Social Support and Personal Agency in At-Risk Mothers

Abstract

This study investigated: a) mothers´ use and satisfaction with informal and formal supports in at-risk psychosocial contexts, and b) the relationships between satisfaction with help and the mothers´ perception of their role (personal agency). Self-report data about the use and satisfaction with sources of help, and levels of internal control, self-efficacy, couple agreement, role difficulty and motivation for change were obtained from 519 mothers referred by Social Services and 519 non-referred mothers. Results indicated that at-risk mothers relied less upon close informal support and more on formal support than non atrisk mothers. They were also more satisfied with the formal sources of support and had lower levels of personal agency. There were beneficial effects of satisfaction with informal help and school support on several aspects of personal agency for both groups. However, satisfaction with school and social services support had a detrimental effect on couple agreement in the at-risk group. Implications of the results for providing social support to at-risk families are discussed.

Keywords

• agencia personal
• apoyo social
• familias en riesgo
• uso y satisfacción con el apoyo informal y formal