Relationship between the Type A Personality Concept of Time Urgency and Mothers’ Parenting Situation
1
Division of Nursing Science, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 737-8551, Japan
2
Department of Human Welfare, Hiroshima Bunkyo University, Hiroshima 731-0295, Japan
3
Faculty of Current Business, Yasuda Women’s University, Hiroshima 731-0153, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16327; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416327
Submission received: 30 September 2022
/
Revised: 25 November 2022
/
Accepted: 5 December 2022
/
Published: 7 December 2022
Abstract
:It has been suggested that parenting can be stressful for individuals with Type A personality because they have difficulties managing their own time. This study aimed to determine the relationship between mothers’ sense of time urgency (a Type A personality concept) and variables such as background characteristics, tiredness, and frequency of anger. The study participants were 103 mothers (mean age, 33.34 ± 4.38 years) of children aged 0–3 years, who used the child-rearing open space of a non-profit organization in Japan. A self-administered questionnaire survey assessed the participants’ demographic characteristics, feelings of tiredness, sense of time urgency, and anger in different parenting situations. Statistical analyses were performed using Kruskal–Wallis, Wilcoxon signed-rank, and linear regression analyses. The variable “sense of time urgency” was positively correlated with higher instability (feeling of tiredness; p = 0.00079), uneasiness (p < 0.001), eyestrain (p < 0.001), and anger, in several specific parenting situations. However, it was negatively correlated with sleep duration (p < 0.01). Our findings provide insight into the challenges faced by mothers with Type A personality traits, and may aid in the development of parenting guidance for these mothers.
1. Introduction
The type A personality trait is characterized by goal-oriented behaviors and drives, competitiveness, a determination to meet strict self-imposed deadlines, a fast-working pace, and the assumption of leadership roles [1]. Its potential association with physical and mental health parameters has been actively investigated [2,3,4]. Notably, Type A personality has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, even though the strength and significance of this association depend on the definition given for the Type A personality [5,6]. Moreover, cultural differences affect the correlation between the Type A personality and cardiovascular parameters. Thus, though type A personality has been found to be associated with increased systolic blood pressure in Western countries, it has also been reported to be associated with decreased systolic blood pressure in Japan [7]. It has been suggested that individuals with Type A personalities may experience less stress in the context of modern life. In other words, studies have hypothesized that Type A personality, which is considered a health risk, may be compatible with modern life [8,9].
Parenting is a demanding task that requires the completion of multiple complex subtasks. However, unlike individuals with other personality traits, time-sensitive individuals with Type A personality may adapt to modern parenting as they adapt to work [7]. However, parenting does not allow individuals to manage their time. It must be adapted to the child’s needs [10]. Thus, time stress is an important aspect of parenting [11]. Mothers often feel tired and frustrated [12]. In turn, frustration may become a risk factor for anger expression and may prevent mothers from fulfilling their children’s needs with the frustration of a conflict between the mothers needs and the child’s needs a genuine concern [13]. Moreover, anger and parenting stress have been associated with an increased risk of child abuse by parents [14]. Problems in the parent–child relationship may lead to negative behavioral outcomes [12] in children such as poor social skills development, a reduced level of self-confidence, etc. Therefore, interventions targeting mothers may improve their children’s outcomes [15,16].
Care for maternal stress is important to prevent abuse. To concretize and prioritize care for maternal stress, it is necessary to first clarify the relationship between maternal characteristics and parenting stress. In particular, women with Type A personality, who may be adapting to a busy modern life, will offer a lesser priority to support if they are also adapting to childcare. However, when their stress level is high, they definitely need support.
A sense of time urgency is a Type A personality concept. Type A individuals with high time urgency are characterized by their craving to fill time with purposeful, goal-oriented actions, to accelerate the speed of all activities, and to be overly punctual and time-oriented [17]. However, the Type A survey instrument consists of many items. It is difficult for mothers who accompany their children to answer all questions. Therefore, we focused on one concept of the Type A personality that may be adaptable to multiple childcare tasks; that is, time urgency. Focusing on a single construct can suggest possible adaptations regarding parenting of Type A personalities and can reduce the number of survey items.
This study aimed to determine the relationship between mothers’ sense of time urgency, and variables such as background characteristics, tiredness, and frequency of anger. We focused on tiredness and frequency of anger because stress is an abstract concept that is difficult to quantify.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Population
The study participants included mothers raising children aged 0 to 3 years, who were using the child-rearing open space (square)(child-rearing open space (square): In Japan, the government encourages the setting up of places to support child care. Mothers bring their children to use this service. They play on common playground equipment, exchange information, and consult with childcare workers and others who have experience raising children.) of a non-profit organization in Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Caregivers in a center established by the nonprofit organization administered the survey. The average number of users during the study period was approximately 150. All users were encouraged to participate in the survey and only one questionnaire was submitted per participant. Participants were briefed on how the results of the survey will be used and published, and they all provided their consent to participate by virtue of the submission of a response form. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hiroshima University (approval no. E-962-1).
