889895

research-article2020
TCPXXX10.1177/0011000019889895The Counseling PsychologistO’Brien et al.

International Forum
The Counseling Psychologist
2020, Vol. 48(2) 162­–190
The Good Mothering © The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0011000019889895
https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019889895
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Development Study

“좋은 엄마에 대한 기대”

척도: 인터내셔날 척도
개발 연구

Karen M. O’Brien1, Sung-Kyung Yoo2,

Young Hwa Kim1, Yoonjin Cho2,
and Nazish M. Salahuddin1

Abstract
Our purpose in this research was to develop a measure that reflected cross-
cultural and cultural-specific expectations of “good mothering.” We based
our measure on samples of South Korean mothers (n = 626) and White
mothers in the United States (n = 612). We developed an initial pool of
74 items that described good mothering in both cultures. We conducted
exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses separately for each group. We
found different factor structures: the South Korean sample had three factors,
the United States’ sample yielded four factors. Two of these factors were
similar in meaning across the groups, although the items that loaded onto
these factors were not identical. Our analyses also yielded three factors

1University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

2Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea

Corresponding Author:
Karen M. O’Brien, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, BPS 2147B, College
Park, MD 20742, USA.
Email: kmobrien@umd.edu
O’Brien et al. 163

unique to each group. The final instrument comprises 30 items that loaded
onto both the shared and unique factors for the two groups. Additional
support for the validity and reliability of the scale is presented.

초록
이 연구의 목적은 “좋은 엄마에 대한 기대”의 문화 특수적, 그리고 비교
문화적 기대를 측정할 수 있는 측정도구를 개발하는 것이었다. 척도
개발을 위해 626명의 한국 엄마와 612명의 미국 엄마들로부터 자료를
수집하였다. 두 문화권에서 “좋은 엄마에 대한 기대”를 기술하는 74
개의 초기 문항을 개발하였다. 탐색적, 확인적 요인분석을 실시한
결과 한국 표집에서는 3개의 요인, 미국 표집에서는 4개의 요인이
도출되었다. 이들 요인들 가운데 2개의 요인은 두 집단 간 유사한
의미를 반영하는 요인이었으나 이들 요인의 문항 수는 두 집단 간에
차이가 있었다. 최종적으로 양 집단이 공유하는 요인과 문화 특수적인
요인으로 구성된 30개 문항의 척도를 개발하였다. 개발된 척도의
타당도와 신뢰도를 추가적으로 분석하였다.

Keywords
international instrument development, cross-cultural, career development

주제어
인터내셔날 측정도구, 문화간 연구, 진로발달

Significance of the Scholarship to the Public

We demonstrate a model of how cross-cultural researchers might work
together to develop an instrument for use within and across countries. We
found preliminary support for using the newly developed Good Mothering
Expectations Scale to assess both cross-cultural and culturally specific
expectations of motherhood. This measure can be used in research and
practice to further our knowledge of how expectations of good mothering
may be associated with career choice and development, mental and physical
health, and life satisfaction for employed and unemployed mothers in South
Korea and the United States.

Universally, employed mothers are expected to succeed in the workplace

while also having primary responsibility for their children (United Nations,
2010). Societal expectations for what constitutes “good mothering” may play
164 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

a salient role in women’s mental health, physical health, and occupational

attainment. Women who endorse cultural values of highly involved mothering
may be less likely to be employed or to select careers perceived as demanding,
and may also be less likely to pursue leadership opportunities or to seek
advancement within their careers (given that many workplaces fail to support
parents who prioritize their children and families). In one study of working
mothers, South Korean mothers experienced more depression as well as less
support from employers and spouses than mothers in the United States and
Israel (O’Brien, Ganginis Del Pino, Yoo, Cinamon, & Han, 2014). These find-
ings may be due to unrealistic expectations placed on South Korean women
regarding what constitutes good mothering within this culture. Similarly,
mothers in the United States who had perfectionistic expectations regarding
parenting and internalized guilt experienced detrimental levels of stress
(Henderson, Harmon, & Newman, 2016).
Our research is consistent with the call by vocational psychologists to bet-
ter understand the intersections among the domains of relationships, caring
for others, and work (Blustein, 2011; Richardson, 2012; Schultheiss, 2006).
The purpose of this research was to develop one measure of both cross-cul-
tural and culturally specific expectations of good mothering for use in
research in South Korea and in the United States. Specifically, after develop-
ing an initial pool of items describing good mothering in both cultures, we
conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis separately for each
of the two samples to examine similarities and differences of the factor struc-
tures across the groups. Our goal was to identify the factorial similarities that
would indicate the cross-cultural nature of expectations of good mothering as
well as identify the factorial differences that would indicate the culture-spe-
cific expectations of good mothering. Our final instrument would be com-
prised of the items which loaded on the factors yielded by both samples. We
conducted additional analyses to examine the scale’s reliability and validity
for the two samples.
Cultural expectations of good mothering are likely to influence the experi-
ences of myriad women in a given culture. To examine the construct of good
mothering across cultures, we chose South Korea and the United States because
they differ on several salient cultural dimensions (Hofstede, Hofstede, &
Minkov, 2010). For example, with regard to interdependence among members
of society, South Korea is rated as a collectivistic society and the United States
is considered highly individualistic (Hofstede et al., 2010).
Our international study is grounded in the expectancy-value model of
achievement (Eccles, 2009; 2011; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000), which posits
that women make decisions based on expectations for success and subjective
task values. Eccles (2011) emphasized the influence of socializers, including
O’Brien et al. 165

parents, teachers, peers and the media, in shaping perceptions of expectations

for success and subjective task values, along with individual characteristics.
Cultural norms about gender roles are conveyed through gendered socializa-
tion practices at home, in schools, and among peers. Women’s values and
expectations for success are tied to perceived cultural expectations for gender
roles, and internalized gender roles influence their perceptions of viable
options for their careers and what defines success. Although applied most
often to women’s occupational decisions, the expectancy-value model of
achievement can inform our understanding of motherhood. When societies
advance unrealistic expectations regarding motherhood, some women may
perceive themselves as not meeting expectations for success in this role, lead-
ing to negative psychological and physical outcomes (Henderson et al.,
2016). Moreover, many societies also place expectations on women to highly
value the role of motherhood which may be inconsistent with some women’s
life preferences. We attempted to identify the expectations, many of which
are influenced by societal mores, that mothers in South Korea and mothers in
the United States hold with regard to motherhood.
In South Korea, Confucian ideas that give power to men over women have
implicitly and deeply influenced societal and cultural expectations for moth-
ers (Kim, 2008). Specifically, South Korean mothers are expected to contrib-
ute to family and society through sacrificing for their child’s success and
achievement (Choi & Lee, 2002). South Korean mothers tend to exhibit
child-based self-worth (Seol, Kyung, & Park, 2015), such that they may
regard their child as everything in life or as representative of their identity
(Kim & Chung, 2013).
Moreover, trends in South Korean women’s attitudes toward family forma-
tion and childbirth suggest a movement towards more traditional values as they
progress through life, and this tendency is consistent regardless of women’s
educational level (Kim & Cheung, 2015). In fact, the employment rate of South
Korean women declines steeply from 70.9% at ages 25 to 29 to 57.8% at ages
35 to 39 (the period when expectations for mothers often peak; Statistics South
Korea, 2017). In addition, internalized gender roles are subtle and difficult to
recognize; internal changes and egalitarianism within the family may occur
more slowly than acceptance of women’s employment (Yu & Lee, 2013).
In the United States, there is considerable variability (and concomitant
controversy) regarding expectations for motherhood. Despite advances in
women’s participation in the workforce, the dominant discourse on mother-
hood in the United States continues to be one that is child-centered, requires
intensive involvement and has the mother retain primary responsibility for
the children (Henderson et al., 2016). This style of mothering was coined
“intensive mothering” by Hays in 1998 and remains the dominant ideology
166 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

