Behind the posts: The impact of childhood and cumulative trauma on sharenting behaviors and maternal mental health

Abstract

This research aims to examine the relationship and differences between childhood and cumulative trauma, dissociative experiences, and psychiatric symptoms among mothers who engage in sharing compared to those who do not. The study included 220 mothers (110 who engaged in sharenting and 110 who did not) residing in Istanbul, Turkey, from January to March 2024, using a convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Sharenting Scale, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Cumulative Trauma Scale, and the Brief Symptom Inventory. The findings indicated that mothers who engage in sharenting had higher scores in dissociative experiences (p < .001) and childhood trauma (p = .030) compared to mothers who do not engage in sharenting. Moreover, all subdimensions of childhood trauma (p = .001−.035) were predictive of sharenting mothers who engage in sharing. These results provide important and pioneering scientific contributions to understanding the effects of social media use on parental mental health.