Abstract / Summary
Employment status significantly shapes how new mothers experience the transition to motherhood, yet its multifaceted influence on postpartum psychological well-being requires further exploration. This study investigated the impact of employment status on new mothers’ social support, positive and negative affective well-being, and maternal role adaptation. It also examined the mediating role of maternal role adaptation in the relationship between social support and positive affect, as well as the moderating effect of employment status on this pathway. A total of 498 new mothers were recruited from the outpatient department of a major children’ s hospital in Shanghai and completed standardized scales. Results indicated that full-time employed mothers reported significantly higher levels of social support and lower negative affect compared to non-full-time mothers. However, no significant differences were found between the groups in maternal role adaptation or overall positive affect levels. Maternal role adaptation mediated the link between social support and positive affect. Importantly, employment status moderated this pathway: compared to full-time employed mothers, non-full-time mothers showed a stronger positive relationship between maternal role adaptation and positive affect, indicating they gained greater emotional benefits from successful adaptation. These findings suggest that while full-time employment may facilitate social support, interventions aimed at strengthening role adaptation could be especially beneficial for enhancing positive emotional outcomes among non-full-time mothers.