today (Ennis, 2014). Researchers and theorists have argued that these con-
suming expectations for motherhood are problematic, embedded in the
United States’ society, and impossible to escape. For example, Douglas and
Michaels (2004) wrote,

“the only truly enlightened choice to make as a woman, the one that proves,
first, that you are a ‘real’ woman, and second, that you are a decent, worthy
one, is to become a ‘mom’ and to bring to child rearing a combination of
selflessness and professionalism that would involve the cross cloning of
Mother Teresa with Donna Shalala.” (p. 5)

Even today, what is perceived as good mothering (unlike good fathering) dif-
fers from that of good parenting, with good mothering being associated with
additional responsibilities (Pedersen, 2012). It is important to note, however,
that expectations regarding good mothering may differ based on a mother’s
work status (Johnston & Swanson, 2006) or may differ among families who
experience economic or social disadvantage (Narciso et al., 2018).
To date, no measure has been developed to assess both cross-cultural and
culturally specific expectations of motherhood across diverse cultures. In
the United States, the only empirically validated instrument assessing moth-
ering ideology is the Intensive Parenting Attitudes Scale (Liss, Schiffrin,
Mackintosh, Miles-McLean, & Erchull, 2013). This scale measures inten-
sive mothering, defined as a child-focused, labor-intensive, emotionally
absorbing approach to parenthood in which the mother is the primary care-
giver and the needs of the child are prioritized (Hays, 1998). In South Korea,
several researchers have used the Motherhood Ideology scale (e.g., Kim &
Lee, 2005), based on the work of Hattery (2001). This measure assesses
internalized beliefs about motherhood for mothers with children between the
ages of 3 and 6. In addition, Cheong and Choi (2013) used the Authentic
Parental Competence Scale in Korea to measure aspects of positive parent-
ing including good citizenship, social contributions, self-understanding and
healthy interpersonal relations, and self-growth.
When developing an instrument that can be used across cultures, it is criti-
cal to attend to cultural equivalence (Ægisdóttir, Gerstein, & Çinarbas, 2008;
Hui & Triandis, 1985; Phillips, de Hernandez, & de Ardon, 1994). We focused
on linguistic, conceptual, and functional equivalence. Linguistic equivalence
refers to the extent to which semantic meanings of the translated version are
natural and readable. We operationalized conceptual equivalence as the simi-
larity and relevance of meaning in the behaviors or attitudes assessed in the
items across cultures. Functional equivalence refers to whether the construct
functions similarly in different cultures. For example, among women in the
O’Brien et al. 167

United States, those who endorse the intensive mothering ideal report lower
life satisfaction and higher levels of depression and stress (Rizzo, Schiffrin &
Liss, 2013). In South Korea, women who have a traditional view of the parent
role view parenting as the mother’s responsibility, and these attitudes have
been correlated with parenting stress, anxiety, and guilt (Pyeon, 2004). To
examine the functional equivalence of the measure across cultures, the
strength and direction of the correlations among variables related to the con-
struct of interest should be explored.
To summarize, our work extends the literature in several ways. First, within
psychology, researchers have been challenged to move from discourse regard-
ing globalization to active engagement in international collaborations (Collin,
2009); our research collaboration advances understanding of expectations for
good mothering across two diverse cultures. Second, we developed and evalu-
ated a measure of expectations regarding good mothering with regard to the
equivalence of the instrument for use with women in South Korean and
women in the United States. We anticipated that our scale would consist of
both shared expectations regarding motherhood and expectations unique to
mothers in each country. Most importantly, our work can serve as an example
for how to create a measure for use in two cultures. Finally, should our mea-
sure show adequate psychometric properties, the instrument could be used in
future research regarding the career choices, psychological health, and occu-
pational success of mothers in South Korea and the United States.

Part 1: Collaborative Instrument Development

Method
We assembled two research teams. In South Korea, the team consisted of one
female South Korean counseling psychologist and one female South Korean
graduate student in counseling psychology; in the United States, the team
included two female counseling psychologists (one Pakistani American and
one European American) and three female graduate students (one Korean
American and two European Americans) in counseling psychology. We con-
ducted independent systematic reviews of the published empirical literature
to ensure representation of major themes encompassing expectations of good
mothering (the South Korea Education Research Information Service data-
base was used in South Korea and PsycINFO was used in the United States).
Our purpose in the literature review was to develop a definition of mother-
hood, locate related instruments, and identify themes that captured cultural
constructions of motherhood. Our search terms included mothering, mother-
hood, intensive and extensive mothering, culture and motherhood, good par-
enting, and instruments/measures.
168 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

The research teams independently discussed the mothering ideologies

present in the theoretical and empirical literature, and reflected in the popular
press. Subsequently, several members of the two teams (with the exception of
the two White graduate students) met using Skype or Google Hangout as one
international team to operationalize clearly the construct of interest, defined
simply as expectations regarding good mothering. The members of this inter-
national team discussed the idea that expectations for good mothering might
not reflect healthy parenting (e.g., society might have problematic standards
for mothers). We thus minimized biases during this stage of the research
through extensive and ongoing discussions. In addition, the representation of
team members with diversity across different cultures, ages, mothering expe-
riences, and mothering expectations also assisted in reducing biases that
could affect our work.
The next step was to identify specific themes that comprised both cross-
cultural and culturally specific expectations of good mothering. Each team
independently generated a list of themes exemplifying the behaviors,
thoughts, feelings, or attitudes that represented good mothering. The South
Korean team identified 17 categories, and the team in the United States iden-
tified 20 categories, both of which were based on the literature review and
informal discussions with other mothers (four of the team members were
mothers). Interestingly, 11 of the themes generated by the two countries were
identical. The international team then met to discuss each theme and through
consensus, they decided on 22 themes that represented expectations regard-
ing good mothering (these themes represented both shared and distinct
aspects of motherhood in the two countries). After agreeing on the themes,
each team independently developed definitions for each theme and then col-
lectively discussed and finalized each definition. Sample themes included
“provide emotional care and support” and “set rules and provide discipline”.
Both teams then developed five to 10 potential items for each theme in
their respective languages. Our international team then discussed every pro-
posed item and deleted those determined to be redundant or inadequately
reflective of the definition of the theme. The initial measure consisted of 74
items (a list of these items and themes is available from the first author).
To ensure linguistic equivalence across the South Korean and English ver-
sions of the measure, we utilized a back translation process. The team in the
United States sent the 74 English items to a sixth-year doctoral student in
counseling psychology in the United States who is bilingual and whose first
language is Korean. She translated the English items into Korean. The South
Korean team gave the 74 Korean items to a second-year master’s-level grad-
uate student in counseling psychology who is bilingual, whose first language
is Korean, and who was educated in English-speaking institutes in Hong
Kong for most of her life. She translated the Korean items into English. The
O’Brien et al. 169

