmother for the first time. Moreover, it sought to explore the internal and external resources that might be associated with these outcomes, and the interrelationships between the characteristics of the mother and daughter who are undergoing parallel life transitions.

To a large extent, the results support our predictions regarding the factors that contribute to positive outcomes in both first-time mothers and first-time grandmothers. Interestingly, however, the internal and external resources were found to contribute differentially to meaning in life and growth, and the differences were consistent for both mothers and grandmothers. While age, frequency of meetings between mother and daughter, and both challenge and threat appraisals contributed to personal growth in both groups, self-esteem and perceived social support contributed to meaning in life for the two generations.

Despite these similarities, different patterns emerged for mothers and grandmothers. In respect to growth, whereas higher meeting frequency was associated with higher reports of growth for both generations, growth was explained by lower age among mothers and higher age among grandmothers. It seems plausible that a higher frequency of meetings between the generations reflects a better relationship or an opportunity to create a special bond between mothers and daughters, even where such a relationship did not previously exist. From the grandmother’s point of view, frequent meetings may indicate a higher degree of involvement and commitment to her daughter, an opportunity to create a special relationship with the grandchild enabling a sense of continuity, and even gratitude for the family which makes this experience possible. From the mother’s perspective, it may reflect a sense of closeness as well as a lessening of her burden by means of practical help from the grandmother. Moreover, sharing this new experience and allowing the grandmother to take an active part in the upbringing of the child may offer the mother emotional release and a chance to learn parenting skills, while giving the grandmother an opportunity to be a role model. It might even compensate both sides for past difficulties or disappointments, and create mutual pride in the child’s development and achievements (Kivnick 1982; Neugarten and Weinstein 1964). As appreciating the presence and support of others is an important part of the process of personal growth, these meetings might facilitate the experience of growth for both generations. Any and all of these reasons might explain why a higher frequency of meetings between mother and grandmother would contribute to the sense of growth experienced by both women.

The finding regarding age is interesting, as this factor would appear to operate in opposite directions for mothers and grandmothers, with older mothers and younger grandmothers reporting less growth. On second thought, however, it seems that being a young mother or older grandmother present particular problems, and these more difficult circumstances may enhance the opportunity for growth. For mothers, being young might mean less maturity and a lower sense of self-efficacy. For such women, becoming a mother may initiate a self-learning experience, which is a sign of growth. Similarly, older grandmothers might doubt their ability to fulfill their new role because of physical limitations and the longer time that has elapsed since they themselves were mothers of young children. This in turn may raise both concrete fears (such as remembering how to hold a baby or change diapers) and symbolic anxieties (such as ambivalence or unresolved conflicts). Being older may also mean greater physical limitations. In any case, performing their functions with the grandchild successfully might therefore make them more appreciative of this new experience and give them a greater sense of personal growth.

We might however look at this association from another direction, and say that the younger the grandmother, the less is the growth she experiences. This may be because becoming a grandmother in a particularly young age, the woman may have not had much chance to adjust to the notion of aging, or to status change (such as retiring which is connected to older age) in other venues (e.g., health, appearance, professional life, other relationships). As a result, she may be facing the anxieties of aging for the first time, which may in turn inhibit her capacity to experience growth related to this life transition.

In addition, lower self-esteem was found to contribute to higher growth only among grandmothers. As the transition to grandmotherhood offers older women the opportunity to receive positive feedback as to their essential role in the family and their ability to be supportive of others, the experience may lead to growth particularly among women in need of a boost to their self-esteem. It would be interesting to attempt to confirm this explanation in future studies.

Higher appraisal of challenge was associated with higher growth for both generations. This suggests that when an event is perceived positively, even if it involves certain difficulties, it is more likely to generate a sense of growth. The finding is also consistent with the results of a previous study where challenge appraisal was shown to contribute to personal growth among mothers (Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2009, 2010).

In contrast, threat appraisal revealed different patterns for the two generations, associated with higher growth among grandmothers and with lower growth among mothers. It is possible that when mothers feel threatened, they experience more anxiety and apprehension, which inhibit growth. On the other hand, the perception of threat among grandmothers may motivate them to encourage their daughters and contribute from their own experience, thereby affording them a greater sense of vitality, which is an indication of growth. This might derive from the fact that grandmothers experience the transition at a later phase in life, when their life philosophies are already well established. Thus, any threat to their basic ideologies would have a greater potential to bring about a certain degree of change. Life philosophies are generally less clearly defined at a younger age, so that mothers may be less apt to experience growth in the wake of threat. This is also in line with a previous study where threat assessment was found to contribute to lower well being, but not growth, among new mothers (Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2009). However, this speculative understanding of the findings should be further examined.

