Maternal-child Relationship Research Articles

Experiences of Growing Up with Mothers with Schizophrenia in South Korea: A Qualitative Study.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of living with mothers with schizophrenia from childhood to the present from the perspective of their now-adult child. Individual interviews were conducted with 10 adult children of mothers with schizophrenia. The data were collected in South Korea from July 2017 to March 2018 and thematic analysis was employed. Purposive sampling was used. Four themes were identified: (1) Navigating Childhood Confusion and Isolation Due to Maternal Schizophrenia, (2) Journey Through Loneliness, Resentment, and Emerging Responsibility, (3) Facing real-life difficulties as an adult child with vulnerability, and (4) Satisfaction in well-grown self. Notwithstanding the real-life difficulties due to unstable life with their mothers with schizophrenia, the children still had faith and confidence in themselves as well-grown thus far. Reflection on memories with their mothers served as a basis for continued maternal-child relationship and for taking on the role of guardians despite the negative experiences of their mothers' psychotic symptoms. Mental health nurses and school health professionals should pay attention to the children of mothers with schizophrenia and their difficulties in providing appropriate mental health services.

The impact of community engagement as a public health intervention to support the mental well-being of single mothers and children living under housing insecure conditions – a rapid literature review

BackgroundIn the UK, the population of homelessness and housing insecurity is increasing among families headed by mothers. The unique stressors of housing insecurity and living in accommodations ill-suited to long-term dwellings increase mental distress for mothers and children. Community engagement interventions present a public health opportunity to alleviate adverse outcomes for vulnerable families.AimTo synthesise and evaluate evidence of the impact of community engagement interventions in supporting the mental well-being of mothers and children living under housing insecure conditions. To synthesise the components of community engagement interventions as a public health intervention in alleviating mental well-being and non-health outcomes of mothers and children living under housing insecurity.MethodsA systematic search of five online bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, Global Health and Child Development & Adolescent Studies) and grey literature (Carrot2) was conducted in May 2022. Primary studies with community engagement components and housing-insecure single-mother families were included. Intervention data was extracted using the TIDieR checklist and a community engagement keywording tool. The studies’ quality was critically appraised using the MetaQAT framework.ResultsTen studies meeting inclusion criteria were identified, across two countries (USA & UK). Data from the studies reported positive significant effects for health and personal maternal outcomes in addition to higher positive effects for child health outcomes (e.g., decrease in depression symptoms). Interventions targeting social support and self-efficacy demonstrated potential to improve maternal and child outcomes via the maternal-child relationship. Community engagement at the design, delivery and evaluation intervention stages increased the level of community engagement, however there were tentative links to directly improving mental well-being outcomes.ConclusionThere is evidence to suggest that community engagement may be applied as an effective intervention in supporting the mental well-being of mothers and children living under housing insecurity. Proposed intervention effectiveness may be achieved via psychosocial pathways such as improved maternal self-efficacy and social support. However, more embedded long-term process evaluations of these interventions are needed to establish maintenance of these observed benefits and to understand to what extent the findings apply to the UK context.

Pragmatism or idealism: a systematic review and visual analysis of Winnicott's psychoanalytical treatment views.

Winnicott is an outstanding representative of the School of Object Relations, and his unique psychoanalytic treatment views have been greatly influential to the psychoanalytical community. Winnicott emphasizes the impact of facilitating environment and the key role of the maternal-child relationship in the early psychological growth of individuals. He puts forward the ideas of the development mechanism of the true self and the false self, which builds a bridge between the characteristics of adult psychopathology and the characteristics of early maternal-child relationships, providing a new perspective for research on individual self-development and psychoanalysis. Winnicott creatively introduces the concepts of the transitional object and the transitional phenomena into the theories of Object Relations. He relates the transitional experience to the field of mental health, and extends it from the relationship between the mother and the child to adult life, which not only has had a revolutionary impact on modern psychoanalysis but also literature, aesthetics, and other fields. Winnicott highlights the importance of the patient's emotional development in the treatment. He advocates holding the patients' sentiments and meeting their emotional needs. He also approves of the emotional reparenting of the patients, to make them gain the ability to establish a relationship with the real world. His treatment views formed through a large number of clinical practices are very practical and full of humanistic care. This review summarizes Winnicott's psychoanalytical treatment views as well as his marvelous original concepts, and analyzes the hot topics of academic research on his theories based on a visualization analysis by using the software CiteSpace, which includes data in the Web of Science Core Collection published from 1978 to 2023 with 365 papers involved. The study provides a macroscopic and panoramic review of Winnicott's theories, and it clearly shows Winnicott's significant influence on the field of psychoanalysis and related fields.

