Final answer:
In passive possessive patterned families, mothers often put their children's needs above their own, aligning with cultural expectations of nurturing. Control over family resources by the mother results in spending that benefits family's wellbeing. However, the distribution of family responsibilities could be seen as part of broader social patterns of discrimination concerning gender roles.
Step-by-step explanation:
In passive possessive patterned families, the mother's behavior is often shaped by cultural values that prescribe that a 'good' mother should put her children at the core of her life, often neglecting her interests for the benefit of her family. These cultural expectations suggest that mothers should be delicate, concerned with beauty and propriety, and prioritize nurture and growth. Consequently, in terms of resource control within the family, when the mother has a larger share of the family income, it has been found that household consumption reflects more spending on restaurant meals, child care, and women's clothing, and less on alcohol and tobacco. This shift in spending also correlates with an improvement in children's health, indicating the mother's pivotal role in steering family resources toward wellness and care.
However, this dynamic can also be viewed through the lens of social patterns of discrimination, where the traditional roles that fathers and mothers play in child-rearing influence the distribution of family responsibilities, leading to different patterns that might be considered as discrimination.