A Study on the Extent of Fulfillment of Fulltime Mothers in a Rural Setting

Abstract

Motherhood is a profession which does not need time records nor salary. It is universal. However, not all mothers have universal feelings towards motherhood. This study seeks to determine whether fulltime mothers in rural settings are satisfied with the role they play. Specifically, it determines the reasons why they decided to become stay-at-home mothers and the aspects of life they are satisfied (e.g. Financial Security, Social Relationships, Information and Knowledge, Physical Health, Leisure and Emotional Wellbeing). This study benefits future mothers who are in doubt of taking the path of fulltime motherhood in the future. One-hundred ten (110) respondents were selected from Maragondon, Cavite using Cluster Sampling. Part | is a checklist of the personal information of the respondents. The Fulltime Mothers’ Satisfaction Scale Questionnaire consisted of 24 questions distributed equally among the following domains: (1) Financial Security, (2) Social Relationships, (3) Information and Knowledge, (4) Physical Health, (5) Leisure and (6) Emotional Well-being. The questionnaire underwent expert validation and reliability test. Thirty (30) respondents were pre-tested. The computed reliability of the test using the split-half method is 0.8159, which means that it is a reliable testing instrument. The decision of staying at home and refraining from work is a decision of the mothers themselves, not imposed by the husband or the other members of the society. The respondents, when grouped according to age, husband's type of job and the number of children, showed differences in their level of satisfaction. Full-time mothers aged 29 having 4 children have the highest level of satisfaction. There is almost equal level of satisfaction between mothers who have employed and self-employed husbands — selfemployed husband only having an advantage of 0.62. Using the Chi-square Goodness of Fit Statistic with a confidence level of 95%, the alternative hypothesis, which states that mothers in rural areas get satisfied by staying at home and being housewives, is accepted. The mothers reported highest satisfaction in their physical health, followed by information and knowledge, emotional well-being, social relationships, leisure, and the least, financial security. The major determinants of satisfaction of full-time mothers in the rural area are ranked as follows: (1) Emotional Well-being, (2) Physical Health, (3) Social Relationships, (4) Information and Knowledge, (5) Financial Security, and (6) Leisure. The Pearson Product-Moment Correlation statistic showed that all the variables have an effect on the level of satisfaction of full-time mothers in the rural areas. How mothers feel is the most important factor in their satisfaction. If they feel that they are not important to the family, the satisfaction becomes low. Physical health also counts since having a healthy body means being able to perform the mothering duties effectively. However, the mothers said that they are not able to sleep well because of taking care of the family. Financial security and leisure have the least probability of making the mothers in rural areas satisfied. The act of taking care of the family is enough to make the mothers satisfied in their lives. Even with the shortage of money does not highly affect in achieving a satisfactory life in the rural families because there are always the relatives willing to help with the problems of one family. Mothers in the rural areas do not feel really alone when they are left in the house because there are neighbors whom they can chat with. They are confident with what they do in the family and they always want to develop their knowledge and skills in order to make their families better everyday. They also have high matemal instincts that promote their satisfaction and happiness. Non-working mothers in a rural setting today are not anymore passive actors of the society. A major decision in life such as choosing between fulltime motherhood and work is decided by the mothers themselves. The high level of satisfaction they exhibit in their vocation is shown by their satisfaction in their physical health, the knowledge in mothering duties, emotional well-being, social relationships, financial security and leisure activities. The advent of new technologies also helps in achieving a satisfactory life in the area of fulltime motherhood. Television, VCD, computer, radio, cellular phone and videoke all make the lives of fulltime mothers satisfying. Future mothers need not to perceive that fulltime mothering is not a satisfying task. Many single women of today's generation see fulltime motherhood as a task which they will get so bored in life. In the future studies, it is recommended that the items undergo further revisions. Equal samples should also be taken among the variables age, husband's type of job and number of children. It is also recommended to compare the levels of satisfaction between full-time mothers in the rural and urban communities.