2.2. Study Survey
A needs survey was conducted to formulate a budget plan for the next fiscal year using a self-administered questionnaire survey method. The data were used secondarily for this study A staff member of the child-rearing plaza asked the mothers to answer the questionnaire survey and then collected the results. The time required to describe the survey was about 15 min. Regardless of whether they were filled or not, the distributed survey forms were collected and placed in an envelope. The survey period was from May 2017 to July 2017. The sense of time urgency, which is a Type A characteristic, is a concept that is frequently experienced in child rearing and involves the performance of multiple tasks. Questions were limited to this Type A personality characteristic because it is more easily controlled by mothers than other Type A characteristics; besides, it can be resolved using guidance and counselling. A previously published questionnaire was used to assess the participants’ sense of time urgency [18].
To assess the feelings of fatigue, a questionnaire including questions assessing feelings of drowsiness, instability, uneasiness, local pain or dullness, and eyestrain was used as previously described [19].
To facilitate the mothers’ responses, we surveyed their anger status according to the situations in their daily lives. Items related to fatigue included the presence or absence of support for childcare, sleeping hours, and work. Variable data were processed for analysis. To equalize the distribution of the number of people, we divided the data into two parts to estimate the number of times mothers used the square recommended to them as a countermeasure.
The classification variable “How often do you use the square?” was improved by reducing the options to two, as follows: (1) “Less than four times a month”, which included the options “Came for the first time”, “Less than once a month”, “Twice a month”, and “Trice a month”; and (2) “At least four times a month”, which included the options “Once a week”, “Two–three times a week”, and “Four times or more a week”.
2.3. Statistical Analysis
A post hoc power test was used to determine the power of our statistical analyses. We used the package “pwr” of the R statistical language to determine the power of the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests. In addition, we investigated the power of the multiple linear regression analysis. The power of our analysis was very good (85.45%) for the given sample size (n = 103), the significance level was 0.05, and the effect size was small (Cohen’s d = 0.3). The power of the multiple linear regression analysis was 99.99% for n = 103, degrees of freedom for numerator = 10, degrees of freedom for denominator = 101, significance level = 0.05, and effect size f2 = R = 0.615. The power of the multiple linear regression analysis was 89.95% when we used a very small effect size f2 = 0.2.
Summary statistics were calculated and used to analyze the data. The measure of variability of the numerical variables was reported as “median and interquartile range [IQR]”. Categorical variables were reported as counts (% frequency). The Shapiro–Wilk normality test showed that none of the numerical variables followed a normal distribution (p < 0.05). Hence, we used the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test for categorical variables and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for numerical variables to investigate whether the variable “sense of time urgency” varied with other analyzed variables.
Furthermore, a multivariable linear regression analysis was applied to investigate the potential associations of the variable “sense of time urgency” with the following variables: q5 (Sleep duration), Q8 (Do you work?), instability, local pain or dullness, q9.3 (When a child wakes up in the middle of the night), q9.4 (When it takes long time for a child to eat a meal), q9.5 (When a child eats only what they like and leave behind what they dislike), q9.7 (When a child has hard time taking a bath), q9.8 (When a child clutters the house), and q9.9 (When a child does not go home easily even when it is time to go home from the park or elsewhere). The mother’s and child’s ages were also incorporated into the model.
To determine the best model, a stepwise algorithm was used to choose a model using the Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) from the package “step” [20]. Variance inflation factor (VIF) calculations of the predictors for the multivariable linear regression model were performed, and no problematic collinearity was detected (Table S1). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The R language and its statistical computing environment were used for all statistical analyses [21].
3. Results
3.1. Participants’ Characteristics
We collected 106 questionnaires, of which we excluded three because they were not filled. Hence, the final number of questionnaires analyzed in this study was 103. Table 1 presents descriptive statistics of the study participants. The median age (IQR) of the participants was 33.00 (30.00–36.50) years, whereas the median age of their first child (IQR) was 2.00 (1.00–3.00) years. Users were asked about the age of their first child as they had different numbers of children. Most mothers were unemployed (77.67%). There was a wide variability in the frequency at which the mothers used the center, as well as their distance from the place where they could find individuals who could help them with childcare. Moreover, the majority of mothers had concerns about childcare (67.96%). The median sleep duration of the mothers was 6.00 (6.00–7.00) hours, and the majority of the mothers woke up at approximately the same time every day. The median score for the variable “drowsiness” was 13.00 (9.00–17.00), 9.00 (7.00–14.00) for instability, 8.00 (6.00–12.00) for uneasiness, 11.00 (8.00–15.00) for local pain dullness, and 7.00 (5.00–12.00) for eyestrain. The mean score for the sense of time urgency was 12.00 (8.00–16.50).
