Explaining maternal antenatal attachment by psychological, clinical and sociodemographic factors: a path analysis study.

Background: Antenatal attachment is a fundamental concept relative to human transition to parenthood and may be influenced by several factors. The aim of this study is to find the best model to explain maternal antenatal attachment based on the interaction among sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological variables.

Methods: Pregnant women (N = 407) were interviewed during the second trimester of pregnancy while waiting for medical consultations. A sociodemographic, obstetric, and psychometric protocol was used.

Statistical analyses: path analysis.

Independent variables: psychopathological symptomatology, depression, anxiety, stress, occupational stress, attitudes about pregnancy and motherhood, coping styles, marital satisfaction, sociodemographic, and clinical variables.

Dependent variables: maternal antenatal attachment in its several dimensions; quality of attachment (QA), intensity of preoccupation (IP), and global attachment (GA).

Results: Depression, anxiety, attitudes, and marital satisfaction explained 37% of maternal antenatal QA. Age, depression, anxiety, attitudes, and marital satisfaction explained 26% of maternal antenatal IP. Age, depression, anxiety, attitudes, and marital satisfaction explained 34% of the statistical variance of maternal antenatal GA.

Conclusions: Factors like emotional states (depression and anxiety), attitudes towards pregnancy and motherhood, marital satisfaction, and a sociodemographic variable (age) contribute significantly for the explanation of maternal antenatal attachment.