Pattern of Maternal Behavior – Transgression and Generational Transmission of the Pattern in the Biographical Experiences of Women – Former Pupils of Social Rehabilitation Centres

Abstract

The article describes the patterns of maternal behavior and the processes which these patterns underwent in subsequent generations from the perspective of former female residents of juvenile rehabilitation centers. These women successfully completed the rehabilitation process. The theoretical analysis was based on the theory of symbolic violence by Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron, and the concept of the transgressive person by Józef Kozielecki. The main research problem was presented in the following question: What kind of pattern of maternal behavior was formed in former pupils of rehabilitation centers in their family of origin, and what processes did it undergo in the next generation, from the perspective of their individual biographical experiences? The study used the biographical method, while the technique of data collection were autobiographical narrative interviews. Based on the analysis of the material obtained, patterns of maternal behavior were identified for which the welfare of the child was or was not important. In the next step, the processes to which these patterns were subjected in the nuclear family were analyzed. The main conclusion drawn from the study is that behavioral patterns in which the child’s welfare is important, as acquired in the family of origin, and later learned and internalized, are reproduced in nuclear families (these patterns are also subject to dispersion). However, the pattern of maternal behavior uninterested in the child’s welfare, as deviating from the social standards, norms and perceptions of the general population is rejected and, as a result of transgression, triggers behaviors opposite to the original pattern.