3.2. Variation of the Sense of Time Urgency Score with Respect to Other Factors
Table 2 shows the results of the Kruskal–Wallis (for categorical variables) and Wilcoxon signed-rank (for numerical variables) tests. The results indicate that sense of time urgency was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with some of the answers to the different questions. For example, for the question “Do you have any concerns about childcare?” most mothers (67.96%) expressed concerns about childcare. There was also a significant difference with regard to the question “When a child has a hard time sleeping at night” with most mothers (51.96%) not getting angry in this situation. There was also a significant difference regarding the reactions of mothers when a child wakes up in the middle of the night, with most mothers (90.20%) not getting angry in this situation. Furthermore, a significant difference was noted with regard to the question “When it takes a long time for a child to eat a meal”; most mothers (36.27%) reported getting angry in this situation. Finally, there was a significant difference with regard to the converted variable “How often do you use the square?” In addition, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests showed that the variable “sense of time urgency” was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the variables “Mother’s age”, “Child’s age”, “Length of sleep”, “Instability”, “Uneasiness”, and “Eyestrain” (Table 2).
3.3. Factors Associated with Sense of Time Urgency as Revealed by Multivariable Linear Regression Analysis
The association between sense of time urgency and other variables was also tested using multivariable linear regression (Table 3). The age of the mother and the age of the child served as adjustment variables, which can be described statistically as F (19, 72) = 3.137, R2 = 0.3085, and p < 0.01; where F = the F-statistic of the model, (19, 72) is the degrees of freedom (19 and 72 DF) of the model, R2 = r squared of the model, and p = p-value of the model. The Akaike information criterion (AIC) value of the model was 577.08. The sense of time urgency showed a significant negative association (p < 0.01) with the q5 variable (sleep duration), indicating that the longer a mother sleeps, the lower the sense of time urgency (Figure 1A). In addition, sense of time urgency showed a significant positive association (p < 0.01) with the instability score (Figure 1B). Furthermore, the variable sense of time urgency was significantly positively associated with the answers “I get angry sometimes” and “I get angry” to question q9.3 (When a child wakes up in the middle of the night), indicating significant lower scores of sense of time urgency for mothers that “Do not get angry” when a child wakes up in the middle of the night (Figure 2A). The sense of time urgency score was negatively associated with the answer “I get angry sometimes” for question q9.5, indicating lower scores of sense of time urgency for mothers who “get angry sometimes” when their child eats only what they like and leaves behind what they dislike—although this result only approached statistical significance (p = 0.07; Figure 2B).
4. Discussion
Our study showed that sense of time urgency is positively associated with higher instability scores and anger when a child wakes up at night. However, sense of time urgency was negatively associated with sleep duration. There was also a difference in the sense of time urgency based on the frequency of using the square (childcare facilities).
We demonstrated that mothers with a higher sense of time urgency experienced more pronounced feelings of instability and less sleep. Type A personality behavior has previously been reported to be associated with chronic fatigue syndrome [22]. Moreover, a stronger association between role conflict and psychological and physical strain has been found in Western individuals with Type A personalities than in those with Type B personalities [23]. A short sleep duration may have contributed to the feeling of fatigue. The association of Type A personality with sleep in previous studies has not been consistent and varies with the measured characteristics [24,25]. Sleep extension has been shown to have positive effects on alertness and performance in individuals with chronically short sleep durations, and may also have a positive effect on mothers with a high sense of time urgency [26]. Moreover, lack of sleep worsens performance, which may lead to a vicious circle [27], and also amplify angry feelings [28]. Furthermore, in our study, in relation to a single factor, there was a variation in the variable “sense of time urgency” with respect to the different frequencies of using childcare services. The availability of childcare services in the neighborhood has previously been associated with decreased parenting stress [29]. The use of childcare services by mothers with a high sense of time urgency should be encouraged.
In our study, mothers with a high sense of time urgency were more likely to become angry when a child wakes up in the middle of the night. There was a non-significant association between the sense of time urgency and the response “get angry sometimes” when their child eats only what they like and leaves behind what they dislike. Not only mothers with Type A personality, but also those with other personality types, may get angry when confronted with children’s dislike for certain foods. It is beneficial to involve mothers in the selection of children’s diets that are based on healthy choices and not on likes or dislikes [30,31,32].