Pregnancy intendedness and happiness as predictors of maternal-foetal bonding: evidence for mediation

ABSTRACT Introduction Prior research has identified associations between pregnancy intendedness and maternal-foetal bonding, but no studies have examined the potential mediation of pregnancy happiness on the development of the maternal–infant relationship. Methods In 2017–2018, a clinic-based pregnancy cohort of 177 low-income and racially diverse women in a South-Central U.S. state participated in a study examining their pregnancy intentions, attitudes and behaviours. Pregnancy intentions and happiness and demographic characteristics were measured during the first trimester assessment, and maternal-foetal bonding was measured with the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) during the second trimester. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the associations between intendedness, happiness and bonding. Results Findings indicate positive associations between intended pregnancies and pregnancy happiness and pregnancy happiness to bonding. The direct effect from intended pregnancy to maternal-foetal bonding was not significant, providing evidence for full mediation. We did not find any associations between pregnancies that were unintended or ambivalent with pregnancy happiness or maternal-foetal bonding. Conclusions Pregnancy happiness provides one potential explanation for the association between intended pregnancies and maternal-foetal bonding. These findings have implications for research and practice, as inquiring about mothers’ pregnancy attitudes (e.g. how happy they are about their pregnancy) may be more important for maternal psychological health outcomes, such as the maternal–child relationship, than whether or not their pregnancies were intended.

Breastfeeding Practices During Covid-19

The covid-19 has disrupted all parts of life especially maternal-child relationship. Many lactating women were quarantined in covid-19 which has affected nourishment of their infant. Breastfeeding has innumerable benefits for both mother and infants as it provides them protection. The Maternal-child relationship is drastically affected if an infant is separated from its mother. It greatly affects lactation, which acts as a shield against infectious diseases. It is approved by all the international agencies and government bodies to promote breastfeeding including the neonates of infected mothers. It is suggested to adopt proper hand and respiratory hygiene measures to prevent transmission from mother to infant. Although many studies and literature reviews have confirmed that there are no direct transmission cases related to coronavirus during breastfeeding. However, WHO, UNICEF, and many other organizations suggested to adopt some hygiene-specific guidelines while practicing lactation. These include wearing a mask, washing hands, and disinfecting surfaces. As we are in the middle of this pandemic and new information is being gathered by scientists, it is hoped that they will also support promoting breastfeeding. As its advantages outweigh the risks of COVID-19. The main aim of this review is to promote early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding during COVID-19.

Sudanese Women’s Psychological Reactions to Breast Cancer Diagnosis and the Impact on Their Maternal-Child Relationship

Sudanese Women’s Psychological Reactions to Breast Cancer Diagnosis and the Impact on Their Maternal-Child Relationship

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Domestic Violence on the Maternal-Child Relationship & Intellectual Process of Pre-School Age Children’s

The study investigated the unswerving besides the incidental effect of domestic violence on a child’s Logical Operations. This study took 100 participants also children, whose age is between 3 or 5-year-old in which (44 Boys and 56 Girls) conscripted from the overall society. Domestic violence is used as a dependent variable and negatively related to the home environment and Trauma & Mental Depression. Children who witness domestic violence have poorer verbal ability whereas controlling the SES and child abuse have significantly affected visual-spatial abilities. The two scores WPPSI-R and PPVT-R score are used for MANCOVA results for primary data for witness and non-witness of domestic violence. In the end, internal vehemence circuitously precious the mutual type of rational skills over the impression on parental downheartedness besides the intellectual superiority of the household atmosphere.

Intergenerational trauma in Latinxs: A scoping review.

