Psychological Well-being and Resilience of Substitute Mothers

This article analyzes the relationship between psychological well-being and resilience in the context of attitudes toward adopted children among foster mothers. The hypothesis suggests that a mother’s active participation in upbringing promotes democratic relationships with the child and creative approaches to problem-solving, and that her psychological well-being depends on an optimistic attitude and willingness to cooperate with the child. The respondents were 48 foster mothers, raising between 1 and 7 adopted children. The average age of the substitute mothers was 40 ± 6 years. To test the hypothesis, the following methods were used: the “Resilience Test” by S. Maddi, the “Psychological Well-Being Scale” by K. Ryff, the “Parental Attitude Diagnostics” questionnaire by A.Ya. Varga and V.V. Stolin, and the “Personal change-readiness survey” in the adaptation by N.A. Bazhanova, G.L. Bardier. The study confirmed the hypothesis and identified a connection between psychological well-being and resilience in substitute mothers. It was also established that the well-being and ability of a substitute mother to withstand social pressure depend on her ability to cope with stress, her readiness for self-realization, and her ability to achieve goals. A high level of psychological well-being contributes to the enjoyment of raising an adopted child.

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