The expression of emotions is important in everyday life [33]. It may be easier to understand mothers and support them when specific situations are considered rather than focusing on their daily life as a whole. A sense of time urgency is a Type A characteristic that tends to focus on efficiency [1]. Furthermore, mothers with a high sense of time urgency may experience an increased need for time control due to the pressure to pursue other values, such as self-realization and work. Given the characteristics of Type A personalities, it is thought that Type A mothers do not like to see changes in their planned parenting schedules. Mothers with a higher sense of time urgency had a response of “I get angry sometimes” to situations where, for example, they woke up in the middle of the night. These are situations in which plans can be altered. Thus, it emerged that a mother’s strong sense of time urgency is associated with anger in such specific situations. In parenting, it has long been recognized that Type A personality is associated with worse mental health than other personality types [34].
Notably, maternal anger has previously been associated with negative child outcomes, including anger and self-derogation [15,35]. Understanding the personality characteristics of mothers may help in designing appropriate guidance to facilitate their gentle involvement with children. In modern times, mothers’ work and values have diversified [36], and women’s economic empowerment has been realized [37]. The gap between evolving societal roles and mothers’ roles has also increased. The type A personality trait may be adapted to the way modern society operates, but it may still pose a health risk in the context of parenting. If mothers gain insight into situations that provoke anger, they will be able to predict their emotions and better control their anger expressions. This is particularly important because child rearing cannot be performed on schedule, and thus mothers should be guided and educated to accept the inherent characteristics of parenting.
The limitations of this study include its cross-sectional design, the use of a self-assessment survey, and the fact that the study was limited to participants receiving a specific childcare service. Furthermore, our study was limited mostly to non-working mothers, even though previous research has shown especially pronounced parenting stress among working mothers [38]. Thus, the study findings should be confirmed in other populations.
5. Conclusions
Our study showed that sense of time urgency is positively associated with higher instability scores and anger when a child awakes at night. However, sense of time urgency was negatively associated with sleep duration. There was also a difference in the sense of time urgency based on the frequency of using the square (childcare facilities). We also showed that sense of time urgency, which is commonly seen in Type A personalities, is associated with increased anger of mothers in different parenting scenarios. This study provides information that may help to better understand the challenges faced by mothers with Type A personality characteristics and aid in the development of appropriate guidance methods.
Supplementary Materials
The following supporting information can be downloaded from: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/su142416327/s1, Table S1: Multicollinearity test results. Variance inflation factor (VIF) calculations of predictors for the multivariable linear regression model.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, H.K.; Data curation, H.K. and Z.C.; Formal analysis, H.K. and S.Y.; Investigation, H.K. and S.Y.; Methodology, H.K. and S.Y.; Project administration, H.K.; Resources, H.K.; Supervision, P.D.; Validation, M.N. and Z.C.; Visualization, H.K. and Z.C.; Writing—original draft, H.K.; Writing—review and editing, H.K., M.N. and P.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This study received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hiroshima University (approval no. E-962-1).
Informed Consent Statement
Submission of the completed questionnaire at the designated location was regarded as consent to participate in the survey.
Data Availability Statement
The data are not publicly available due to confidentiality reasons.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the study participants and non-profit organizations who cooperated with the research.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
References
- Ivancevich, J.M.; Matteson, M.T. Type A behaviour and the healthy individual. Br. J. Med. Psychol. 1988, 61 Pt 1, 37–56. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Chen, H.; Feng, Y.; Li, S.; Zhang, Y.; Yang, X. Bibliometric analysis of theme evolution and future research trends of the Type A personality. Pers. Individ. Dif. 2019, 150, 109507. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lohse, T.; Rohrmann, S.; Richard, A.; Bopp, M.; Faeh, D.; Swiss National Cohort Study Group. Type A personality and mortality: Competitiveness but not speed is associated with increased risk. Atherosclerosis 2017, 262, 19–24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Šmigelskas, K.; Žemaitienė, N.; Julkunen, J.; Kauhanen, J. Type A behavior pattern is not a predictor of premature mortality. Int. J. Behav. Med. 2015, 22, 161–169. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pollock, B.D.; Chen, W.; Harville, E.W.; Bazzano, L.A. Associations between Hunter Type A/B Personality and Cardiovascular Risk Factors from Adolescence through Young Adulthood. Int. J. Behav. Med. 2017, 24, 593–601. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sirri, L.; Fava, G.A.; Guidi, J.; Porcelli, P.; Rafanelli, C.; Bellomo, A.; Grandi, S.; Grassi, L.; Pasquini, P.; Picardi, A.; et al. Type A behaviour: A reappraisal of its characteristics in cardiovascular disease. Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2012, 66, 854–861. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fukita, S.; Kawasaki, H.; Yamasaki, S. Does behavior pattern influence blood pressure in the current cultural context of Japan? Iran J. Public Health 2021, 50, 701–709. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hicks, R.E.; Mehta, Y.P. The big five, type A personality, and psychological well-being. Int. J. Psychol. Stud. 2018, 10, 49–58. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Hintsa, T.; Hintsanen, M.; Jokela, M.; Pulkki-Råback, L.; Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. Divergent influence of different type A dimensions on job strain and effort-reward imbalance. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2010, 52, 1–7. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Do I Need to Wake My Baby? Available online: https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/resources/wake-my-baby (accessed on 22 November 2022).