Intergenerational trauma refers to emotional and psychological wounding that is transmitted across generations. Latinxs-individuals who have migrated from Latin America to the United States or Canada and their descendants-are particularly vulnerable to intergenerational trauma due to legacies of colonialism, political violence, and migration-related stressors. This scoping review aims to survey and synthesize the extant literature on intergenerational trauma in Latinxs, the ways that the literature conceptualizes and operationalizes intergenerational trauma, and the mechanisms of transmission that it proposes. We identified and screened 7788 abstracts using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) statement and checklist. We synthesized 44 articles published between 1994 and 2020, including 10 qualitative and 34 quantitative or mixed-methods studies. Qualitative studies more frequently placed intergenerational trauma within frameworks of structural vulnerability and historical and political violence, whereas quantitative studies tended to conceptualize trauma as discrete events or individual-level distress. Our findings suggest that current paradigms within this field are constrained by their focus on individual risk factors and parenting-particularly mothering-behaviors, at the expense of cultural, structural, and historical context. We highlight multiple gaps in the literature and call for further research that (1) geographically represents Latinx communities; (2) includes individuals with intersectional identities; (3) deploys culturally-adapted instruments and measures; (4) focuses on caregivers and factors outside the maternal-child relationship; (5) examines the concept of biological embedding; and (6) more thoroughly considers the impacts of historical trauma and structural violence on Latinx communities.

Effects of Maternal Depression and Mother–Child Relationship Quality in Early Childhood on Neural Reactivity to Rejection and Peer Stress in Adolescence: A 9-Year Longitudinal Study

Problems in mother-child relationships are thought to be key to intergenerational transmission of depression. To evaluate neural and behavioral processes involved in these pathways, we tested effects of maternal depression and maternal-child relationship quality in early childhood on neural and interviewer-based indicators of social processes in adolescence. At age 3, children and mothers (N=332) completed an observational parenting measure and diagnostic interviews with mothers. At age 12, adolescents completed a task in which event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to peer acceptance and rejection feedback and interviews to assess peer stress. Lower mother-child relationship quality at age 3 was associated with enhanced reactivity to rejection, as measured by N1, and greater peer stress at age 12. Indirect effects of maternal depression through mother-child relationship quality were observed for N1 and peer stress. Findings inform understanding of disruptions in social functioning that are likely relevant to the intergenerational transmission of depression.

Incorporating Recognition and Management of Perinatal Depression Into Pediatric Practice

Perinatal depression (PND) is the most common obstetric complication in the United States. Even when screening results are positive, mothers often do not receive further evaluation, and even when PND is diagnosed, mothers do not receive evidence-based treatments. Studies reveal that postpartum depression (PPD), a subset of PND, leads to increased costs of medical care, inappropriate medical treatment of the infant, discontinuation of breastfeeding, family dysfunction, and an increased risk of abuse and neglect. PPD, specifically, adversely affects this critical early period of infant brain development. PND is an example of an adverse childhood experience that has potential long-term adverse health complications for the mother, her partner, the infant, and the mother-infant dyad. However, PND can be treated effectively, and the stress on the infant can be buffered. Pediatric medical homes should coordinate care more effectively with prenatal providers for women with prenatally diagnosed maternal depression; establish a system to implement PPD screening at the 1-, 2-, 4-, and 6-month well-child visits; use community resources for the treatment and referral of the mother with depression; and provide support for the maternal-child (dyad) relationship, including breastfeeding support. State chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics, working with state departments of public health, public and private payers, and maternal and child health programs, should advocate for payment and for increased training for PND screening and treatment. American Academy of Pediatrics recommends advocacy for workforce development for mental health professionals who care for young children and mother-infant dyads, and for promotion of evidence-based interventions focused on healthy attachment and parent-child relationships.

Maternal-Newborn Bonding Concept Analysis

Maternal-newborn bonding is the complex process of attachment between a mother and newborn. The authors used the Walker and Avant methodology to conduct a concept analysis regarding maternalnewborn bonding as it relates to advanced practice nurse (APN), the patient, and health care. The attributes of maternal-newborn bonding include affection, association, attachment, and relationship. The consequences of maternal-newborn bonding include love, trust, protection, and maternal-child relationship. The APN must be able to recognize and understand the importance of maternal-newborn bonding to have anoptimal outcome for the patient. A model case, borderline case, and contrary case were discussed to provide an example of the maternal-newborn bonding concept. Discussion regarding empirical referents is also included.

