Infant mental health journal
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Infant Ment Health J · Mar 2018
POSTPARTUM BONDING DIFFICULTIES AND ADULT ATTACHMENT STYLES: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION AND CHILDBIRTH-RELATED PTSD.
Despite decades of research demonstrating the role of adult attachment styles and early mother-infant bonding in parenting behaviors and maternal mental health, these constructs have seldom been studied together. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and specific bonding difficulties of mothers. In addition, as postpartum depression and childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms have been associated with both constructs, we explored their possible mediation effect. ⋯ In contrast, greater avoidant attachment style was associated with greater rejection and anger, mediated by childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but not depression symptoms. The current study confirmed the association of different attachment styles with bonding as well as the mediating roles of childbirth-related PTSD and postpartum depression symptoms. Future psychological interventions may utilize such evidence to target interventions for bonding disorders in accordance with individual differences.
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Infant Ment Health J · Mar 2016
SUPPORTING PRETERM INFANT ATTACHMENT AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: STAFF PERCEPTIONS.
The infant-parent relationship has been shown to be of particular significance to preterm infant socioemotional development. Supporting parents and infants in this process of developing their relationships is an integral part of neonatal intensive care; however, there is limited knowledge of NICU staff perceptions about this aspect of care. To explore NICU staff perceptions about attachment and socioemotional development of preterm infants, experience of training in this area and the emotional impact of their work. ⋯ While all staff surveyed perceived the nature of their work to be emotionally stressful, there were differences among NICU staff disciplines and with years of experience in the NICU in terms of their perceptions about education in this area, the place of supervision for staff, and in relation to opportunities to discuss the emotional impact of the work on staff. NICU staff perceive their role as integral to supporting the developing parent-infant relationship and preterm infant socioemotional development; however, education in this area and provision of specific psychological support are lacking. Opportunities for staff to discuss and reflect on this aspect of their work should be developed and evaluated given the essential, but emotionally challenging, nature of their work with preterm babies and their parents.
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Infant Ment Health J · Nov 2015
EFFICACY OF THE 20-WEEK CIRCLE OF SECURITY INTERVENTION: CHANGES IN CAREGIVER REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING, REPRESENTATIONS, AND CHILD ATTACHMENT IN AN AUSTRALIAN CLINICAL SAMPLE.
Circle of Security is an attachment theory based intervention that aims to promote secure parent-child attachment relationships. Despite extensive uptake of the approach, there is limited empirical evidence regarding efficacy. The current study examined whether participation in the 20-week Circle of Security intervention resulted in positive caregiver-child relationship change in four domains: caregiver reflective functioning; caregiver representations of the child and the relationship with the child; child attachment security, and attachment disorganization. ⋯ Results supported all four hypotheses: Caregiver reflective functioning, caregiving representations, and level of child attachment security increased after the intervention, and level of attachment disorganization decreased for those with high baseline levels. Those whose scores were least optimal prior to intervention showed the greatest change in all domains. This study adds to the evidence suggesting that the 20-week Circle of Security intervention results in significant relationship improvements for caregivers and their children.
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Infant Ment Health J · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyAntecedents and consequences of fear of childbirth in nulliparous and parous women.
The study aimed to explore the differences in the role of specific personal and interpersonal risk factors in predicting fear of childbirth (FOC) and to examine whether FOC predicts postnatal maternal adaptation in nulliparous and parous women. A prospective correlational design with two time periods (pre- and postnatal) was carried out with 158 women, 85 nulliparous and 73 parous. Women at Week 32 of gestation completed a demographic questionnaire, the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire (K. ⋯ The results indicated that in the prenatal period, higher state anxiety, β = .35, p < .001, lower dyadic adjustment, β = -.26, p = .03, and higher insecurity in attachment relationships, β = .39, p < .001, predicted FOC in first-time mothers only. In the postnatal period, FOC predicted postnatal maternal risk for depression, β = .39, p = .02, and parenting stress, β = .42, p = .02, for nulliparous women only. The specific antecedents and consequences of FOC in nulliparous and parous women should be taken into consideration when developing specific interventions.
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Infant Ment Health J · Jul 2010
Mothers' facial expressions of pain and fear and infants' pain response during immunization.
The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between mothers' spontaneous facial expressions of pain and fear immediately preceding their infants' immunizations and infants' facial expressions of pain immediately following immunizations. Infants' observations of mothers' faces prior to immunization also were examined to explore whether these observations moderated the effect of mothers' facial expressions on infant pain. The final sample included 58 mothers and their infants. ⋯ Mothers' subtle facial expressions of fear may indicate a relationship history of empathic caregiving that functions to support infants' abilities to regulate distress following painful procedures. Interventions aimed at improving caregiver sensitivity to infants' emotional cues may prove beneficial to infants in pain. Future directions in research are discussed.