Self Assessment: The Traditional Motherhood Scale
The purpose of this survey is to assess the degree to which students possess a traditional view of
motherhood. Read each item carefully and consider what you believe. There are no right or wrong
answers, so please give your honest reaction and opinion. After reading each statement, select the number
which best reflects your level of agreement using the following scale:
1
Strongly
Disagree
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly
Agree
_____1. The mother has a better relationship with her children.
_____2. A mother knows more about her child, therefore being the better parent.
_____3. Motherhood is what brings women to their fullest potential.
_____4. A good mother should stay at home with her children for the first year.
_____5. Mothers should stay at home with the children.
_____6. Motherhood brings much joy and contentment to a woman.
_____7. A mother is needed in a child’s life for nurturance and growth.
_____8. Motherhood is an essential part of a female's life.
_____9. I feel that all women should experience motherhood in some way.
_____10. Mothers are more nurturing.
_____11. Mothers have a stronger emotional bond with their children.
_____12. Mothers are more sympathetic to children who have hurt themselves.
_____13. Mothers spend more time with their children.
_____14. Mothers are more lenient toward their children.
_____15. Mothers are more affectionate toward their children.
_____16. The presence of the mother is vital to the child during the formative years.
_____17. Mothers play a larger role in raising children.
_____18. Women instinctively know what a baby needs.
Scoring
After assigning a number from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), add the numbers and
divide by 18. The higher your score (7 is the highest possible score), the stronger the traditional view of
motherhood. The lower your score (1 is the lowest possible score), the less traditional the view of
motherhood.
Norms
The norming sample of this self-assessment was based on 20 male and 86 female students (mean
age 21.72) attending Valdosta State University. The ethnic composition of the sample was 80.2% White,
15.1% Black, 1.9% Asian, 0.9% American Indian, and 1.9% Other. The classification of the sample was
16.0% Freshman, 15.1% Sophomore, 27.4% Junior, 39.6% Senior, and 1.9% were graduate students.
The most traditional score was 6.33; the score reflecting the least support for traditional
motherhood was 1.78. The midpoint between the top and bottom score was 4.28 so that persons scoring
above this number tended to have a more traditional view of motherhood and persons scoring below this
number a less traditional view of motherhood. The average score on the Traditional Motherhood Scale
was 4.28 (SD = 1.04) and scores ranged from 1.78 to 6.33.
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There was a significant difference (p <.05) between female participants' scores (M = 4.19, SD =
1.08) and male participants' scores (M = 4.68, SD = 0.73), suggesting that males had more traditional
views of motherhood than females.
Copyright: The Traditional Motherhood Scale 2004 by Mark Whatley, Ph.D. Department of Psychology,
Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia 31698. Use of this scale is permitted only by prior written
permission of Dr. Whatley. His e-mail is mwhatley@valdosta.edu
y by prior written permission of Dr. Whatley. His e-mail is mwhatley@valdosta.edu
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