- Buddelmeyer, H.; Hamermesh, D.S.; Wooden, M. The stress cost of children on moms and dads. Eur. Econ. Rev. 2018, 109, 148–161. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- McKay, K.; Kennedy, E.; Young, B. “Sometimes I Think My Frustration Is the Real Issue”: A Qualitative Study of Parents’ Experiences of Transformation after a Parenting Programme. PLoS ONE 2021, 16, e0258528. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Crnic, K.A.; Greenberg, M.T. Minor parenting stresses with young children. Child Dev. 1990, 61, 1628–1637. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Rodriguez, C.M.; Green, A.J. Parenting stress and anger expression as predictors of child abuse potential. Child Abus. Negl. 1997, 21, 367–377. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Anthony, L.G.; Anthony, B.J.; Glanville, D.N.; Naiman, D.Q.; Waanders, C.; Shaffer, S. The relationships between parenting stress, parenting behaviour and preschoolers’ social competence and behaviour problems in the classroom. Infant Child Dev. 2005, 14, 133–154. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- LaFreniere, P.J.; Capuano, F. Preventive intervention as means of clarifying direction of effects in socialization: Anxious-withdrawn preschoolers case. Dev. Psychopathol. 1997, 9, 551–564. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Rizkalla, A.N. Sense of time urgency and consumer well-being: Testing alternative causal models. In NA—Advances in Consumer Research Volume 16; Srull, T.K., Provo, U.T., Eds.; Association for Consumer Research: Chicago, IL, USA, 1989; pp. 180–188. [Google Scholar]
- Yamasaki, K.; Tanaka, Y.; Miyata, Y. Type A questionnaire for Japanese adults (KG’s Daily Life Questionnaire). J. Type Behav. Pattern 1992, 3, 33–45. [Google Scholar]
- Sasaki, T.; Matsumoto, S. Actual conditions of work, fatigue and sleep in non-employed, home-based female information technology workers with preschool children. Ind. Health 2005, 43, 142–150. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Venables, W.N.; Ripley, B.D. Modern Applied Statistics with S, 4th ed.; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 2002. [Google Scholar]
- R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing; R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria, 2020; Available online: https://www.R-project.org/ (accessed on 22 September 2022).
- Gómez Gil, E.; Salamero Baró, M.; Fernandez-Huerta, J.M.; Fernandez-Solá, J.M.; Fernandez-Solá, J. Relación entre el síndrome de fatiga crónica y el patrón de conducta tipo [Relationship between chronic fatigue syndrome and type A behaviour]. Med. Clin. 2009, 133, 539–541. (In Spanish) [Google Scholar]
- Orpen, C. Type A personality as a moderator of the effects of role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload on individual strain. J. Hum. Stress 1982, 8, 8–14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wang, Y.; Terao, T.; Hoaki, N.; Goto, S.; Araki, Y.; Kohno, K.; Mizokami, Y. Type A behavior pattern: Bortner scale vs. Japanese-original questionnaires Japanese. J. Affect. Disord. 2012, 142, 351–354. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Koulack, D.; Nesca, M.; Stroud, B.M. Laboratory sleep patterns and dream content of Type A and B scoring college students. Percept. Mot. Skills 1993, 77, 216–218. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Kubo, T.; Takahashi, M.; Sato, T.; Sasaki, T.; Oka, T.; Iwasaki, K. Weekend sleep intervention for workers with habitually short sleep periods. Scand. J. Work. Environ. Health 2011, 37, 418–426. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Deater-Deckard, K.; Chary, M.; McQuillan, M.E.; Staples, A.D.; Bates, J.E. Mothers’ sleep deficits and cognitive performance: Moderation by stress and age. PLoS ONE 2021, 16, e0241188. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Krizan, Z.; Hisler, G. Sleepy anger: Restricted sleep amplifies angry feelings. J. Exp. Psychol. Gen. 2019, 148, 1239–1250. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Kim, E.J.; Cho, M.J.; Kim, M.J. Mothers’ parenting stress and neighborhood characteristics in early childhood (ages 0–4). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 2648. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mura Paroche, M.; Caton, S.J.; Vereijken, C.M.J.L.; Weenen, H.; Houston-Price, C. How infants and young children learn about food: A systematic review. Front. Psychol. 2017, 8, 1046. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Scaglioni, S.; De Cosmi, V.; Ciappolino, V.; Parazzini, F.; Brambilla, P.; Agostoni, C. Factors influencing children’s eating behaviours. Nutrients 2018, 10, 706. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Johnson, S.L.; Goodell, L.S.; Williams, K.; Power, T.G.; Hughes, S.O. Getting my child to eat the right amount. Mothers’ considerations when deciding how much food to offer their child at a meal. Appetite 2015, 88, 24–32. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Stanton, A.L.; Low, C.A. Expressing emotions in stressful contexts: Benefits, moderators, and mechanisms. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 2012, 21, 124–128. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ghorbani Amir, H.; Ahmadi Gatab, T.; Shayan, N. Relationship between Type A Personality and Mental Health. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 2011, 30, 2010–2018. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Plickert, G.; Pals, H. Parental anger and trajectories of emotional well-being from adolescence to young adulthood. J. Res. Adolesc. 2020, 30, 440–457. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Holloway, S.D.; Suzuki, S.; Yamamoto, Y.; Mindnich, J.D. Relation of maternal role concepts to parenting, employment choices, and life satisfaction among Japanese women. Sex Roles 2006, 54, 235–249. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Elson, D. Labor markets as gendered institutions: Equality, efficiency and empowerment issues. World Dev. 1999, 27, 611–627. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rajgariah, R.; Malenahalli Chandrashekarappa, S.; Venkatesh Babu, D.K.; Gopi, A.; Murthy Mysore Ramaiha, N.; Kumar, J. Parenting stress and coping strategies adopted among working and non-working mothers and its association with socio-demographic variables: A cross-sectional study. Clin. Epidemiol. Glob. Health 2021, 9, 191–195. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Figure 1.
Association of sense of time urgency with sleep duration (A) and instability (B). The locally weighted smoothing (LOESS) line is indicated in blue.
Figure 1.
Association of sense of time urgency with sleep duration (A) and instability (B). The locally weighted smoothing (LOESS) line is indicated in blue.
Figure 2.
Association of sense of time urgency with anger in parenting situations. (A) When a child wakes up in the middle of the night; (B) When a child eats only what he likes and leaves behind what he dislikes.
Figure 2.
Association of sense of time urgency with anger in parenting situations. (A) When a child wakes up in the middle of the night; (B) When a child eats only what he likes and leaves behind what he dislikes.
Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of the participants’ characteristics.
| Variables | N | Descriptive Statistics |
|---|---|---|
| Mother’s age in years, median [25th centile, 75th centile] | 100 | 33.000 [30.000–36.500] |
| First child’s age in years, median [25th centile, 75th centile] | 103 | 2.000 [1.000–3.000] |
| q2 (How often do you use the square?) | 103 | |
| Came for the first time | 2 (1.94%) | |
| Less than once a month | 24 (23.30%) | |
| Twice a month | 16 (15.53%) | |
| Three times a month | 11 (10.68%) | |
| Once a week | 23 (22.33%) | |
| Two-three times a week | 24 (23.30%) | |
| Four or more times a week | 3 (2.91%) | |
| Q2 (converted “How often do you use the square?”) | 103 | |
| Less than four times a month | 53 (51.46%) | |
| At least four times a month | 50 (48.54%) | |
| q3 (Distance of people you can rely on for childcare) | 103 | |
| Living together | 5 (4.85%) | |
| Within walking distance | 3 (2.91%) | |
| Within 5 min by car | 17 (16.50%) | |
| Within 30 min by car | 23 (22.33%) | |
| Within 1 h by car | 18 (17.48%) | |
| Within 2 h by car | 26 (25.24%) | |
| More than 3 h by car | 8 (7.77%) | |
| None | 3 (2.91%) | |
| q5 (Sleep duration), median [25th centile, 75th centile] | 102 | 6.000 [6.000–7.000] |
| q6 (Wake up times) | 103 | |
| Irregular times | 6 (5.83%) | |
| Sometimes irregular times | 19 (18.45%) | |
| Approximately the same time daily | 63 (61.17%) | |
| Always the same time | 15 (14.56%) | |
| q7 (Do you have concerns regarding childcare?) | 103 | |
| No | 33 (32.04%) | |
| Yes | 70 (67.96%) | |
| q8 (Do you work?) | 103 | |
| Not working | 80 (77.67%) | |
| On childcare leave | 14 (13.59%) | |
| Working | 9 (8.74%) | |
| Tiredness score, median [25th centile, 75th centile] | ||
| Drowsiness | 103 | 13.000 [9.000–17.000] |
