Maternal Guilt in Italy: Measurement of the Phenomenon and Correlates

Guilt is a common emotional state among mothers in different cultural contexts (Collins, 2021), driven by societal scrutiny, pressure to meet unrealistic standards, and the idealization of motherhood (Jackson & Mannix, 2004; Liss et al., 2013). Regardless of whether women are stay-at-home or working mothers, or come from advantaged or disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, they face a range of challenges, including work-family balance, judgment, mental and physical health issues, isolation, guilt, self-doubt, and cultural pressure to conform. Childless women are also affected, as seen in motherhood postponement narratives (Lebano & Jamieson, 2020). This study aims to identify the presence and significance of maternal guilt in Italy, exploring its individual and societal determinants. Using a newly developed scale and several indices, we measure the extent of guilt experienced by mothers and the situations of "self-blame" most associated with motherhood among Italian women. We also assess how individual characteristics such as education, social class and age as well as the regional context correlate with guilt. The study presents the results of a novel online survey of approximately 6,000 Italian mothers and childless women that is administered in the fall of 2024. The study contributes to the literature by providing a newly developed measure of maternal guilt to apply in the Italian context and by clarifying its correlates.