entire team reviewed the items to compare the translations with the original
measures with attention to the linguistic and conceptual equivalence of the
items. Specifically, the team in the United States compared the back-trans-
lated English items with original English items, and the South Korean team
compared the back-translated Korean items with original Korean items. All
discrepancies were discussed by the entire team; 10 of the English and eight
of the South Korean items were revised based on the translators’ feedback.
Simultaneously, we investigated other measures for testing the construct
validity of our instrument. We sought measures of constructs that were
hypothesized to relate to good mothering, had been administered in both
Korean and English, and had adequate psychometric properties. After care-
ful consideration, we chose measures that assessed intensive parenting and
parenting efficacy.
Thus, our overarching hypothesis was that some components of expecta-
tions regarding good mothering would be shared and others would differ for
South Korean and White women in the United States. In addition, we expected
that scores on a measure of expectations of good mothering would relate
positively to scores on measures of intensive parenting (as both societies
expect high involvement in mothering and the dominant discourse on moth-
ering is that of intensive, child-centered, mother-led parenting) and nega-
tively to parenting self-efficacy (as a myriad of expectations regarding
mothering may contribute to low confidence in mothering due to feeling
unable to meet societal standards prescribed for mothers in South Korea and
the United States).

Part 2: Assess Factor Structure and Psychometric

Properties of the Measure
Method
Procedures. After we received approval for the study from the university insti-
tutional review board, we shared email messages containing links to the online
Qualtrics survey (in English and Korean) on listservs (e.g., American Psycho-
logical Association’s Division 17 listserv), online forums, social networking
websites, and through personal contacts with the hope of recruiting a diverse
group of women. We sent individuals who had previously indicated a willing-
ness to be contacted for future studies on motherhood an email invitation to
participate in this study. We provided an informed consent form to all who
accessed the survey and responded in the affirmative to the eligibility ques-
tions (i.e., “are you a mother?”; “are you age 18 or older?”). In South Korea,
729 women completed the survey and 638 answered the validity check items
170 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

correctly (two items asked participants to select specific responses). Data from
12 participants were omitted because they were not living in South Korea; 626
mothers comprised the final South Korean sample. In the United States, 753
women completed the survey and 724 responded correctly to the validity
items. Women of color comprised only 14% of the sample, and race and eth-
nicities differed across these women. Given the diversity of expectations
regarding motherhood across cultural groups, we included only White women
(n = 620). Eight women in the sample were not living in the United States and
their data was omitted, leaving 612 women in this sample.
Due to cultural differences regarding incentives, the participants in South
Korea received a gift card for a cup of coffee (worth approximately 4,000
won or $3.50 at the time of the study). A coupon code was distributed via cell
phone numbers after completion of the survey. The women in the United
States had the opportunity to enter a lottery to win one of three $100 VISA
gift cards.

Participants
South Korean sample. Participants (N = 626) ranged in age from 21 to
56 years (M = 38.0, SD = 5.08). Most of the mothers (97.9%) reported
being married or in a committed relationship, 1.8% were divorced, and 0.3%
were separated. More than half of the participants lived in Seoul (51.8%), fol-
lowed by Gyeonggi-do (37.2%), Gyeongsang-do (4.8%), Chungcheong-do
(3.0%), or other areas (3.2%). Most of the participants had obtained a bache-
lor’s degree (52.9%), while others had completed a master’s degree (21.1%),
some college (15.7%), high school/GED (5.3%), a doctoral degree (3.0%),
an associate’s degree (1.1%), some high school (0.5%), or other (0.4%). The
participants varied on employment status with 47.4% unemployed, 35.5%
employed in a full-time job, and 17.1% employed in a part-time job. Over
60 occupations were represented with the top five being office jobs (29.7%),
teacher (19.6%), service industry (7.9%), counselor (7.3%), and professor
(5.1%). As for participants’ religion, 35.6% were atheists, 35.0% Protestants,
8.5% Buddhists, 16.3% of Catholics, and 4.6% other. All had children: 47.9%
had two, 43.5% had one, 8.2% had three, and 0.4% had four or more chil-
dren. Regarding ages of the children, most mothers reported having a child in
the birth-through-preschool age group (64.8%), 38.5% in elementary school,
10.3% in middle school, and 11.4% in high school (percentages do not add
to 100% because mothers may have endorsed several categories if they had
children in more than one age group). The total household income varied
from under 19 million (1.4%) to more than 300 million South Korean Won
(1.1%), approximately $17,300 to $273,000. The highest frequencies were
20 to 59 million (35.6%) and 60 to 99 million South Korean Won (35.5%).
O’Brien et al. 171

United States sample. Participants (N = 612) were White and ranged in

age from 21 to 59 years old (M = 37.2, SD = 7.25). Most were married or in
a committed relationship (93.5%). The majority were 3rd or 4th generation
or more, i.e., they and their parents were born in the United States (91.5%).
Data were collected nationally, with the highest percentages of participants
reporting living in the mid-eastern states (i.e., DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA;
55.2%), Southeast (14.7%), and Far West (8.0%). Participants achieved vari-
ous degrees; 21.4% held a bachelor’s degree, 45.9% had a master’s degree,
19% obtained a doctoral degree, 5.6% had some college, 2.9% had an associ-
ate’s degree, 2.1% had acquired a high school/GED, 1.1% had trade/voca-
tional training, and 1.6% fell in the category of “other,” with the remaining
being missing data. Most of the women were employed full-time (62.9%)
with 18.6% being employed part-time and 18.1% being unemployed (and the
remaining having missing data). Over 130 occupations were represented with
the top five being academic/higher education administration (10%), teacher
(8%), professor (5%), psychologist (5%), and manager (4%).
Most women reported having two children living at home (41.5%), 37.1%
had one child living at home, 15% had three, 4.2% had four, and 1.6% had
five or more (the remaining participants did not indicate the number of chil-
dren that were living at home). Regarding the children’s ages, 68.9% of
mothers had a child in the birth-through-preschool age group, 36.3% in ele-
mentary school, 16.9% in middle school, and 14.4% in high school (percent-
ages do not add to 100% because mothers may have endorsed several
categories if they had children in more than one age group). The total house-
hold income varied from under $19,000 (1.0%) to more than $300,000
(3.3%). The highest frequencies were $100,000 to 139,999 (23.4%) and
$60,000 to 99,999 (22.7%).

