ASCRIBING MEANING TO OCCUPATION: AN EXAMPLE FROM HEALTHY WORKING MOTHERS

Background: The elements and process involved in ascribing meaning to occupation have yet to be fully explicated in occupational therapy. While meaning of occupation has been explored, no studies have simply asked about the... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The elements and process involved in ascribing meaning to occupation have yet to be fully explicated in occupational therapy. While meaning of occupation has been explored, no studies have simply asked about the meaning of occupation in ordinary everyday lives (Reed, Hocking & Smythe, 2010, p. 142). The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning that mothers ascribe to the occupations in which they engage in their everyday lives.
Method:
A convenience sample of 35 Israeli married mothers, ages 25-45 years, with children between one and ten years, participated in semi-structured interviews using the Occupational Performance History Interview-II (Kielhofner, 2008). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and content analysis applied.
Results:
Two primary categories emerged: the meaning of “giving” (investing in their values), and the meaning of “receiving” (ensuring their needs are met). Values such as dedication, devotion, responsibility and wanting to educate require mothers to occasionally engage in less desirable occupations. In return, mothers received fulfillment from both mothering and non-mothering occupations related to internalized needs such as enjoyment, pleasure, love, intellectual stimulation and appreciation (Figure 1).
Conclusion:
The current study illustrates how values and needs are intertwined to contribute to the meaning of occupation. Moreover, meaningful occupations can be undesirable but the doing of them stems from the values which drive mothers to fulfill their role.
Application to Practice:
Recognizing the forms of meaning that mothers ascribe to their ordinary everyday occupations may guide occupational therapists when meeting mothers in situations that disrupted or changed their occupations.