A nursing theorist, Rubin 19, 20 introduced the
concept of Maternal Role Attainment (MRA) which
was described as the process of accomplishing the
development tasks of a maternal role. This process is
learned, and is both interactive and reciprocal which
leads a mother to achieve a maternal identity. After
delivery, the new mother shifts her attention to her
relationship with her infant. Another author,21 Mercer,
a student of Rubin, defined Maternal Role Attainment
(MRA), as a psychosocial development process of
the mother. The mother becomes attached to her
infant and obtains capability in the care-taking tasks
and expresses gratification involved in the role.
Furthermore, maternal identity was identified as a
woman having an internalized sense of herself as a
mother. The study of Mercer reviewed the evolution
of MRA. She compared the MRA among three age
groups: 15-19, 20-29, and 30-42 years. The
results showed that adolescents showed a decrease
between 8 and 12 months, whereas older mothers
reported increased gratification. Furthermore, studies
relating to women who take on the maternal and
student roles simultaneously are explored.
Lin10 studied the role adaptation between
maternal and student roles of 118 mother-students
who had at least one child, younger than age 18, and
returned to study in nursing programs in Taiwan. A
cross-section correlational study was conducted using
Roy’s adaptation model22 as the theoretical framework
for the study. The results found that those women
who were both mothers and students might not be
effective in adapting to their new roles and might not
be able to balance the demands of the maternal and
student roles. Gigliotti 23 studied the psychological
involvement in both the student and the maternal role
of women who experienced both roles in the United
States. The two groups of participants were women
aged 21-36 and 37-53, and all had at least one
child