Measures
Good mothering. The initial version of our Good Mothering Expectations
Scale (GMES-Preliminary) consisted of 74 items that assessed expectations
regarding good mothering (described above) on a 6-point Likert-type scale
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). The participants were asked
to “Please indicate the extent to which you agree with each of the following.
We are interested in your thoughts. There are no right or wrong answers.” The
stem “I think a good mother should. . .” was placed prior to the items. High
scores reflected strong endorsement of expectations regarding the compo-
nents of “good mothering” reflected on each subscale.

Intensive parenting. We used the 25-item Intensive Parenting Attitudes

Questionnaire (IPAQ; Liss et al., 2013) to measure intensive parenting
beliefs. Participants responded on a 6-point Likert-type scale ranging from
172 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). The survey consisted of five sub-

scales: Essentialism (e.g., “Although fathers may mean well, they generally
are not as good at parenting as mothers”), Fulfillment (e.g., “Being a parent
brings a person the greatest joy he or she can possibly experience), Stimula-
tion (e.g., “Parents should begin providing intellectual stimulation for their
children prenatally, such as reading to them or playing classical music”),
Challenging (e.g., “Parents never get a mental break from their children,
even when they are physically apart”), and Child-Centered (e.g., The child’s
schedule should take priority over the needs of the parent’s”). Three items
were reverse coded and we computed mean scores for each subscale with
high scores indicating strong endorsement of intensive parenting attitudes.
Liss et al. (2013) reported the internal consistency for all subscales in the
instrument developmental study as: α = .85 (Essentialism), .77 (Fulfillment),
.64 (Stimulation), .76 (Challenging), and .70 (Child-Centered). Liss et al.
(2013) also reported good validity, with high scores on Essentialism, Ful-
fillment, Challenging, and Child-Centered subscales showing positive rela-
tionships with beliefs that maternal employment negatively impacts children.
Additionally, all subscales correlated positively with parental anxiety about
leaving children under the care of others (Liss et al., 2013). In our study, reli-
ability estimates for the sample in the United States were as follows: Essen-
tialism α = .87, Fulfillment α = .76, Stimulation α = .57, Challenging α =
.65, and Child-Centered α = .76. We did not use the Stimulation and Chal-
lenging subscales in our analyses due to low reliability.
The IPAQ was translated into Korean (Lee, 2015; South Korean Intensive
Parenting Attitudes Questionnaire, K-IPAQ). In our samples, the 25 items
from the original scale by Liss et al. (2013) were used and the following
Cronbach alpha coefficients were obtained: .72 for Essentialism, .57 for
Fulfillment, .54 for Stimulation, .66 for Challenging, and .61 for Child-
Centered. Only the Essentialism subscale was included in our analyses due to
the low reliability estimates of the other subscales.

Parenting efficacy. We used the Efficacy of Parenting subscale on the

Parental Sense of Competence scale (Gibaud-Wallston & Wandersman,
1978) and the Korean translated version (Kim & Byun, 2015) to measure
parenting efficacy. The Efficacy of Parenting subscale contains eight items
(e.g., “Being a parent is manageable, and any problems are easily solved”).
We asked mothers, “How much do you agree with the items?” on a 6-point
Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).
We calculated the total score by summing the items on the subscale; high
scores indicated strong efficacy regarding parenting. Karp, Lutenbacher, and
Wallston (2015) reported good internal consistency (α = .68) and validity,
with high scores relating to high levels of self-esteem and social support, and
O’Brien et al. 173

low depression. Our reliability estimates were adequate (South Korean: α =

.85 and United States: α = .81).

Demographics. We collected data regarding age, gender, race, relationship

status, income, education, employment, residence location, generational sta-
tus, and number and age of children.

Results
Each sample (South Korea and the United States) was divided into two sub-
samples, one consisting of 350 participants randomly selected for the confir-
matory factor analyses and the other consisting of the remaining number of
participants for the exploratory factor analyses (because larger sample sizes
were preferred for the confirmatory factor analyses). Thus, we conducted
exploratory factor analyses using SPSS with data from 276 South Korean
participants and 262 participants from the United States. We conducted con-
firmatory factor analyses using MPlus with 350 South Korean women and
350 White women from the United States.

Exploratory Factor Analyses. Examination of the kurtosis and skewness indi-

cated that all items were normally distributed in the South Korean sample.
Five of the items for the U.S. sample were not normally distributed (kurtosis
< 7.00, skewness < 2.00; Curran, West, & Finch, 1996); we deleted these
items. We conducted exploratory factor analyses (EFA) using principal axis
extraction and promax rotation in SPSS 24.0 based on best practice guidelines
(Fabrigar, Wegener, MacCallum, & Strahan, 1999) and because the subscales
were expected to have shared variance. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO)
value of .92 and the Barlett’s Test of Sphericity approximate (χ2[2701] =
17607.02, p < .001) suggested factorability for the South Korean data. Simi-
larly, the KMO value of .92 and Barlett’s Test (χ2[2346] = 16402.54, p <
.001) indicated that the United States data were factorable.
We considered theoretical consistency and interpretability regarding the
number of factors to retain (Fabrigar et al., 1999). On examination of solu-
tions with more than five factors, we found very few items that could be
retained due to low factor loadings, thus we analyzed solutions ranging from
three to five factors. Some researchers have suggested that scales contain at
least four items (Robinson, 2017). We sought to include items that had strong
loadings to increase the variance accounted for by the items in the latent fac-
tors (λ > .40), and those that did not load on more than one factor to increase
measurement clarity (λ ≥ .40).
174 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

For the South Korean data, the five-factor solution and four-factor solu-
tion were problematic (e.g., only two or three items loaded on one factor;
additional items were preferred for reliability purposes). We selected the
three-factor solution (43 items) due to the interpretability of the factors and
the consistency of the factors with general expectations for mothers. We
removed 30 items that failed to load at the .40 level. We also eliminated one
item that loaded more than .40 on more than one factor. Next, to optimize
scale length (e.g., reduce number of items to decrease participant burden), we
retained the seven highest loading items on each factor. We retained seven
items with the goal of having at least four items on the final subscales (as
some items may need to be deleted during the confirmatory factor analyses;
Robinson, 2017). After removing 53 items, the final 21-item three-factor
solution accounted for 46.87% of the variance in the Korean items.
For the U.S. data, the five-factor solution was potentially problematic as
only three items loaded on one factor. We examined the three- and four-factor
solutions and we selected the four-factor solution for its interpretability and
because the factors represented components of motherhood reflected in the
literature. The four-factor solution had 26 items that did not load at the .40
level and one item that loaded more than .40 on more than one item, which
we therefore eliminated. Next, to optimize scale length, we retained the seven
highest loading items on each factor. After removing 46 items, the final
28-item four-factor solution accounted for 48.53% of the variance.

Confirmatory Factor Analyses. We then analyzed the factor structure by con-

ducting confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) using Mplus Version 7 (Muthén
& Muthén, 2012). We used maximum likelihood parameter estimators to
accommodate the non-normality of the data (e.g., MLM in Mplus). We used
the chi-square statistics and goodness-of-fit indexes to evaluate the fit of the
models. Given that the chi-square test is sensitive to sample size, we also
considered alternative fit indices. Comparative Fit index (CFI) values greater
than .90, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) values less
than or equal to .06, and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR)
values less than or equal to .08 are considered to be indicators of adequate fit
of a model to the data (Kahn, 2006; Lai & Green, 2016; Marsh, Hau, & Wen,
2009; McDonald & Ho, 2002).
For the South Korean data, we conducted CFAs with the three-factor
model (21 items) obtained from the EFA. The initial three first-order factor
model of the 21 items did not present an acceptable fit (χ² [df = 186, N =
350] = 489.66, p < .001). Among the alternative model fit indices, the CFI
value indicated a lack of fit for the model (CFI = .83) while the RMSEA and
O’Brien et al. 175

SRMR values showed acceptable fit (RMSEA = .07 [95% CI: .06, .08];
SRMR = .07). The standardized residuals and modification index suggested
that a number of items did not fit the hypothesized model. We planned to
identify an alternative factor structure of measurement when an acceptable fit
of the hypothesized model was not supported. Thus, we examined the model
fit of the bi-factor model (one common latent factor and three specific fac-
tors) with the 21 items as it was possible that there was both a single general
factor that directly accounted for part of the common variance and a set of
orthogonal subfactors that accounted for additional common variance among
the observed variables. The chi-square test results indicated that the bi-factor
model did not have acceptable fit (χ² [df = 168, N = 350] = 354.97, p <
.001). Although the RMSEA and SRMR values demonstrated acceptable fit
(RMSEA = .06 [95% CI: .05, .07]; SRMR = .06), the CFI value was not
supportive of the fit of the data to this model (CFI = .90).
Based on the EFA, we tested the four-factor model with 28 items for the
mothers in the United States. The chi-square test showed non-acceptable fit
for the initial four first-order factor model (χ² [df = 344, N = 350] = 1007.26,
p < .001). Although the RMSEA and SRMR values supported acceptable fit
(RMSEA = .07 [95% CI: .07, .08]; SRMR = .07), the CFI indicated prob-
lematic fit for the model (CFI = .78). Also, the standardized residuals and
modification index suggested that a number of items did not fit with the
hypothesized model. Alternatively, we tested the model fit of the bi-factor
model (one general factor and four specific factors) with the 28 items. The
chi-square test of the bi-factor model showed non-acceptable fit (χ² [df =
322, N = 350] = 843.01, p < .001). The RMSEA and SRMR values demon-
strated acceptable fit (RMSEA = .07 [95% CI: .06, .07]; SRMR = .07), but
again the CFI value suggested that the data did not fit well to the proposed
model (CFI = .83).

Model modification. For the South Korean data, we modified the model
based on the CFA modification indices that showed that three pairs of residu-
als were highly correlated/conceptually redundant. We removed the three
items that had lower factor loadings for each pair. After excluding these items,
the modified bi-factor model with 18 items demonstrated reasonable fit to the
data (χ² [df = 117, N = 350] = 193.07, p < .001; CFI = .94; RMSEA =
.04 [95% CI: .03, .05]; SRMR = .05). Thus, we selected the bi-factor model
with 18 items as the final South Korean model (see Table 1). The factors
were labeled as follows: GMES1: Maintaining Traditional Roles and Values
(which includes perceiving the role of a mother as the most important, making
sacrifices for her child, loving being a mother, being responsible for family
events, and not traveling away for her children for work), GMES2: Possessing
176 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

Table 1. Model Fit Indices for Three Measurement Models of GMES in South
Korean and U.S. Samples

χ2 (df) CFI RMSEA [90%CI] SRMR

South Korean Sample (n = 350)

1. Three-factor correlated model 489.66 (186) .83 .07 [.06, .08] .07
2. Bifactor model 354.97 (168) .90 .06 [.05, .07] .06
3. Modified bifactor model 193.07 (117) .94 .04 [.03, .05] .05
U.S. Sample (n = 350)

1. Four-factor correlated model 1007.26 (344) .78 .07 [.07, .08] .07
2. Bifactor model 843.01 (322) .83 .07 [.06, .07] .07
3. Modified bifactor model 422.80 (207) .91 .06 [.05, .06] .057

Note. CFI = Comparative Fit index; RMSEA = Root Mean Square Error of Approximation;
SRMR = Standardized Root Mean Square Residual.

Cultural Capital (which includes being stylish and physically attractive, hav-
ing financial resources, connections and knowledge to maximize her child’s
success), and GMES3: Providing a Healthy Emotional Environment (which
includes having positive relationships with her spouse, providing both disci-
pline and warmth toward her child). See Table 2 for the scale items and their
factor loadings.
The CFA modification indices for the U.S. data also suggested that three
pairs of residuals were highly correlated. We excluded the three items that had
lower factor loadings than their counterparts. Additionally, we excluded an
item because only 17.4% of the variance for the item was explained by the
measurement model. Another item loaded on two factors and was not included
in the final model. After deleting these five items, the modified bi-factor model
with 23 items demonstrated acceptable model fit (χ² [df = 207, N = 350] =
422.80, p < .001; CFI = .91; RMSEA = .06 [95% CI: .05, .06]; SRMR = .06).
Thus, we accepted the bi-factor model with 23 items as the final U.S. model
(see Table 1). The factors were titled as follows: GMES1: Maintaining
Traditional Roles and Values (described above), GMES2: Possessing Cultural
Capital (described above), GMES3: Connecting and Teaching (which includes
spending quality time with the child and teaching the child important skills),
and GMES4: Providing Praise and Protection from Difficulties (which includes
soothing, complimenting, protecting, and prioritizing her child).
As our purpose in this research was to develop a measure that reflected
cross-cultural and cultural-specific expectations of good mothering, the final
 Table 2. The Standardized Factor Loadings for White Mothers in the United States and South Korean Mothers
CFA CFA
(n = 350) (n = 350)
EFA EFA
U.S. Mothers M (n = 262) General Subfactor South Korean Mothers M (n = 276) General Subfactor

Factor 1: Maintaining Traditional Roles and Values

1. Believe that being a mom is her most 4.38 .65 .49 .60 1. Believe that being a mom is her 4.74 .75 .46 .71
important role most important role
6. Make personal sacrifices for her child 4.65 .61 .47 .39 6. Make personal sacrifices for her 3.91 .67 .42 .36
child
11. Always love being a mom 3.06 .60 .55 .48 11. Always love being a mom 4.33 .72 .60 .40
16. Be responsible for holidays and 3.88 .55 .46 .34 16. Be responsible for holidays and 4.11 .44 .49 .11
important family events important family events
21. Not travel away from her children for 2.11 .45 .40 .36 21. Not travel away from her 3.02 .53 .39 .21
work children for work
29. Cook healthy meals daily 4.43 .52 .64 .13

Factor 2: Possessing Cultural Capital

2. Be stylish 2.27 .68 .36 .66 2. Be stylish 4.18 .61 .38 .42
7. Be physically attractive 2.06 .68 .41 .67 7. Be physically attractive 3.98 .74 .30 .63
12. Pay attention to her appearance 3.31 .67 .33 .60
17. Have financial resources to ensure her 3.79 .59 .67 .17 17. Have financial resources to 4.43 .69 .36 .49
child’s academic success ensure her child’s academic
success
22. Have connections to expand her child’s 3.84 .48 .68 .19 22. Have connections to expand her 4.07 .68 .44 .53
learning opportunities child’s learning opportunities
26. Have knowledge regarding the best 4.60 .43 .67 .07 26. Have knowledge regarding the 4.16 .63 .44 .49
educational opportunities to maximize her best educational opportunities to
child’s success maximize her child’s success
30. Be responsible for her child’s 3.40 .56 .41 .39
grade point average

(continued)

177
 Table 2. (continued)

178
CFA CFA
(n = 350) (n = 350)
EFA EFA
U.S. Mothers M (n = 262) General Subfactor South Korean Mothers M (n = 276) General Subfactor

Factor 3: Connecting and Teaching Factor 3 Providing a Healthy Emotional Environment

3. Provide enriching experiences to 5.20 .61 .50 .20 4. Share parenting responsibilities 5.53 .65 .25 .59
stimulate brain development in early years with her partner/spouse
8. Spend quality time each day with her child 5.17 .60 .43 .51 9. Not speak negatively about her 5.35 .62 .25 .46
partner in front of her child
13. Ensure her child develops good social 5.37 .57 .43 .54 14. Ensure that her child behaves 5.48 .54 .29 .58
skills appropriately in public
18. Teach her child how to cope with 5.40 .56 .27 .44 19. Be able to say no to her child 5.58 .51 .08 .55
negative treatment from others when needed
23. Talk with her child about important 5.04 .52 .40 .26 24. Show a lot of physical affection 5.45 .52 .39 .43
things every day toward her child (e.g., hug, kiss,
hold hands)
27. Consistently enforce rules 5.23 .48 .15 .50 28. Make time to care for her 5.40 .45 .12 .38
emotional health

Factor 4: Providing Praise and Protection from Difficulties

5. Protect her child from any dangerous 4.13 .67 .41 .49
situation
10. Sooth her child whenever the child is 4.16 .62 .45 .56
having a difficult time
15. Compliment her child as often as possible 3.43 .60 .58 .32
20. Protect her child when her child 4.22 .54 .42 .50
experiences difficulties
25. Prioritize her child over her partner 2.64 .41 .38 .24
30. Be responsible for her child’s grade 2.34 .62 .54 .12
point average

Note. The scale can be used without author permission and at no cost in research or practice. Item 30 is loaded on different unique factors for the South Korean and
United States samples.
O’Brien et al. 179

Table 3. Correlations among Measures, Means, Standard Deviations, Actual

Ranges, Possible Ranges, and Alphas for South Korean Sample (N = 626)
Participants

Measures 1 2 3 4 5
1. GMES1 —
2. GMES2 .18** —
3. GMES3 .24** .43** —
4. IP: Essentialism −.02 .34** .38** —
5. Parenting Efficacy .17** .22** .28** .12** —
M 32.80 20.06 24.54 3.44 32.13
SD 2.50 3.92 4.46 .69 5.51
Actual range 23-36 6-30 10-36 1.25-5.63 16-48
Possible range 6-36 6-36 6-36 1-6 8-48
Alpha .72 .82 .77 .72 .85

Note. GMES1 = Maintaining Traditional Roles and Values; GMES2 = Possessing Cultural
Capital; GMES3 = Providing a Healthy Emotional Environment.
*p < .05. **p < .01.

instrument is comprised of the 30 items that loaded on both the shared and
unique factors (see Table 2).

Means, Standard Deviations, Ranges, Reliability Estimates, and Correlations. The

means, standard deviations, ranges, reliability estimates, and the correlations
for the sample of 626 South Korean and 612 White women in the United
States can be found in Tables 3 and 4. For the South Korean data, the three
factors had small to moderate positive correlations (ranging from .18 to .43;
see Table 3). The subscales of the GMES measure were related positively to
scores on the parenting self-efficacy measure. Scores on the Possessing Cul-
tural Capital and the Providing a Healthy Emotional Environment subscales
were related positively to the Essentialism subscale of the intensive parenting
inventory; there was no relationship between scores on the Maintaining Tra-
ditional Roles and Values subscale and scores on the Essentialism subscale.
For the U.S. data, there were moderate relationships among the scores on
the subscales (ranging from .33 to .52; see Table 4). Scores on the Maintaining
Traditional Roles and Values, Possessing Cultural Capital and Providing
Praise and Protection from Difficulties subscales were related positively to
scores on the parenting self-efficacy measure and the subscales of the inten-
sive parenting inventory. Scores on the Connecting and Teaching subscale
were positively related to scores on the Fulfillment and Child-Centered inten-
sive parenting subscales (there was no relationship with Essentialism scores).
180 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

Table 4. Correlations among Measures, Means, Standard Deviations, Actual Ranges,

Possible Ranges, and Alphas for White Mothers in the United States (N = 612)

Measures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. GMES1 —
2. GMES2 .52** —
3. GMES3 .42** .36** —
4. GMES4 .52** .44** .33** —
5. IP: Essentialism .30** .21** .01 .31** —
6. IP: Fulfillment .66** .38** .35** .51** .30** —
7. IP: Child- .41** .28** .19** .53** .30** .48** —
Centered
8. Parenting .34** .25** .29** .34** .15** .39** .31** —
Efficacy
M 18.09 19.86 31.41 20.92 1.99 3.47 2.91 29.39
SD 4.53 5.02 3.03 4.93 .79 1.01 .91 6.26
Actual range 5-30 7-34 14-36 9-36 1-4.38 1-6 1-5.67 8-46
Possible range 5-30 6-36 6-36 6-36 1-6 1-6 1-6 8-48
Alpha .78 .81 .73 .76 .87 .76 .76 .81

Note. GMES Factor 1. GMES1 = Maintaining Traditional Roles and Values; GMES2 =
Possessing Cultural Capital; GMES3 = Connecting and Teaching, and GMES4: Providing Praise
and Protection from Difficulties.
*p <.05. **p <.01.