Certain findings emerged only for mothers: among those who met less often with their own mothers and those who were older, higher challenge appraisal was related to higher growth; among those who reported more social support, higher threat appraisal was associated with lower growth. Thus, it is possible that mothers with fewer external resources (i.e., less meetings with their mothers, less social support) have to rely on themselves, and are therefore more inclined to regard the birth of their first child as a challenge, leading them to feel more competent and grow from the experience. On the other hand, those with more support may lean on others, allowing themselves to feel more anxious or threatened, which in turn prevents them from the experience of growth. Of the older mothers, only those who are able to perceive more challenge in this new experience and are not intimidated by it, are able to grow. Thus, older age for mothers seem to emerge as a positive asset.

Although meaning in life is commonly perceived as part of the concept of growth, as noted above, our findings suggest that they are separate entities with different patterns of contributors. Higher self-esteem was found to contribute to higher meaning for both mothers and grandmothers, but the perception of higher self-efficacy contributed to meaning only among mothers. Self-esteem is a fundamental aspect of every individual which is constructed from the assessment of one’s functioning in past events. Self-efficacy, on the other hand, is more relevant to first-time mothers than to grandmothers, as it is fundamental to a role of which they have no previous experience. New mothers who feel they are functioning successfully and to their own satisfaction are therefore more likely to have a higher sense of meaning in life. This is even more evident in view of the interactions which emerged in the current study. Only among mothers with high self-efficacy and high self-esteem was appraisal of challenge positively associated with meaning in life. In other words, those with a higher regard for themselves in general, and greater appreciation of their functioning as mothers in particular, reported more meaning in life when motherhood was perceived as a challenge.

Higher social support was found to be related to higher meaning in life for both generations. This is consistent with previous findings showing that in times of stress, the fact that individuals have a support system enhances their confidence, enables sharing of feelings and thoughts, and thus leads to a more positive perception of life (e.g., Lepore et al. 2004; Queenan et al. 2010).

The current study also explored the question of whether information regarding one generation helps to predict the experience of the other. It was found that a lower perception of self-efficacy and higher sense of personal growth among grandmothers contributes to higher growth among new mothers, beyond the younger generation’s own internal and external resources. Moreover, especially among mothers with higher self-esteem, the more the grandmother experienced growth, the more her daughter did as well. In addition, particularly among mothers with lower perceived social support, higher grandmother’s experience of growth was associated with higher growth reported by the mother. Thus, the grandmother’s experience of growth contributed to the same experience for her daughter, especially when the daughter displayed higher self-esteem, and had less support at her disposal. In respect to mother’s meaning in life, it was found that among mothers with a lower assessment of challenge, the higher the grandmother’s meaning in life, the higher her daughter’s level of meaning. In other words, for women who find it harder to relate to the transition to motherhood as challenging, having a mother who perceives meaning in her life may help give the daughter a greater sense of meaning as well.

Characteristics of the mother were also found to contribute to the grandmother’s sense of growth, beyond her personal resources. The lower the daughter’s perception of threat and the higher her personal growth in the transition to motherhood, the higher the grandmother’s experience of growth in the transition to grandmotherhood. Thus, the daughter’s better adjustment and higher sense of growth seem to facilitate the experience of growth for her mother. Moreover, only among grandmothers with a higher assessment of threat was the daughter’s higher report of growth related to greater growth in her mother. In other words, the daughter’s sense of growth appears to help her mother overcome an assessment of threat, leading the way to growth. In addition, grandmothers who met less often with their daughters reported higher growth the higher their daughter’s perception of self-efficacy. Thus, when new mothers display high self-efficacy and competence, their own mothers may be freer to experience growth, even when the frequency of meetings is low. Furthermore, higher challenge appraisal by the daughter contributed to higher meaning in life for her mother. Hence, a positive outlook on the part of the mother may allow for a heightened sense of meaning for the grandmothers. Taken together, these findings indicate that obtaining information from both generations might enable us to better predict how new mothers and grandmothers will experience their parallel life transitions.

New mothers were found in the current study to score higher than their own mothers on challenge and threat appraisals, as well as on personal growth. However, grandmothers reported higher meaning in life than their daughters. In addition, the higher the grandmother’s self-esteem, perceptions of challenge and threat, social support, growth, and meaning in life, the higher the same aspects in her daughter. These findings suggest that, to a large extent, the same feelings and cognitions are shared by both generations and are related to each other. However, the experience of becoming a mother appears to be more critical than becoming a grandmother, making some of her responses more extreme. For mothers, the transition may very well involve a reevaluation of their life. This process is evident in the cognitive aspects of challenge and threat appraisal, as well as in the growth they experience in the wake of the birth of their first child. Grandmothers, on the other hand, already have an established life philosophy based on their long-term motherhood and life experience, and thus are more able than new mothers to gain a sense of meaning in life, which may be said to be the outcome of a combination of cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes.

