Accounts of mothers who experience anxiety and/or depression
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Representation of Maternal Identity in Contemporary Advertising and the Accounts of Mothers who Experience Anxiety and/or Depression
IRAS ID
319604
Contact name
Robbie Duschinsky
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
School of Clinical Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Background: why is this important?
Many studies have investigated the way that media texts in general, and advertising in particular, construct normative expectations of the ‘good mother’. In the last few years, research has shown that such discourses are multiplying, over-saturating women with information, advice, and judgement on their mothering practises across traditional and new media – especially enabled by the rise of online platforms. Because of this, an increasing number of mothers are starting to express anxious feelings online. Indeed, studies show that anxiety and depression are the most common mental disorders that arise among women in the years following their becoming mothers, and that they have grown more prevalent in recent years. As a result, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlight¬ed the urgent need for services to effectively identify and manage maternal mental disorders. In this context, we aim to shed light on, and provide a better understanding of, the relation between the marketplace – specifically motherhood ideologies that are communicated in the media – and the growing anxiety experienced by mothers.What will happen?
Qualitative semi-structured interviews will be conducted with mothers who have seeked support from mental health services because they experience anxiety and/or depression. The interviews will address their own experience of mothering, as well as their perception of advertisements that depict mothers in different ways.What are the implications?
It is expected that this analysis will a) identify elements in media texts which hinder mothers’ mental wellbeing and should be addressed, b) help provide a framework for understanding how individuals negotiate with normative media texts, and c) indicate directions for further studies regarding the relation between media discourses and mental wellbeing.Who may be interested in this study?
Stakeholders include a) mental health practitioners, b) mothers who experience anxiety and/or depression, c) social scientists and theorists.REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
22/IEC08/0039
Date of REC Opinion
8 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion