This study investigated the effects of maternal employment status on college students' adjustment, perceptions of childhood, and appraisals of parents. A questionnaire packet was administered to 67 introductory college students in order to gather information about their mothers' employment status during different stages of development. Maternal employment status was found to be significantly associated with subjects' perceptions of childhood freedom, beliefs about the quality of parent's marriage, admiration for mother, and perceptions of mother's happiness. No significant differences were found between the three maternal employment groups (part-time, full-time, no employment) on the majority of childhood appraisal items including perception of life satisfaction, happiness, social adjustment, relationships with parents, intelligence, success, or self- esteem. However, subjects whose mothers had been non-employed or who had worked full-time when they were infants, were more likely to perceive a loss of freedom as a result of their mothers' work status. Subjects with mothers who worked full-time when they were infants were more likely to report the belief that their mother's work status had adversely affected the quality of her marriage. Also, subjects whose mothers had been unemployed during their childhood were more likely to report that they would admire their mothers more if her work status had been different. Other results of this study support the idea that part-time maternal employment is seen as being preferable to either full-time or no employment. (Author/LLL)