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Human Relations
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The Determinants of Parenthood: Power and Responsibility

Mili Mass

Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, The Hebrew University of Jersualem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel

The conception of parental adaptation in terms of the complexity of the balance between the parent's responsibility and the infant's power is presented. A method based on this conception is proposed as a way to describe and assess parental adaptation. The adaptational view is compared with the clinical approach to parenthood, and its advantages for the detection of parental vulnerability and early intervention in the parent-infant relationship is illustrated. In addition, the conception of parental responsibility, in terms of the parent's evaluation of the balance between his/her responsibility and the infant's power, is compared with the conception of the legal approach which views parental responsibility in terms of accountability and the parent's duties and rights. The evolving change in the societal view of parental responsibility, brought about by the Children Act, requires a shift in the conceptualization of parenthood such as the one proposed by the adaptational conception. This could constitute a bridge between the helping professions and the legal approaches.

Key Words: adaptation • parenthood • parent-infant relationship • parental vulnerability • power • evaluations

Human Relations, Vol. 50, No. 3, 241-260 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/001872679705000302
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