Furthermore, the association between personal growth and meaning in life was significant but low among mothers, and not significant among grandmothers. Hence, although meaning is often thought to be part of growth, our findings suggest that meaning in life is a more stable variable than growth. Stable variables (self-esteem, social support) were found to contribute mainly to meaning, whereas more specific variables (such as the perception of motherhood/ grandmotherhood as a challenge or a threat) contributed to growth. In other words, growth appears to be generated by change and is more sensitive to circumstances, whereas meaning might be experienced continuously throughout life.

The present study sought new empirical evidence of the combination of factors that may affect adaptation to the transitions to motherhood and grandmotherhood, including internal and external resources and cognitive appraisals. More specifically, we wished to shed light on the relationship between self-esteem, self-efficacy, cognitive appraisals, and external support on the one hand, and growth and meaning in life on the other, among women who become mothers or grandmothers for the first time. The findings indeed lend credence to the basic components of this set of variables, indicating that cognitive appraisal and internal and external resources are crucial elements in these life transitions.

The study is unique in several ways. First, previous research has tended to look at mothers’ adaptation in terms of level of distress (Nicolson 1998, 1999). In contrast, we chose to examine the positive aspects of growth and meaning in life. In addition, while numerous studies have examined new mothers, the parallel experience of new grandmothers has received considerably less attention. The present study undertook to explore responses to the two transitions, thus enabling not only a better understanding of the similarities and differences, but also the interrelations between them. Finally, the opportunity for personal growth has traditionally been attributed to the experience of trauma or negative life events, and less so to positive life events (Tedeschi and Calhoun 2004). This trend has been changing recently, as more research is dedicated to positive life events and transitions as well (e.g., Ben Shlomo et al. 2010; Sawyer and Ayers 2009; Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2009, 2010). Becoming a mother or grandmother are just such transitions which are typically considered positive life events. Nevertheless, women may have complex appraisals of these experiences, and indeed, may evidence a variety of outcomes, some of which may indicate an element of stress.

Several possible limitations of the study should be noted. First, it relies exclusively on women’s self-reports. In order to provide a more comprehensive picture of these life transitions, future studies might include additional measures derived from other relevant sources (e.g., husbands, other family members, physicians) or from observational methods. Secondly, the study design was correlational, and as correlations do not imply causality, the suggestion that the predictors actually caused changes in the outcome variables must be viewed with caution. Moreover, due to the cross-sectional design of the study, one cannot rule out the option that the level of the study’s variables was similar before and after these life transitions. However, this design is typical to studies of growth in the wake of other events, and its current design should not undermine the importance of examining growth and meaning in new mothers and grandmothers. Thirdly, the study relays on a convenience sample of participants. Though we made many efforts to have a wide geographical and sociodemographic representation of mothers and grandmothers, we cannot be sure that this sample fully covers the Israeli society. Future studies should thus try to replicate current results by employing representative samples. Finally, although in many ways Israel is a Western society, culture-specific factors may have impacted the present findings. Future studies might be conducted in other locales in order to obtain cross-cultural and cross-ethnic validation.

These limitations notwithstanding, the present study represents an attempt to explore the fascinating experiences of becoming a mother and a grandmother for the first time. Further investigation is needed to examine additional contributing factors on the one hand, and a larger variety of outcomes on the other. Nevertheless, our findings already offer important insights for practitioners.

An understanding of the complex set of factors that play a role in the transitions to motherhood and grandmotherhood can enable the design of timely preventive interventions for first-time mothers and grandmothers. This could bring about a change from the existing situation in which women are treated only after they display some form of distress or when a conflict between mother and daughter arises. At present, few attempts have been made to identify the factors that can enhance the experience of growth in both generations in the wake of these stressful life circumstances, and therefore little has been done to reinforce them (Gable and Haidt 2005). In addition, whereas classes for first-time mothers may be available to prepare them for their new role and help them cope with it, new grandmothers are generally ignored, as if the birth of a grandchild is not a life-altering event. Interventions might be offered to new grandmothers, either privately or at public venues such as mother and infant clinics, health services, or general hospitals, to address this need as well. Furthermore, preparation for birth classes do not seem to be a sufficient response to the need to empower growth among first-time mothers. The classes are typically practical in nature, with little attention devoted to the emotional aspects of the transition in terms of both internal and interpersonal contents. Finally, in an era in which Internet forums frequently replace personal support and information delivery, the current findings indicate that the mother-daughter relationship is a critical resource for both generations, and therefore one worth developing as a professional target.