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Associations between mothers' experience with the troubles in Northern Ireland and mothers' and children's psychological functioning: the moderating role of social identity
Author(s) -
Merrilees Christine E.,
Cairns Ed,
GoekeMorey Marcie C.,
Schermerhorn Alice C.,
Shirlow Peter,
Cummings E. Mark
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.20417
Subject(s) - psychology , mental health , coping (psychology) , identity (music) , developmental psychology , social identity theory , social psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , social group , physics , acoustics
Relatively little research has examined the relations between growing up in a community with a history of protracted violent political conflict and subsequent generations' well‐being. The current article examines relations between mothers' self‐report of the impact that the historical political violence in Northern Ireland (known as the Troubles) has on her and her child's current mental health. These relations are framed within the social identity model of stress, which provides a framework for understanding coping responses within societies that have experienced intergroup conflict. Mother‐child dyads ( N =695) living in Belfast completed interviews. Results suggest that the mother‐reported impact of the Troubles continue to be associated with mothers' mental health, which, in turn, is associated with her child's adjustment. The strength of mothers' social identity moderated pathways between the impact of the Troubles and her mental health, consistent with the social identity model of stress. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.