Discussion
Our purpose was to bring together an international team of scholars to develop
one measure of both cross-cultural and culturally specific expectations of
good mothering for use in research in South Korea and the United States.
This work is important because unrealistic or high expectations for mother-
hood could have effects on career choice and occupational success. As pre-
dicted, both similarities and differences emerged across countries regarding
the dimensions of good mothering. Two sources accounted for the covariance
of the items on the GMES: a general latent common factor of expectations of
good mothering reflecting the overlap across all items, and separate subscales
reflecting specific themes of expectations regarding good mothering. In
terms of the subscales, South Korean and White women in the United States
perceived that good mothering consisted of two similar constructs
(Maintaining Traditional Roles and Values; Possessing Cultural Capital).
However, three items that loaded on these factors differed and additional fac-
tors emerged for both the South Korean mothers and White mothers in the
United States (South Korean: Providing a Healthy Emotional Environment;
O’Brien et al. 181

United States: Connecting and Teaching, Providing Praise and Protection

from Difficulties). These findings were consistent with the expectancy-value
model of achievement as societal expectations for motherhood are reflected
in the subscales that emerged for our instrument.
Interestingly, the two shared factors across cultures may suggest that both
traditional and modern expectations are present for mothers in both countries.
Historically, mothering has been viewed as a primary responsibility and a
salient aspect of women’s identity across cultures (Arendell, 2000; United
Nations, 2010); our first factor reflects the expectations that mothers main-
tain traditional roles and values related to their children. For both countries,
this factor suggests that mothers should sacrifice themselves for their chil-
dren, rarely travel for work, and consider their role as a mother primary in
their identity. In addition, the shared second factor suggested that mothers are
expected to have financial resources, be attractive and stylish, and have con-
nections to enhance their children’s learning. Historically, many mothers
have acquired cultural capital through their husbands; our items may reflect
a movement toward expecting mothers to contribute through both parenting
and work. Relatedly, a recent study of South Korean working mothers (Han,
Park, & Kim, 2015) indicated that 95% of mothers felt pressure to be “super
women who do it all,” and there continues to be considerable cultural dis-
course regarding whether women can “have it all” in the United States.
In addition to the shared factors across countries, three unique factors
emerged from our data—likely due to differences in cultural values between
the two countries. Several items that remained salient for South Korean
mothers were related to spouses and may reflect Korean collectivistic values
that emphasize the primacy of the family unit and broader society (e.g.,
“Have a good relationship with her partner/spouse” and “Not speak nega-
tively about her partner in front of her child”). The Connecting and Teaching
factor for the U.S. sample reflects expectations for mothers to be educated
about research on child development and parenting and may relate to the
characteristics of our sample (i.e., highly educated and resourced). The final
U.S. factor (Providing Praise and Protection from Difficulties) seems to
reflect a more intensive approach to parenting where the child is prioritized
over self and spouse, provided with much positive feedback, and protected
from any difficulties. The United States items related to connecting, teaching,
and protecting one’s child also may reflect individualistic values of White
society in the United States, as they focus on the needs of the individual child
rather than the welfare of the entire family or community.
As hypothesized, correlation analyses indicated that overall, scores on the
GMES factors were associated positively with measures of intensive parent-
ing. Also, the similar pattern of relationships among the constructs assessed
182 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

in this study for the two samples supports the functional equivalence of the
items for women in South Korea and the United States. Not surprisingly,
endorsement of high expectations for mothering shared variance with inten-
sive parenting practices. However, contrary to our hypothesis, scores on the
expectations for good mothering subscale and the parenting confidence mea-
sure were correlated positively, perhaps due to the nature of our samples.
Women who had an investment in mothering and a strong identification with
the role of mother reported having confidence in their mothering abilities.
The degree to which these constructs relate to actual proficiency in mothering
remains to be studied.
Social desirability may partially explain these findings as women who
were strongly identified with mothering and who endorsed many expecta-
tions for good mothering may feel the need to report confidence in their
mothering skills (or may feel threatened if they do not perceive themselves as
skilled in their most valued role). Also, the sample from the United States
consists of highly educated and married White women who may have
resources that allow them to embody society’s expectations of motherhood
created by those who share their racial, economic and educational status (and
defined in part by gendered cultural norms; Eccles, 2011). This embodiment
of societal expectations may contribute to strong parenting self-efficacy.
Future researchers should examine whether this relationship is replicated
with women with fewer resources and across cultures. If so, these findings
may help explain the contradictory results in the literature regarding the
nature of the relations among expectations for mothers, confidence and inten-
sive parenting (e.g., Liss et al., 2013).
Our greatest contribution was to provide an example for how cross-cul-
tural researchers might work together to develop an instrument for use within
and across countries. Our findings are consistent with the widely-held belief
that it is not appropriate to develop a measure in English for samples taken
from the United States and expect the measure (or a translated version of the
measure) to be valid for use in other countries. Had we simply created a mea-
sure in the United States to assess expectations of good mothering, we would
have missed a unique factor for South Korean mothers and assumed that two
U.S. factors were relevant for South Korean women. Through our iterative
process with members of both cultures communicating about each item on
the measure, we ensured that the items were similar in meaning and had con-
ceptual equivalence.

Limitations. The strongest limitations to our study relate to the characteristics

of the sample. Specifically, the U.S. sample consisted of highly educated and
resourced White women, clearly not reflective of the entirety of mothers in
O’Brien et al. 183

the United States. It is possible that the Connecting and Teaching factor
emerged due to the education levels of our participants. Also, the South
Korean women and White women in the United States in our sample differed
with regard to children’s and mothers’ ages, education level, employment
status, and occupation (i.e., the education level was higher in the U.S. sample,
and the South Korean sample consisted mostly of office workers while the
White women in the United States were more likely to be teachers and pro-
fessionals). Also, the reliability estimates were low for several subscales of
the intensive parenting scale for both of our samples. Additionally, it is
important to note limitations related to the factor structure of the measure.
Model modifications were made in the confirmatory factor analyses—these
were dependent on our samples and not necessarily replicable. Moreover, the
interpretation of the underlying meaning of a few of our subscales was chal-
lenging as not all of the items on a subscale easily reflected a general theme.
Further research is needed to examine the items, subscales, and psychometric
properties of the GMES with diverse samples; our work should be considered
preliminary prior to replication.

Implications for Research, Practice, Advocacy, and Education/Training. Our find-

ings have implications for research, practice, advocacy, and education/train-
ing. Additional research is needed to assess the psychometric properties and
factor structure of the GMES. For those who plan to use the GMES measure,
we suggest administering all items loading on the shared and the unique sub-
scales for both countries to ensure that the measure includes both cross-cul-
tural and culturally specific expectations of motherhood (30 in total; for
copies of the scales in Korean and English, see the supplemental material
available online at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/00110000
19889895). In our scoring instructions, we specify the items to be included
on the subscales for women in each country.
With regard to research implications, studies are needed to examine
changes in expectations for good mothering over time and in different cul-
tures, contexts and career trajectories: How might women of color, low
income women, and/or single mothers in the United States respond to the
items? To what degree do experiences of marginalization or racism influence
their responses? How might responses change as women advance in their
careers? For example, a qualitative study with low-income Black single
mothers demonstrated how structural barriers (e.g., poverty, racism, and sex-
ism) related strongly to intensive parenting perceptions (Elliott, Powell, &
Brenton, 2015). Another interesting sample to investigate would be Korean
American mothers, who may be influenced by both (South) Korean culture
and the dominant cultural values of the United States. In addition, researchers
184 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

