Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Le Bas, Genevieve
• Youssef, George
• Macdonald, Jacqui A.
• Teague, Samantha
• Mattick, Richard
• Honan, Ingrid
• McIntosh, Jennifer E.
• Khor, Sarah
• Rossen, Larissa
• Elliott, Elizabeth J.
• Allsop, Steve
• Burns, Lucinda
• Olsson, Craig A.
• Hutchinson, Delyse

Titel

The Role of Antenatal and Postnatal Maternal Bonding in Infant Development

Ist Teil von

• Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2022-06, Vol.61 (6), p.820-829.e1

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The affectional bond experienced by a mother toward her developing fetus/infant has been theorized to be a critical factor in determining infant developmental outcomes; yet there remains a paucity of research in this area, and a lack of high-quality longitudinal studies. This study aimed to examine the extent to which mother-to-infant bonding predicted infant development in a multi-wave longitudinal pregnancy cohort study (N = 1,347). Self-reported bonding was assessed using the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale at each trimester, and the Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale at 8 weeks and 12 months postpartum. Infant development was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III) at 12 months. Bonding predicted indicators of infant social−affective development, including social−emotional, behavioral, and temperamental outcomes. Effect sizes ranged from small to moderate, increasing over the perinatal period (β = 0.11-0.27). Very small effects were also identified in the relationship between bonding and cognitive, language, and motor development (β = 0.06-0.08). Findings suggest that a mother’s perceived emotional connection with her child plays a role in predicting social−affective outcomes; prediction may not extend to other domains of infant development. Maternal bonding may therefore be a potentially modifiable predictor of infant social−affective outcomes, offering important considerations for preventive intervention.