Perceived social support of maritally abused women and their children's global self-worth.

This study examines the relationships among maritally abused women's educational level, their satisfaction with social support, their children's perceived maternal support, and their children's global self-worth (GSW; Harter, 1985a). The participants, 38 pairs of maritally abused women and their children (aged 7 to 13 years), were recruited through women's shelters and community counselling facilities. The study found that children who have a sense of being emotionally supported by their mothers have a positive sense of self-worth. The hierarchical regression analyses show that children's perceived maternal support has a unique contribution to children's GSW above and beyond their mothers' educational level and mothers' satisfaction with social support (R2 = .31).