might examine how expectations of good mothering change with the number
or ages of children, and how changes in South Korean society over the past
few decades effect the expectations that different generations of mothers
have for themselves and their careers (e.g., Kim, Park, & Kwon, 2005).
Studying the perceptions of men, fathers, and husbands with regard to expec-
tations of good mothering would be interesting as these values also likely
affect women’s experiences of parenting, relationship satisfaction, and occu-
pational attainment.
Most importantly, it is critical to study how expectations regarding good
mothering influence mothers’ psychological health and women’s career
choices, consistent with the work of vocational psychologists who high-
lighted the “interwoven” nature of relationships in caring for others and work
(Blustein, 2011; Richardson, 2012; Schultheiss, 2006). Our results imply that
good mothers are expected to have traditional and modern values, be up to
date on research related to parenting, and maintain high levels of involve-
ment in their children’s lives. These expectations may result in considerable
psychological burden and limited occupational attainment. For example,
young women who desire motherhood and perceive that they must fulfill
expectations regarding good mothering may decide not to work outside the
home or to alter their career goals. If these decisions are not reflective of their
internal values (rather echoing gendered socialization expectations; Eccles,
2011), lowered levels of mental and physical health, life satisfaction, and
career achievement could result.
With regard to practice, career counselors might discuss with clients how
expectations for good mothering play a role in their career decisions and the
actual distribution of responsibility for childcare and unpaid labor within
one’s family. Given our findings, the expectations for mothers to fulfill both
traditional and modern roles could contribute to stress, dissatisfaction and
even depression. The measure could be used in pre-marital or pre-maternal
education programs or couples’ counseling to facilitate discussion of expec-
tations regarding motherhood, fatherhood, and shared parenting. Career
counselors could evaluate clients for unrealistic expectations related to moth-
ering and the degree to which these expectations are associated with negative
outcomes in their lives.
Therapists also might examine the unique factors that we found for South
Korean and White women in the United States, and use them as a way to
develop interventions that reduce unrealistic expectations of motherhood and
concomitant stressors in the respective cultures. Specifically, therapists could
discuss high scores on one or multiple scales with their clients. The examina-
tion of scores on specific items (e.g., “Always love being a mom”) could
reveal unrealistic expectations for motherhood.
O’Brien et al. 185

In addition, differences in expectations regarding motherhood among

South Korean spouses could lead to relational conflict and mothers’ feelings
of inadequacy. South Korean mothers who have strained relationships with
the fathers of their children may be at risk given that expectations for sharing
parenting and not speaking negatively about their partners emerged as salient
aspects of good mothering. Therapists could assist South Korean couples in
communicating their beliefs regarding parenting responsibilities and expec-
tations early in (and throughout) their relationship. Noh, Han and Yoo (2012),
in their qualitative study on South Korean working mothers, suggested that
South Korean working mothers could use “gentle wisdom” to encourage
their husbands to share parenting.
For White clients in the United States, the additional responsibilities asso-
ciated with connecting with, teaching, praising, and protecting their children
may intensify feelings of guilt, being overwhelmed or inadequate. Therapists
might work to highlight the unrealistic expectations of these mothers and
intervene to increase parental self-efficacy. As Winnicott (1973) suggested,
ordinary mothers should protect themselves from the illusion of needing to be
“a perfect mother.”
These findings can inform advocacy efforts. Our findings suggested that
mothers face a myriad of expectations, some of which are contradictory and
difficult to attain. Unsurprisingly, past research examining the relationship
between internalization of mothering ideals and mental health found that
greater internalization of intensive mothering ideals was related to low levels
of life satisfaction and high levels of depression and stress (Rizzo et al.,
2013). Thus, counseling psychologists may advocate for healthier and more
diverse representations of good mothering. Perhaps new parent workshops
offered through hospitals and adoption agencies and parenting classes offered
through community organizations could raise awareness about cultural
expectations of motherhood and encourage parents to develop parenting phi-
losophies consistent with their values and life circumstances. Counseling
psychologists also could advocate for pediatricians, obstetricians, teachers,
and other professionals who work closely with families to receive training
and education in supporting realistic conceptualizations of motherhood.
Building on the expectancy-value model of achievement (Eccles, 2011),
changing the messages conveyed by such important influencers may influ-
ence women’s perceptions of good mothering.
With regard to education and training, counseling trainees can be encour-
aged to examine their internalized gender role expectations, especially with
regard to mothering. The great majority of women in South Korea and in the
United States are mothers. Thus, it is likely that therapists will encounter
clients who are navigating their way through the sea of expectations faced
186 The Counseling Psychologist 48(2)

by mothers. Through education and training aimed at illuminating counsel-

ing trainees’ internalized expectations about motherhood, future therapists
can decrease the likelihood of reinforcing harmful societal expectations.
Therapists are ideally situated to assist clients in becoming aware of expec-
tations they face and developing parenting philosophies that fit best for their
families.
To conclude, our findings provided preliminary support for the use of an
instrument that assesses both cross-cultural and culturally specific expecta-
tions of motherhood and is available in English and Korean. Also, we high-
lighted the importance of not simply translating instruments from English
into other languages in cross-cultural research without examination of the
psychometric properties and factor structure of the measures. It is our hope
that this measure will be used to further knowledge regarding how both cross-
cultural and culturally specific expectations of good mothering may be asso-
ciated with career choice and development, mental and physical health, and
life satisfaction for employed and unemployed mothers in South Korea and
the United States.

Acknowledgments
Gratitude is extended to Allie Savela and Ayelet Silberberg for their assistance with
the United States literature review and their contributions to the United States item
development.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-
tion of this article.

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Author Biographies
Karen M. O’Brien, PhD, is a professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate
Studies in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland. She strives to
generate knowledge to address social concerns, mentor students to achieve their
potential, and contribute to the communities where she lives and works. Dr. O’Brien
studies factors related to successful management of work and family, interventions to
assist those who are grieving and reducing dating violence on college campuses; she
maintains a small psychotherapy practice.
Sung-Kyung Yoo, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Ewha
Womans University. Her professional interest includes work-family integration, fac-
tors related to human change, and counselor education and supervision. Dr. Yoo
strives to integrate research, teaching and practice in a cross-cultural context.
Young Hwa Kim, PhD, received her doctoral degree in counseling psychology at
University of Maryland. She is currently working as an assistant professor at Graduate
School of Education at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Korea. Her
research focuses on women’s career achievements, career development of racial/eth-
nic minorities, and cross-cultural counseling practice and training. Dr. Kim is a
licensed psychologist in the State of Pennsylvania.
Yoonjin Cho, PhD, received her doctorate in counseling psychology from Ewha
Womans University and is delivering lectures at her alma mater. Her research and
professional interests include feminine psychology, coparenting, counselor education,
and supervision. Dr. Cho strives to integrate research, teaching and practice in a cross-
cultural context.
Nazish M. Salahuddin, PhD, is the Director of Undergraduate Studies and senior
lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland. Dr.
Salahuddin's professional interests are largely in the areas of multicultural, gender,
and social justice issues including the effects of gender and race based discrimination
and mental health. She teaches courses related to multicultural psychology, counsel-
ing psychology, psychology of women, and counseling skills. Dr. Salahuddin is a
licensed psychologist in the State of Maryland.