Study: Children with older mothers thrive better
Older mothers are less likely to punish and scold their children while raising them and their children have fewer behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The reason is that older mothers have more stable relationships, are more educated and have obtained better access to material resources.
- But it is also interesting to look at the significance of age when these factors are removed from the equation.
- In such analyses, age can be interpreted as an indicator of psychological maturity.
Older mothers are less likely to punish and scold their children while raising them and their children have fewer behavioural, social and emotional difficulties, new research from the Aarhus University School of Business and Social Sciences in Denmark shows.
The result should be seen in conjunction with the widespread recommendation not to have children too late. This suggestion is based on knowledge about, for example, declining fertility and the health risks during pregnancy and while giving birth, which are associated with advanced maternal age.
“However, when estimating the consequences of the rising maternal age it’s important to consider both the physical and psychosocial pros and cons,” one of the researchers, Professor Dion Sommer, says.
The study, “Associations between older maternal age, use of sanctions, and children’s socio-emotional development through 7, 11, and 15 years”, tracked children of school age and found that those with older mothers had fewer behavioural, social and emotional problems at age 7 and 11, but not at age 15.
The reason is that older mothers have more stable relationships, are more educated and have obtained better access to material resources. But it is also interesting to look at the significance of age when these factors are removed from the equation. In such analyses, age can be interpreted as an indicator of psychological maturity.
Previous research has indicated that a higher maternal age is associated with increased psychosocial well-being during pregnancy and the early days after the child is born. The new results indicate that the advantages for the older mothers and their children extend all the way into the children’s school age, but decline before age 15.
Studies show that older women thrive better during the first part of motherhood. They worry less during the pregnancy, are more positive about becoming parents and generally have a more positive attitude towards their children.
The paper is in the European Journal of Developmental Psychology journal.
