A Descriptive Study Of Maternal Fetal Attachment Among A Sample Of Pregnant Adolescents

Author : Pascale Stemmle
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (932 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book An Exploration of Maternal Variables Impacting Infant Attachment Status Among High-risk, Pregnant Adolescents written by Pascale Stemmle and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maternal-infant attachment is an important construct in the field of child development, and the quality of this attachment has been linked to a variety of later life outcomes. This exploratory study reports demographic, psychiatric, and narrative attachment representations among a sample of pregnant, low socioeconomic status, predominantly Hispanic and African-American adolescent females. Measures administered at baseline (time 1) included a demographic questionnaire, the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI). In addition, this study examines associations between baseline demographic, psychiatric, and maternal caregiving representations at time 1 and infant attachment status at 18-month follow-up (time 2). Infant attachment was assessed at time 2 using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). The study relied upon descriptive statistics to describe the sample's characteristics, and correlations, t-tests and chi square tests to examine group differences and associations between variables. The study found a lower than expected rate of maternal psychopathology during pregnancy, but a relatively high history of trauma (44%). Anticipated partner support during pregnancy was an important determinant of the mother's representations of positive affect (p=.005), sensitivity (p=.002), and psychological involvement (p=.001) with her unborn baby, while years of education influenced sensitivity (p=.000) and psychological involvement (p=.018) but not positive affect. The desirability of the pregnancy influenced positive affect (p=.033) but not sensitivity or psychological involvement. The presence of a high level of psychiatric symptoms (as measured by the psychiatric caseness index of the SCL-90-R) also significantly influenced positive affect (p=.026). A high rate of infant insecure or disorganized attachment (60%) was present at time 2. A history of trauma at time 1 was significantly associated with insecure attachment status at time 2 (p=X 2 (1) =3.89, p=.048). Although there were expected group differences in these variables, lower maternal prenatal representations of positive affect, sensitivity, and psychological involvement at time 1 were not significantly associated with insecure infant attachment status at time 2. It is surmised that the reasons for these findings are two-fold. First, there may be important moderator variables that were unmeasured in this study--notably maternal attachment state of mind--that may have a more significant impacted infant attachment status. Second, it is possible that methodological factors, such as small sample size, lack of power, or choice of measures, may also account for this finding. Limitations and clinical implications of the study are presented, as are implications for future research.