| Instability | 103 | 9.000 [7.000–14.000] |
| Uneasiness | 103 | 8.000 [6.000–12.000] |
| Local pain dullness | 103 | 11.000 [8.000–15.000] |
| Eyestrain | 103 | 7.000 [5.000–12.000] |
| q9 Anger Situations | ||
| q9.1 (When a child does not get up easily in the morning) | 102 | |
| I don’t get angry | 94 (92.16%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 6 (5.88%) | |
| I get angry | 2 (1.96%) | |
| q9.2 (When a child has hard time sleeping at night) | 102 | |
| I don’t get angry | 53 (51.96%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 29 (28.43%) | |
| I get angry | 20 (19.61%) | |
| q9.3 (When a child wakes up in the middle of the night) | 102 | |
| I don’t get angry | 92 (90.20%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 7 (6.86%) | |
| I get angry | 3 (2.94%) | |
| q9.4 (When a child takes a long time to eat a meal) | 102 | |
| I don’t get angry | 36 (35.29%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 29 (28.43%) | |
| I get angry | 37 (36.27%) | |
| q9.5 (When a child eats only what he/she likes and leaves behind what he/she dislikes) | 102 | |
| I don’t get angry | 52 (50.98%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 30 (29.41%) | |
| I get angry | 20 (19.61%) | |
| q9.6 (When a child does not change clothes easily) | 102 | |
| I don’t get angry | 53 (51.96%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 27 (26.47%) | |
| I get angry | 22 (21.57%) | |
| q9.7 (When a child has hard time taking a bath) | 102 | |
| I don’t get angry | 67 (65.69%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 21 (20.59%) | |
| I get angry | 14 (13.73%) | |
| q9.8 (When a child clutters the house) | 101 | |
| I don’t get angry | 52 (51.49%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 35 (34.65%) | |
| I get angry | 14 (13.86%) | |
| q9.9 (When a child does not go home easily even when it is time to go home from the park or elsewhere) | 101 | |
| I don’t get angry | 58 (57.43%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 33 (32.67%) | |
| I get angry | 10 (9.90%) | |
| q9.10 (When a child does not stop crying) | 103 | |
| I don’t get angry | 72 (69.90%) | |
| I get angry sometimes | 26 (25.24%) | |
| I get angry | 5 (4.85%) | |
| Sense of time urgency, median [25th centile, 75th centile] | 103 | 12.000 [8.000–16.500] |
Note: Numerical variables are expressed as medians [interquartile ranges], and categorical variables are expressed as n (%).
Table 2.
Non-parametric (Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon-Signed Rank) test results of the comparison of the values of other variables with regard to sense of time urgency.
Table 2.
Non-parametric (Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon-Signed Rank) test results of the comparison of the values of other variables with regard to sense of time urgency.
| Variables | Kruskal–Wallis Chi-Squared | Wilcoxon V | df | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mother’s age | 0 | 3.841 × 10−18 | ||
| Child’s age | 5090 | 1.594 × 10−17 | ||
| Frequency of using the square | 8.699 | 6 | 0.191 | |
| Conversion frequency of using the square | 3.909 | 1 | 0.048 | |
| People you can rely on for childcare | 7.362 | 7 | 0.392 | |
| q5 (Sleep duration) | 4541 | 5.464 × 10−13 | ||
| q6 (Wake up time) | 1.167 | 3 | 0.761 | |
| q7 (Do you have concerns regarding childcare?) | 4.306 | 1 | 0.038 | |
| q8 (Do you work?) | 1.625 | 2 | 0.444 | |
| Tired score | ||||
| Drowsiness | 2325.5 | 0.493 | ||
| Instability | 3308 | 0.00079 | ||
| Uneasiness | 3723 | 4.209 × 10−6 | ||
| Local pain or dullness | 3020.5 | 0.088 | ||
| Eyestrain | 3685.5 | 2.436 × 10−6 | ||
| q9 Anger by Situation | ||||
| q9.1 (When a child does not get up easily in the morning) | 2.197 | 2 | 0.333 | |
| q9.2 (When a child has hard time sleeping at night) | 6.254 | 2 | 0.044 | |
| q9.3 (When a child wakes up in the middle of the night) | 8.981 | 2 | 0.011 | |
| q9.4 (When it takes long time for a child to eat a meal) | 7.652 | 2 | 0.022 | |
| q9.5 (When a child eats only what they like and leaves behind what they dislike) | 1.059 | 2 | 0.589 | |
| q 9.6 (When a child does not change their clothes easily) | 5.404 | 2 | 0.067 | |
| q9.7 (When a child has hard time taking a bath) | 5.781 | 2 | 0.056 | |
| q9.8 (When a child clutters the house) | 2.281 | 2 | 0.320 | |
| q9.9 (When a child does not go home easily even when it is time to go home from the park or elsewhere) | 3.089 | 2 | 0.213 | |
| q9.10 (When a child does not stop crying) | 4.573 | 2 | 0.102 |
Table 3.
