Author ORCID Identifier
Semester
Summer
Date of Graduation
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Committee Chair
Karen G. Weiss
Committee Member
Jesse S.G. Wozniak
Committee Member
Amy J. Hirshman
Committee Member
Jessica Wilkerson
Abstract
This exploratory study seeks to understand the extent to which parenthood affects individual self-actualization by identifying the trade-offs, compromises, and sacrifices that parents make within the context of family life. Using a thematic analysis of 221 archived posts from the Reddit community r/regretfulparents, this study examines how social pressures surrounding parenthood may be related to experiences of parental regret. Specifically, it identifies two domains: pressures to be parents, including social norms, familial coercion, and interpersonal conflict, and pressures of parenting, including issues of labor, number of children, and challenging children. Across these domains, this study explores how tensions between personal expectations, social obligations, and lived realities of parenting may contribute to experiences of regret. Additionally, it highlights the role of communication and online interaction in shaping how individuals interpret and express parenthood regret, with a key finding being regret consciousness, in which exposure to others’ narratives shapes how individuals come to recognize and make sense of their own experiences with parenthood.
Recommended Citation
Mohd Hamdan, Marina Binti, ""If I Knew Then What I Know Now": Analyzing Online Narratives of Regretful Parents" (2026). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 13498.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/13498
Included in
Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Women's Studies Commons