The Longitudinal Impact of Perceptions of Parental Monitoring on Adolescent Initiation of Sexual Activity

PurposeThe association between parental monitoring and adolescent behavior is well established. Past research suggests that parents monitor adolescent activities through parental control, solicitation of information, and youth disclosure, which increase parents' knowledge of youth activity leading to decreased risk behavior. However, there is mixed evidence of the impact of these efforts on sexual behavior. We examined these strategies from the adolescent perspective and assessed their impact on the initiation of sexual activity across the transition from middle school to high school. MethodsAnalyses include 533 primarily Latino adolescents, who had not yet had sex in eighth grade and were surveyed yearly through 10th grade. ResultsAdolescents who in eighth grade reported greater parental knowledge and more family rules about dating were less likely to initiate sex between eighth and 10th grade. Exchange of information, through parental solicitation and youth disclosure, and parental control, through rules about friends and dating, as well as maternal relationship satisfaction were significant predictors of parental knowledge. There were no gender differences in the impact of dating rules and parental knowledge on sexual initiation, but the paths to acquiring knowledge did differ by gender. ConclusionsResults suggest that parental monitoring at earlier ages has an impact on sexual initiation. Effective monitoring is an active process within a family that includes setting boundaries and exchanging information. Interventions that encourage family rules, provide strategies for improving parental solicitation of information, and increase youth disclosure by enhancing the maternal-child relationship may be more likely to impact sexual initiation.

"With This You Can Meet Your Baby": Fetal Personhood and Audible Heartbeats in Oaxacan Public Health.

This article examines how amplified fetal heartbeats may be used to make claims about fetuses' social presence. These claims are supported by the Mexican Public Health system's selection of the maternal-child relationship as a key site of clinical intervention, intertwining medical and moral discourses. Drawing on the robust literature on cross-cultural propositions of "fetal personhood," this analysis uses ethnographic material from public health institutions in Oaxaca, Mexico, to explore how doctors use diagnostic technology to materialize fetuses for their patients. I argue that Spanish's epistemological distinction between saber (to have knowledge about) and conocer (to be acquainted with) is key to how diagnostic technologies may be deployed to make social claims. I use one doctor's attempts to use technology to shift her patient from saber to conocer as illustrative of underlying cultural logics about fetal embodiment and its proof. Focused on the under-theorized socio-medical deployment of audio fetal heartbeat technology, this article suggests that sound-in addition to sight-is a potent tool for constructing fetal personhood.

Maternal Attitudes/Relationship Quality and Daughter’s Receipt of Reproductive Health Care Services

Maternal Attitudes/Relationship Quality and Daughter’s Receipt of Reproductive Health Care Services

Stigma and Parenting Children Conceived From Sexual Violence.

Since armed conflict began in 1996, widespread sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in many sexual violence-related pregnancies (SVRPs). However, there are limited data on the relationships between mothers and their children from sexual violence. This study aimed to evaluate the nature and determinants of these maternal-child relationships. Using respondent-driven sampling, 757 women raising children from SVRPs in South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo were interviewed. A parenting index was created from questions assessing the maternal-child relationship. The influences of social stigma, family and community acceptance, and maternal mental health on the parenting index were assessed in univariate and multivariable analyses. The majority of mothers reported positive attitudes toward their children from SVRPs. Prevalence of perceived family or community stigma toward the women or their children ranged from 31.8% to 42.9%, and prevalence of perceived family or community acceptance ranged from 45.2% to 73.5%. In multivariable analyses, stigma toward the child, as well as maternal anxiety and depression, were associated with lower parenting indexes, whereas acceptance of the mother or child and presence of a spouse were associated with higher parenting indexes (all P ≤ .01). In this study with a large sample size, stigma and mental health disorders negatively influenced parenting attitudes, whereas family and community acceptance were associated with adaptive parenting attitudes. Interventions to reduce stigmatization, augment acceptance, and improve maternal mental health may improve the long-term well-being of mothers and children from SVRPs.

Mixed Expectations: Effects of Goal Ambivalence during Pregnancy on Maternal Well-Being, Stress, and Coping.