Multivariable linear regression results (after the stepwise procedure) of the associations of the variable “sense of time urgency” with other variables, including mother’s and child’s age.
Table 3.
Multivariable linear regression results (after the stepwise procedure) of the associations of the variable “sense of time urgency” with other variables, including mother’s and child’s age.
| Variables | Estimate | Std. Error | t-Value | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Intercept) | 19.09 | 5.97 | 3.20 | 0.002 |
| Mother’s age | −0.01 | 0.14 | −0.10 | 0.924 |
| Child’s age | 0.29 | 0.23 | 1.22 | 0.227 |
| q5 (Sleep duration in hours) | −1.61 | 0.58 | −2.76 | 0.007 |
| Do you work? | (Ref. not working) | |||
| q8 (On childcare leave) | 1.71 | 1.73 | 0.99 | 0.325 |
| q8 (Working) | 3.37 | 2.29 | 1.47 | 0.146 |
| Tired score vlue | ||||
| Instability | 0.41 | 0.15 | 2.74 | 0.008 |
| Local pain or dullness | −0.24 | 0.17 | −1.38 | 0.172 |
| q9 Anger by Situation | ||||
| When a child wakes up in the middle of the night | (Ref. not angry) | |||
| q9.3 (I get angry sometimes) | 5.24 | 2.23 | 2.35 | 0.021 |
| q9.3 (I get angry) | 8.05 | 3.22 | 2.50 | 0.015 |
| When it takes long time for a child to eat a meal | (Ref. not angry) | |||
| q9.4 (I get angry sometimes) | −0.98 | 1.67 | −0.59 | 0.560 |
| q9.4 (I get angry) | 2.87 | 1.50 | 1.91 | 0.060 |
| When a child eats only what they like and leaves behind what they dislike | (Ref. not angry) | |||
| q9.5 (I get angry sometimes) | −3.04 | 1.65 | −1.84 | 0.070 |
| q9.5 (I get angry) | −1.63 | 1.66 | −0.98 | 0.331 |
| When a child has hard time taking a bath | (Ref. not angry) | |||
| q9.7 (I get angry sometimes) | 2.01 | 1.64 | 1.23 | 0.224 |
| q9.7 (I get angry) | 0.75 | 1.94 | 0.39 | 0.698 |
| When a child clutters the house | (Ref. not angry) | |||
| q9.8 (I get angry sometimes) | 1.59 | 1.51 | 1.05 | 0.296 |
| q9.8 (I get angry) | −3.38 | 1.98 | −1.71 | 0.092 |
| When a child does not go home easily even when it is time to go home from the park or elsewhere | (Ref. not angry) | |||
| q9.9 (I get angry sometimes) | 1.39 | 1.56 | 0.89 | 0.378 |
| q9.9 (I get angry) | 0.08 | 2.22 | 0.04 | 0.972 |
Note: All p-values smaller than <0.01 are presented as <0.01. Reference (Ref.) groups are indicated for categorical variables. The statistics of the model are: F(19, 72) = 3.919, adjR2 = 0.3787, p < 0.01; AIC = 567.24.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Kawasaki, H.; Yamasaki, S.; Nishiyama, M.; D’Angelo, P.; Cui, Z. Relationship between the Type A Personality Concept of Time Urgency and Mothers’ Parenting Situation. Sustainability 2022, 14, 16327. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416327
AMA Style
Kawasaki H, Yamasaki S, Nishiyama M, D’Angelo P, Cui Z. Relationship between the Type A Personality Concept of Time Urgency and Mothers’ Parenting Situation. Sustainability. 2022; 14(24):16327. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416327
Chicago/Turabian StyleKawasaki, Hiromi, Satoko Yamasaki, Mika Nishiyama, Pete D’Angelo, and Zhengai Cui. 2022. "Relationship between the Type A Personality Concept of Time Urgency and Mothers’ Parenting Situation" Sustainability 14, no. 24: 16327. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416327
Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
