Date
7-22-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Laura Rolen
Keywords
Parenting, self-identification process
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Baber, Danita M., "Uncovering the Parental Self Identification Process" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7225.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7225
Abstract
This dissertation sought to uncover the first-time parent’s novel journey of transforming their identity from individual to parent. Through highlighting the well-established theories that describe the self-identification process, this study centered around concepts related to the conceptualization of the self, the developmental process of self-identification, and the establishment of one’s self-concept, through the lens of parenting. Specifically, this study asked, “For first time parents, does the age of one’s infant impact one’s level of obtained parental identity?” To best answer this question, this study followed a quantitative research design to discover if there was a positive relationship between measured parental identity strength and the age of the infant of the parent who completed the questionnaire. Participants were recruited from Lima, Peru and included first time parents of infants ages 2-18 months. A Kruskal Wallis and chi square test of independence were used, with the stage of the participant’s infant as a four-level independent variable and the strength of one’s obtained parental identity according to scores yielded on the U-MICS questionnaire as a dependent variable. This research design method allowed for the comparison of the various ages of a parent’s infant (independent variable) to determine if different infant ages yield different levels of measured parental identity strength. The results of this study indicated that there is a negative correlation between the age of one’s infant and one’s parental identity strength, specifically for parents of infants ages 15-18 months. It is a goal of this study for researchers and practitioners to utilize the findings to enhance medical practices related to supporting the psychological wellbeing of first-time parents.
