Concept of Motherhood among African Americans - Essay Example

? The study sought to investigate the experiences of three generations of African American women in their transition to motherhood. The study utilized a Hermeneutic phenomenology from an Afrocentric feminist perspective as the methodological approach which also included the snowball technique, a purposive sample of 18 African American women. The participants were interviewed to air their views and perceptions with regards to the notion of motherhood. The findings of the study have shown some consistency with current descriptions of aspects such as maternal identity of becoming a mother. The study has also shown consistency with our own understanding of the complexities that racism, sexism and classism play in the lives of the African American mothers and their families. The research data has shown that there is need for future development of theoretical frameworks and analytical tools that are used to assess effects of stress and psychological factors on health ought to be grounded in the historic understanding of African American experience on the family and their knowledge of culture. The study also found out that the concept of motherhood is a source of power among women and their families and it also noted that the media shapes our perceptions about good or bad mothers. The main strength of the study is that it sought to outline empirical evidence about the experiences that are faced by African American women in their transition to motherhood. These people are certainly impacted by both sociological and cultural factors such as class structures that are racially based in different societies in America. These factors have a bearing on the experiences that are often encountered by the African American women as they develop into motherhood stage. Previous researches have excluded how factors such as race, class and gender impact on African American women on their maternal role attainment. Negative stereotypes that perpetuate racial and ethnic disparities often characterize the African American mothers who do not fit in the middle class or belong to the category of whites. A close analysis of the study shows that it is strong in that it sought to cover the gap that exists in the literature about the discourse of African American women that attempts to describe how they experience the maternal role with respect to cultural, historical, political and economic constraints. The other strength of the research is that it used a Hermeneutic phenomenology from an Afrocentric feminist perspective methodology. “Hermeneutics is a research method that seeks to interpret the human experience of the world through the use of language to provide both understanding and knowledge,” (Draucher, 1999, as cited in Fouquier, 2011). It can be seen that this approach is effective since it is designed to create new data through understanding of the world around people. Language is a very important factor that can be used in the understanding of the world around us. For instance, people learn as well as communicate using language hence the reason why it is a very important aspect of our lives. In carrying research, this design is also very important particularly in the clinical field since it helps to draw information from the participants involved in the study. The third strength of the research is that it used the snowball technique to recruit a purposive sample of 18 African American women from three generations to participate in the study. The advantage of this method is that people with similar characteristics are selected to participate in the study. Therefore, consistency is likely to be obtained in the data collected since people who share the same features and characteristics are chosen to participate in the study. These people are likely to represent the general views of the people selected for the study. The method used for data collection is also a major strength of the study. The research utilised open ended and semi structured interview questions to solicit data from the participants. The advantage of this method is that the respondents are given the opportunity to express their ideas and opinions in a free way. Through the use of interviews, first hand information from the participants can be obtained since they will be talking directly to the researcher. As noted in the findings of the study, the results show the feelings of the participants when they discovered that they were pregnant. The researcher is given the opportunity to express his opinions in a free way which is strength for the study. Similar themes emerged from the data collected using interviews which makes us believe that this technique of data collection is authentic when carrying out a research. Apart from the strengths of the study, it can also be seen that there are certain weaknesses that characterise it. The sample size is too small. It only comprises of 18 people where seven people are from generation one while generation two is comprised of five people and generation three is made up of seven people. Surely six people for instance in generation one cannot reflect the same perceptions of the whole generation of people between 65 and 83 years. On the other hand five people cannot reflect the same ideas of people belonging to the generation of 51 and 58 years while seven people may not truly reflect the opinions of a generation of people aged between 30 and 40 years. The sample size of the study compromises its credibility given that it is too small. The results likely to be obtained from this study are not reliable since it focuses on just a small sample size while excluding the wider population of women who belong to this category. Another weakness is that the study sample is too broad though it only includes a few participants. In this case, the study focuses on three different generations which makes it too broad. Instead, the study should have been limited to one generation so as to enable the researcher to focus on one element of the study. It has to be noted that women belonging to different generations have different perceptions to the world around them. For instance, these people have different world views of the concept of mother hood. Focusing on one generation could also enable the researcher to screen his data so that it may reflect the true picture obtaining on the ground. Data collected from one generation could be reliable in as far as the perceptions of the other people belonging to this segment is concerned. The other weakness of the study is that it is grounded in the theories of maternal identity and maternal role attainment developed and tested from the 1950s to 1970s. These theories do not reflect the radical changes that have taken place in the institutions of marriage and motherhood that have evolved from the Women’ Movement and Civil Rights Movement. Such changes have redefined the maternal role of women as they move to motherhood on the basis of their race, gender as well as culture. As such, the results are not likely to be reliable if the study uses outdated theories as its framework. The theoretical framework of a research study ought to reflect the anticipated results since it will guide the researcher to choose the ideal method of data collection that can be used in the study. The quality of literature used in carrying the study has a bearing on its result. The fact that the study used outdated theories as its framework is one major weakness of the research which should be avoided in the future. In order to improve the study, the researchers ought to ground their research on current theories and literature that is related to the area of study. Current theories and literature about the same research topic helps the researcher to focus on the area of study which can also improve the reliability of the study. Research ought to be carried in order to establish the gap that exists in the literature available in this particular topic. This helps the future researchers to refine their studies so that they focus on one aspect of motherhood given that there are varying opinions at the current period. Only relevant information will be included in the study which can make it credible. Credible literature helps improve the authenticity of the study. It is also important for the researchers to enlarge their sample so as to reflect the opinions of the majority of people involved in the study. As noted above, the population of 18 people only is far too small to represent the views and opinions of the entire African American population with regards to the aspect of transition to motherhood. In future, it will be important for the researchers to include more participants in the study so as to be in a position to gain a wide range of opinions. A large sample for a particular study is likely to reflect the general opinions of the population under study at large. This is important since it helps the researchers to generate credible results from a certain study. Overally, the research design used for this study is ideal though it needs to be fine tuned in future so as to enable the researchers to come up with reliable results from their study. This study has several implications to nursing practice. In order for the nurse to fully address maternal issues related to people from different backgrounds, they must understand their culture, race and ethnicity. These factors have a bearing on the way they perceive different aspects related to motherhood. This can also help to improve knowledge among the nurses about psychological factors that affect mothers in different generations. This helps them to take a holistic approach when they are dealing with different issues related to maternal care and motherhood among their patients. References Fouquier, K.F. (2011). The concept of motherhood among three generations of African American women. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43(2), 145–153. Read More