Abstract
The transition to parenthood is widely considered a period of increased vulnerability often accompanied by stress. Abidin conceived parenting stress as referring to specific difficulties in adjusting to the parenting role. Most studies of psychological distress arising from the demands of parenting have investigated the impact of stress on the development of dysfunctional parent–child relationships and on adult and child psychopathology. Studies have largely focused on mothers’ postnatal experience; less attention has been devoted to maternal prenatal characteristics associated with subsequent parental stress and studies of maternal prenatal predictors are few. Furthermore, no studies have examined that association exclusively with samples of first-time mothers. With an observational prospective study design with two time periods, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of mothers’ attachment style, maternal prenatal attachment to the fetus and dyadic adjustment during pregnancy (7th months of gestation) and their potential unique contribution to parenting stress 3 months after childbirth in a sample of nulliparous women. Results showed significant correlations between antenatal measures. Maternal attachment style (especially relationship anxiety) was negatively correlated with prenatal attachment and with dyadic adjustment; positive correlations resulted between prenatal attachment and dyadic adjustment. Each of the investigated variables was also good predictor of parenting stress 3 months after childbirth. Findings suggested how these dimensions could be considered as risk factors in the transition to motherhood and in the very beginning of the emergence of the caregiving system, especially with first-time mothers.
Highlights
Pregnancy, childbirth and the transition to motherhood involve complex cognitive, affective, and behavioral changes that require restructuring goals, behaviors, and responsibilities to achieve a new conception of self (Mercer, 2004)
Using an observational prospective study with two time periods, this paper explored the following in a group of nulliparous women: (1) the associations between maternal attachment style, maternal antenatal attachment to the fetus (MAAS) and dyadic adjustment in the prenatal period; (2) how maternal parenting stress, as assessed 3 months after delivery, can be predicted by each of the prenatal variables investigated
As noted previously, few empirical papers have addressed this issue, the present paper provides a contribution to the field of research devoted to identifying the contribution of prenatal variables to the onset of postnatal maternal parenting stress
Summary
Childbirth and the transition to motherhood involve complex cognitive, affective, and behavioral changes that require restructuring goals, behaviors, and responsibilities to achieve a new conception of self (Mercer, 2004). The transition to parenthood is widely considered a period of increased vulnerability that is often accompanied by stress (Morse et al, 2000). A mismatch between parents’ perception of the available resources for meeting the demands of parenthood and the perceived demands of the parenting role can cause parental stress (Deater-Deckard et al, 1998). Abidin (1995) conceived parenting stress as referring to specific difficulties in adjusting to the parenting role, reflecting parents’ conscious perceptions of their child, their relationship with their child and themselves as parents. As assessed by the Parenting Stress Index (PSI; Abidin, 1986), one of the most widely used instruments, is considered a factor that influences parenting behavior and a determinant of dysfunctional parenting (Belsky, 1984; Abidin, 1992; Rodgers, 1993)
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