Infant Mental Health Journal最新文献

Differences in mind-mindedness and parental reflective functioning (PRF) were investigated in mothers and their 6-month-old infants from South Korea (N = 66, 32 girls) and the United Kingdom (N = 63, 26 girls). Mind-mindedness was assessed in terms of appropriate and non-attuned mind-related comments during infant–mother interaction; PRF was assessed using a questionnaire. British mothers commented more on infant desires and preferences, whereas Korean mothers commented more on cognitions and emotions, but there were no cultural differences in overall levels of mind-mindedness. For PRF, Korean mothers reported more certainty about their infants’ mental states compared with their British counterparts, but there were no cultural differences in mothers’ reported interest in their infants’ mental states. Greater reported certainty about infants’ mental states was positively related to self-reported parenting quality in both cultural groups, but this association was not seen for parenting quality as assessed observationally. Mind-mindedness and PRF were unrelated in both Korean and British mothers. Results are discussed in terms of the Korean concept of mother–infant oneness and the multi-dimensional nature of parental mentalization.

Mother–infant relationship development is influenced by maternal presence, proximity, and the frequency and duration of engagement. Proximity and dyadic engagement can be challenging when an infant is hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This study examined patterns of maternal proximity and engagement in a NICU in the Southwestern United States and identified thematic categories of alternate activities to engagement. Trained observers conducted 52 h of NICU observations, documenting maternal presence, patterns of proximity, engagement, nonengagement, and alternate activities to nonengagement and focused engagement. Results include data from 88 mother–infant dyads. Of the time mothers were in proximity to their infants, 83% of these instances occurred without active engagement. In contrast, focused dyadic engagement was noted in 97% of these observations, while unfocused engagement was recorded in 65% of instances. Mothers in proximity but not actively engaged were most often observed using a smartphone, a trend that was also observed when mothers were in unfocused engagement during nurturing social contexts. While it is expected that occasional interruptions to mother–infant interaction in the NICU will occur, more studies are needed to determine the implications of both brief and prolonged disruptions during dyadic interactions on interaction quality in the NICU.

Die Entwicklung der Mutter-Kind-Beziehung wird durch die mütterliche Anwesenheit und Nähe sowie die Häufigkeit und Dauer der Interaktion beeinflusst. Nähe und dyadische Interaktion können eine Herausforderung darstellen, wenn ein Säugling auf einer Neugeborenen-Intensivstation (NICU) untergebracht ist. In dieser Studie wurden Muster mütterlicher Nähe und Interaktion auf einer NICU im Südwesten der USA untersucht und thematische Kategorien alternativer Aktivitäten zur Interaktion identifiziert. Geschulte Beobachtende führten 52 Stunden Beobachtungen auf der NICU durch und dokumentierten Anwesenheiten der Mütter, Muster der Nähe, der Interaktion, der Nicht-Interaktion und der alternativen Aktivitäten zur Nicht-Interaktion und zur gezielten Interaktion. Die Ergebnisse beinhalten Daten von 88 Mutter-Kind-Dyaden. Von der Zeit, in der sich die Mütter in der Nähe ihrer Kinder aufhielten, verlief 83 % ohne aktive Interaktion. Im Gegensatz dazu wurde in 97 % dieser Beobachtungen gezielte dyadische Interaktion festgestellt, während in 65 % der Fälle unfokussierte Interaktion beobachtet wurde. Mütter, die sich in der Nähe ihrer Kinder aufhielten, aber nicht aktiv mit ihm interagierten, wurden am häufigsten bei der Nutzung eines Smartphones beobachtet; ein Trend, der auch bei der unfokussierten Interaktion der Mütter in nährenden sozialen Kontexten zu beobachten war. Es ist zwar zu erwarten, dass es auf der NICU zu gelegentlichen Unterbrechungen der Mutter-Kind-Interaktion kommt, doch sind weitere Studien erforderlich, um die Auswirkungen sowohl kurzer als auch längerer

The COVID-19 pandemic affected healthcare practices, especially the provision of face-to-face services due to restrictions and social distance. The aim of the study was to analyze the experience of childbirth care among mothers in Lithuania during the pandemic. A qualitative design was adopted in the study. Research data were collected as part of the international Babies Born Better survey. Data of 200 women who gave birth in Lithuania (February–June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic) was included. Participant responses to open-ended questions regarding childbirth care experiences were analyzed using an inductive thematic framework. Four themes emerged: “Subjective experience of birth care service,” “COVID-19 policies,” “Consideration of mother/baby needs,” and “Perception towards staff.” Emotional aspects of different care levels were highlighted in themes. Women expressed feelings of thankfulness for staff professionality and responding to their needs. However, perceived staff rudeness, lack of information and absence of an accompanied person negatively related to mothers’ perceptions of satisfaction. The results revealed mothers’ perceptions of strengths and challenges of the maternity care system in the country where the pandemic was managed with early vaccination, strict lockdown measures and social distancing—higher appreciation of service, regret for disturbed emotional aspects of communication, and lack of support from family members.

