Exploring the Guilt-Proneness of Non-Traditional Students

摘要

Current political forces see education as a potential solution to the economic slide the United States is experiencing. This push toward higher education and resulting employment creates a conflict for women expected by society to serve as primary caregivers of children. Research suggests that working mothers experience feelings of guilt related to the conflict between parenting and employment roles that may come from failure to personify the intensive mothering ideology. Student parents potentially share this guilt but few studies exist that investigate this. The results of this study suggest that student parents do experience guilt and identify relationships between guilt, gender, and relationship status. The nature of these relationships is unclear at this time, highlighting the need for further research