We hypothesised that experiencing ambivalence toward the childbearing goal would be related to indicators of well-being, stress, and coping among women with planned pregnancies. Study 1 (N = 208) tested cross-sectional associations between goal ambivalence and measures of well-being, stress, and coping. It also included a postpartum measurement point (N = 71) to examine prospective effects of goal ambivalence. Study 2 (N = 109) extended the investigation to within-person effects in a three-week daily diary assessment. In Study 1, goal ambivalence in pregnant women was positively associated with depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and pregnancy-specific avoidance-oriented coping, and negatively associated with coping self-efficacy. Goal ambivalence also predicted changes in life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and coping self-efficacy postpartum. Study 2 revealed within-person effects of daily fluctuations in goal ambivalence on day-to-day changes in positive emotions, negative activation, and avoidance-oriented coping. Ambivalence towards the childbearing goal is a source of significant distress to pregnant women with planned pregnancies and its effects seem to extend into the postpartum period. These findings may have important clinical implications for maternal and child well-being. Future studies should examine whether goal ambivalence during pregnancy affects the maternal-child relationship in the long term.

Impact of maternal breast cancer on school-aged children in Saudi Arabia.

BackgroundWe examine whether mothers with breast cancer told their children about the diagnosis, explore mothers’ perceptions of the impact of doing so on the mother-child relationship, and assess perceptions of how this affected the children.MethodsA convenience sample of 28 women with breast cancer ages 35 to 60 was interviewed using a 39-item close-ended questionnaire at the Al-Amoudi Breast Cancer Center of Excellence, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Inclusion criteria were having a diagnosis of breast cancer and having school-aged children (ages 5 to 16 years). Questions were asked concerning each child (n = 99).ResultsThe majority of women (75%) told their children about the diagnosis, and explained the treatment (61%). In most cases, telling the children had a positive effect on how the children treated their mothers (84%), on the maternal-child relationship (80%), and on the personality and behavior of the child (90%). The most common negative reaction by children was increased clinging behavior to the mother (15%). Despite the perceived positive impact on the mother-child relationship and on the child’s overall behavior towards the mother, school performance suffered as a result (77%).ConclusionsThese preliminary results suggest that when a mother with breast cancer tells a child about the diagnosis and discusses it with them, this often results in an improvement in the maternal-child relationship. However, the knowing the mother’s diagnosis may adversely affect the child’s school performance, which will need to be anticipated and addressed with formal counseling if it persists.

Maternal-infant relationship quality and risk of obesity at age 5.5 years in a national US cohort

BackgroundPoor quality relationships between mothers and toddlers have been associated with higher risk for childhood obesity, but few prospective studies of obesity have assessed maternal-child relationship quality in infancy. In addition it is not known whether the increased risk is associated with the mother’s or the child’s contribution to the relationship quality.MethodsWe analyzed data (n = 5650) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, a national study of U.S. children born in 2001 and followed until they entered kindergarten. At 9 months of age, the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS) was used to assess the quality of observed playtime interactions between mothers and infants, yielding separate scores for maternal and infant behaviors. Obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile) at age 5.5 years was based on measured weight and height.ResultsThe prevalence (95% confidence interval) of obesity at 5.5 years of age was higher among children in the lowest quartile of maternal NCATS score (20.2% [95% CI: 17.2%, 23.2%]) than in the highest quartile (13.9% [11.3%, 16.5%]), but maternal NCATS score was not significantly associated with obesity after adjustment for race/ethnicity, maternal education and household income. The prevalence of obesity at 5.5 years of age was similar among children in the lowest quartile of infant NCATS score (17.4% [14.4%, 20.3%]) and in the highest quartile (17.6% 14.4%, 20.8%]), and was not changed with covariate adjustment.ConclusionsMaternal-infant relationship quality, assessed by direct observation at 9 months of age in a national sample, was not associated with an increased risk of obesity at age 5.5 years after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics.

A Preliminary Study of Depressive Symptoms in Mothers of 3-Year-Old Prematurely Born Children

This exploratory study examined the effects of maternal depressive symptoms on mothers’ perceptions of their 3-year-old prematurely born children, interactive behaviors, and child outcomes. Mother and child interactive behaviors were coded from naturalistic observations in their homes. Education and marital status were found to be significantly related to maternal depressive symptoms. Factor analyses were conducted to determine the most prominent behaviors related to maternal depressive symptoms. In a small sample of mothers, the quality of the maternal-child relationship was negatively affected by elevated depressive symptoms. Mothers of prematurely born children may report depressive symptoms that continue into early childhood.

Quality of Early Maternal-Child Relationship and Risk of Adolescent Obesity

Quality of Early Maternal-Child Relationship and Risk of Adolescent Obesity