Maternal self-efficacy during infancy is shaped by many factors, including maternal mental health and social support. This study examines how depression, emotional support, and childcare support relate to maternal self-efficacy among mothers of infants in rural Pakistan. Participants included 885 mothers assessed at 3 and 6 months postpartum. At 3 months postpartum, mothers completed interview measures of depression, emotional social support, support with day-to-day childcare tasks (daily childcare support), and childcare support when they were unable to care for their child (childcare support when needed). At 6 months postpartum, participants reported on maternal self-efficacy. Generalized estimating equations were used to test the associations between depression and social support at 3 months and maternal self-efficacy at 6 months, as well as the interaction between depression and social support. Depression at 3 months was not associated with maternal self-efficacy at 6 months when controlling for depression at 6 months. Emotional support was associated with increased self-efficacy, but daily childcare support was not. We found weak evidence that childcare support when needed was associated with increased self-efficacy only among mothers with depression. Results suggest that emotional support and childcare support when needed may be helpful for promoting mothers’ self-efficacy.

L'auto-efficacité maternelle pendant la petite enfance est façonnée par de nombreux facteurs, y compris la santé mentale maternelle et le soutien social. Cette étude examine comment la dépression, le soutien émotionnel et le soutien aux enfants sont liés à l'auto-efficacité maternelle chez des mères de nourrissons dans le Pakistan rural. Les participantes étaient 885 mères évaluées à 3 et 6 mois après l'accouchement. À trois mois après l'accouchement, les mères ont passé des entretiens mesurant la dépression, le soutien social émotionnel, le soutien aux tâches quotidiennes de la garde de l'enfant (soutien quotidien aux soins) et le soutien aux enfants lorsqu'elles n’étaient pas en mesure de s'occuper de leur enfant (soutien aux enfants lorsque c’était nécessaire). À 6 mois après la naissance, les participantes ont fait état de leur auto-efficacité maternelle. Des équations d'estimation généralisées ont été utilisées pour tester les liens entre la dépression et le soutien social à 3 mois et l'auto-efficacité maternelle à 6 mois, ainsi que l'interaction entre la dépression et le soutien social. La dépression à 3 mois n’était pas liée à l'auto-efficacité maternelle à 6 mois lorsque le contrôle de la dépression à 6 mois a été effectué. Le soutien émotionnel était lié à une auto-efficacité plus importante, mais le soutien quotidien aux enfants ne l’était pas. Nous avons trouvé peu de preuves que le soutien aux enfants en cas de nécessité était lié à une auto-efficacité plus importante chez uniquement les mères souffrant de dépression. Les résultats suggèrent que le s

With the swift advancements in China's education system and society, preschool children's social–emotional competence is becoming increasingly important for adapting to complicated situations. While research shows parental marital quality as a key factor, studies on its specific mechanisms within the Chinese context are limited. Grounded in the framework of family systems theory and incorporating perspectives from the spillover hypothesis, emotional security theory, and attachment theory, this research explores how parental marital quality influences preschool children's social–emotional competence, emphasizing the mediating roles of parent–child and sibling relationships in China. This study examined 227 preschool children (124 boys and 103 girls) from two-child families in six kindergartens across China as research participants. Mother reports on the quality of marital, sibling, and parent–child relationships were collected cross-sectionally to assess the direct and indirect effects on children's social–emotional competence using path models. Results show that parental marital quality positively influences preschool children's social–emotional competence. Additionally, parent–child and sibling relationships not only serve as independent mediators but also create a chain mediating effect. This finding emphasizes the importance of parental marital quality in shaping preschool children's social–emotional competence. It underscores the necessity of nurturing healthy parent–child and sibling interactions via family education.

Au vu des avances rapides constatées dans le système éducatif et dans la société chinoise, la compétence socio-émotionnelle des enfants d’âge préscolaire devient de plus en plus importante pour ce qui est de s'adapter à des situations complexes. Bien que les recherches montrent que la qualité du mariage parental est un facteur clé, les études sur ses mécanismes spécifiques dans le contexte chinois sont limitées. Ancrée dans la structure de la théorie des systèmes familiaux et intégrant les perspectives de l'hypothèse de débordement, de la théorie de sécurité émotionnelle et de la théorie de l'attachement, nos recherches explorent ici la manière dont la qualité conjugale parentale influence la compétence émotionnelle des enfants d’âge préscolaire, en mettant l'accent sur les rôles médiateurs des relations parent-enfant et entre frères et sœurs en Chine. Cette étude a examiné 227 enfants d’âge préscolaire (124 garçons et 103 filles) de familles de deux enfants dans six crèches à travers la Chine en tant que participants à la recherche. Les réflexions faites par la mère sur la qualité des relations conjugales, les relations entre les enfants et les relations parent-enfant ont été recueillies de façon transversale afin d’évaluer les effets directs et indirects sur la compétence socio-émotionnelle des enfants à l'aide de modèles de cheminement. Les résultats montrent que la qualité conjugale parentale influence la compétenc

