Dr Charlotte Cousins
About
My research project
A qualitative exploration of the process of relationship formation between mother and child in interracial familiesI completed a qualitative research project with mothers of mixed race children exploring the process of relationship formation between mother and child. I was particularly interested in whether the racial differences between mother and child would affect their experience of 'claiming' and forming a relationship with their child.
I interviewed nine white European women in interracial relationships with at least once child under the age of 4. I analysed the data using thematic analysis which helped me generate four themes: 1) anticipated lack of resemblance 2) making the child known to you 3) challenges faced by the family 4) creating a multifaceted identity. The women anticipated a lack of resemblance between themselves and their baby. This could have served to affect the ‘claiming’ and relationship formation processes. However, the women actively searched for similarities between themselves and their baby which aided the ‘claiming’ process. This, in combination with other factors, helped the women begin to form a relationship with their baby. The women also identified a wide range of challenges they faced as an interracial family. In response to these challenges, they identified a range of strategies to overcome these challenges and create a multifaceted family identity as a way of protecting against the challenges they faced.
Therefore, whilst mothers were fearful about the possible impact of the racial differences between themselves and their child they did not appear to affect the process of relationship formation and ‘claiming’. The active processes such as searching for similarities between themselves and their baby appeared to be protective and facilitate the ‘claiming’ and relationship formation processes.
The findings have wide ranging clinical implications and are of relevance to health care professionals working with interracial families, particularly during the perinatal period. They are of particular relevance for women experiencing factors known to affect the process of ‘claiming’, identification and relationship formation, such as mental health problems or social isolation.
This is novel research as no one has researched the process of relationship formation in interracial families and the possible impact racial difference between mother and child may have on this process. Furthermore, the research contributes to a growing body of research that documents the unique needs and challenges faced by interracial families.
Supervisors
I completed a qualitative research project with mothers of mixed race children exploring the process of relationship formation between mother and child. I was particularly interested in whether the racial differences between mother and child would affect their experience of 'claiming' and forming a relationship with their child.
I interviewed nine white European women in interracial relationships with at least once child under the age of 4. I analysed the data using thematic analysis which helped me generate four themes: 1) anticipated lack of resemblance 2) making the child known to you 3) challenges faced by the family 4) creating a multifaceted identity. The women anticipated a lack of resemblance between themselves and their baby. This could have served to affect the ‘claiming’ and relationship formation processes. However, the women actively searched for similarities between themselves and their baby which aided the ‘claiming’ process. This, in combination with other factors, helped the women begin to form a relationship with their baby. The women also identified a wide range of challenges they faced as an interracial family. In response to these challenges, they identified a range of strategies to overcome these challenges and create a multifaceted family identity as a way of protecting against the challenges they faced.
Therefore, whilst mothers were fearful about the possible impact of the racial differences between themselves and their child they did not appear to affect the process of relationship formation and ‘claiming’. The active processes such as searching for similarities between themselves and their baby appeared to be protective and facilitate the ‘claiming’ and relationship formation processes.
The findings have wide ranging clinical implications and are of relevance to health care professionals working with interracial families, particularly during the perinatal period. They are of particular relevance for women experiencing factors known to affect the process of ‘claiming’, identification and relationship formation, such as mental health problems or social isolation.
This is novel research as no one has researched the process of relationship formation in interracial families and the possible impact racial difference between mother and child may have on this process. Furthermore, the research contributes to a growing body of research that documents the unique needs and challenges faced by interracial families.
Publications
This study compared the impact of different forms of distraction on eating behaviour with a focus on the mechanisms behind this association and the link between the amount consumed and changes in the desire to eat. Participants (n=81) were randomly allocated to four conditions: driving, television viewing, social interaction or being alone in which they took part in a taste test. Measures of the desire to eat (i.e. Hunger, fullness, motivation to eat) were assessed before and after the intervention. The results showed that those watching television consumed more than the social or driving conditions. Food intake was associated with a decreased desire to eat for those eating alone, but was unrelated to changes in the desire to eat for those driving. Watching television also created a decrease in the desire to eat commensurate with food intake whereas social eating resulted in the reverse relationship. The results are discussed in terms an expanded model of mindless eating and it is argued that eating more requires not only distraction away from the symptom of hunger but also sufficient cognitive capacity left to attend to the process of eating.