This study examined the links between maternal self-criticism, maternal postpartum emotional distress (PPED), and maternal non-hostility among Arab-Bedouin mothers living in southern Israel. We proposed a moderated mediation model in which self-criticism would be related to PPED, which, in turn would be related to maternal non-hostility. One hundred five Arab-Bedouin mothers and their preterm (n = 48) and full-term (n = 57) infants were recruited shortly after birth and were followed up when infants were 6 months old (corrected for prematurity). The self-report measures were done shortly after birth, and, the measurement of observation was done at the 6-month visit. Findings demonstrated evidence for a moderated mediation model in which higher levels of maternal self-criticism correlated over time with higher levels of maternal PPED, and this, in turn, predicted lower levels of maternal non-hostility. This model was found only among the preterm group.

Dyadic interventions targeting maternal mental health and the mother-infant relationship in the perinatal period are critical due to the potential consequences of perinatal mental illness and relational disturbance for the mother, the infant, and their family. This paper describes the Pregnancy to Parenthood (P2P) model of care, a dyadic mother-infant community-based program designed to support vulnerable families in Western Australia in the context of an identified need to build workforce capacity. A pragmatic service evaluation study was conducted by analyzing routine clinical data collected from 105 dyads who completed pre- and post-intervention measures, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS), and the Mother Object Relations Scale-Short Form (MORS-SF). Reliable change index and cut-off analyses indicated a clinically reliable pre-post reduction in perinatal depressive and anxiety symptoms for 71% and 68% of the sample, respectively. Significant pre-post improvements with medium effect sizes (r = −.46, r = −.32) were found for caregiving representations on the MORS-SF, suggesting representations became more balanced. These results provide provisional evidence that the P2P model of care may be effective in improving maternal mental health and caregiving representations. Further research is required to evaluate the efficacy of P2P in relation to enhancing family well-being, and to inform policy and mental health service development.

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) is an evidence-based early intervention promoting attachment security and self-regulation by enhancing parental sensitivity. When scaling up an evidence-based intervention to the community, it is essential to consider families’ preferences and cultural values to ensure cultural appropriateness, while maintaining fidelity to the intervention's core components. In this article, we aimed to test the effectiveness of ABC in improving parental sensitivity when implemented in Spanish at a community level in the USA. The effectiveness of ABC when implemented in Spanish in the community was assessed through pre-post changes in observed parental sensitivity in 79 Latine families with children ages 6 months to 4 years. Parental sensitivity increased from pre- to post-test, with a similar effect size to previous studies (d = .67). Results and practice implications are discussed, highlighting the importance of the support to providers reaching families of diverse origins.

Inpatient parent–infant psychiatric units (PIUs) are considered “gold standard” for treating maternal mental illness, with well-documented positive outcomes for mothers. However, little research addresses outcomes for infants in these units, who often face significant developmental and socio-emotional adversity. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the characteristics and progress of an Australian PIU population, focusing on the impact of PIU admission on infant outcomes. Over 3 months, 31 consecutively admitted mother–infant pairs (dyads) were assessed through interviews, observations, and standardized measures to evaluate maternal and infant characteristics and progress from admission to discharge. Maternal well-being and the mother–infant relationship improved. Infants exhibited high levels of physical (29%) and developmental concerns (80.6%). 22.6% receiving an Axis I infant mental health diagnosis. Infant socio-emotional responsiveness improved significantly, as measured by the modified Alarm-Distress Baby Scale, indicating a positive impact of PIU admission. The small sample size and reliance on clinician-observed measures limit the generalizability of the findings. PIU infants are particularly vulnerable, and PIU admission may ameliorate socio-emotional responsiveness. Further research with larger samples and extended follow-up is needed to determine the most effective intervention strategies during and after PIU admission to maximize benefits for these infants.

Regular repair of normative mother-toddler conflict is required for relational health; yet, we still need improved delineation of regulation strategies that can promote child cooperation. Contemporary conceptualizations of positive parenting propose that structure and autonomy support each facilitate children's optimal engagement; however, toddler studies rarely address their joint impact and conditional moderation. This observational study examined both dimensions in predicting cooperation among 106 U.S. 30-month-olds and their primarily European–American mothers during a demanding request situation. We also assessed mutuality, an indicator of mother-child relationship quality, from two situations with minimized power differentials to explore whether it moderated associations. Regression analyses confirmed the unique and additive impact of both maternal behavioral dimensions in predicting toddler cooperation and also an interaction effect such that the positive association between maternal autonomy support and toddlers’ level of cooperation was accentuated depending on the dyads’ mutuality. Results suggest that maternal structure and autonomy support may serve as effective approaches for enlisting or maintaining child cooperation during hierarchical negotiations, and that suboptimal relationship mutuality magnifies toddlers’ responses to maternal levels of autonomy support. Findings are likely relevant to parenting programs that advance mother-child relational health during the transition from infancy to early childhood.