Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale Research Articles

Examining the Factorial Structure of the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale in a Portuguese Sample.

The increase in women’s labor market participation emphasizes the importance of understanding maternal separation anxiety, that is, the unpleasant maternal emotional state, due to the actual or anticipated short-term separation from the child. Drawing on the insights of the attachment and psychoanalytic perspectives, the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (MSAS) was developed to overcome existing measurement gaps. However, prior research did not replicate its original three-factor structure in the contemporary context and in other cultural settings, using large samples composed of mothers of preschool children. This study aimed to examine the factorial structure of the MSAS in a sample of 597 Portuguese mothers of children aged 5–84 months who completed the questionnaire. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) conducted in subsample 1 revealed a four-factor structure: Maternal Negative Feelings, Beliefs about Exclusive Maternal Care, Need of Proximity, and Perceptions of Separation Benefits for Children. Confirmatory factor analyses conducted in subsample 2 revealed that the original three-factor structure revealed a poor fit, whereas the four-factor solution (obtained in the EFA) revealed an acceptable fit. As in previous studies, our findings report deviations from the original three-factor structure of the MSAS. Three of the newly identified factors seem to reflect specific sub-dimensions that originally guided item development in the MSAS, namely, maternal negative feelings, maternal attitudes about the value of exclusive maternal care, and the need of proximity with the child. The last factor appears to represent a refinement of original items pertaining to perceptions about separation effects for children.

Development and Testing of a Scale to Measure Separation Anxiety of Parents of Adolescents

Separation anxiety as an experience of parents of adolescents remains underinvestigated. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess parental separation anxiety of mothers and fathers of adolescent sons and daughters, that is, the Parental Separation Anxiety Scale (PSAS). The Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale was adapted to address this purpose. Three studies were conducted to assess item performance, internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and construct and predictive validity. Internal consistency reliability ranged from 0.91 to 0.93 across samples. Factor analysis indicated four factors with a primary factor (70% of variance) that was consistent with attachment theory. Parental separation anxiety was negatively associated with global relationship quality (r = -0.23, p = .01). Maternal separation anxiety was negatively associated with cognitive autonomy of sons (r = -0.34, p = .05), while paternal separation anxiety was positively associated with cognitive autonomy of daughters (r = 0.20, p = .05). It was concluded that the final 18-item PSAS has good psychometric qualities and is appropriate for use with parents of chronically ill and healthy adolescents.

Pilot Study of Relationships among Quality as a Parent Choice Criterion, Accredited Child Care, and Maternal Separation Anxiety

This pilot study explored the relationships among quality as a parent reported criterion for choosing child care, the actual selection of accredited child care, and maternal separation anxiety. Of the 59 mothers, 29 had placed their infants in accredited child care centers and 30 had placed their infants in nonaccredited child care centers. Participants completed a standardized measure, the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale, and indicated their top three criteria for choosing child care on a demographic form. Participants who reported quality as a top criterion were no more likely to have chosen an accredited program than participants who did not include quality as a criterion. Student t test indicated that mothers who reported greater concern about balancing the maternal and work roles, i.e., had higher scores on Subscale Three, were more likely to have enrolled their infants in nonaccredited than accredited child care programs.

PILOT STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS AMONG QUALITY AS A PARENT CHOICE CRITERION, ACCREDITED CHILD CARE, AND MATERNAL SEPARATION ANXIETY1

This pilot study explored the relationships among quality as a parent reported criterion for choosing child care, the actual selection of accredited child care, and maternal separation anxiety. Of the 59 mothers, 29 had placed their infants in accredited child care centers and 30 had placed their infants in nonaccredited child care centers. Participants completed a standardized measure, the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale, and indicated their top three criteria for choosing child care on a demographic form. Participants who reported quality as a top criterion were no more likely to have chosen an accredited program than participants who did not include quality as a criterion. Student t test indicated that mothers who reported greater concern about balancing the maternal and work roles, i.e., had higher scores on Subscale Three, were more likely to have enrolled their infants in nonaccredited than accredited child care programs.

Influence of adolescent maternal characteristics on infant development.

The present study proposed that several adolescent maternal variables would be associated with infant development. Using a sample of 71 adolescent mother-infant dyads, the study examined the relative influences of the adolescent's level of separation-individuation (Separation-Individuation Process Inventory), feelings of attachment towards the infant (Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale), and feelings of anxiety regarding separation (Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale) on infant mental and motor development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd ed.). As it was assumed that the adolescent's perceptions of being parented would provide the foundation for each of these independent variables, this factor was also included (Parental Bonding Instrument). In the current sample, adolescent separation-individuation was the only maternal psychological variable to uniquely predict infant development, but only on the mental scale. Present findings highlight the importance of considering critical developmental processes of adolescence when exploring cognitive functioning and other outcomes in infants of adolescents. A number of possible mechanisms for the influence of separation-individuation are considered in the discussion.

A COMPARISON OF ADOLESCENT AND ADULT MOTHERS' MATERNAL SEPARATION ANXIETY

Maternal separation anxiety was compared for twenty adolescent and twenty adult mothers. The adolescent mothers were recruited from a high school teen parent program. Adult participants were recruited from two university day care programs. The Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale was used to assess the level of anxiety experienced by employed or school enrolled mothers when separated from their children. Analysis of variance indicated a group difference for separation anxiety with the adolescent mothers being significantly more anxious when leaving their children.

Prenatal and Postnatal Attachment: A Modest Correlation

To determine whether a correlation exists between prenatal and postnatal attachment. Prospective, correlational study with data collected during the second half of pregnancy and again 1-2 months after delivery. Two hundred twenty-eight women were recruited from childbirth education classes. The women were generally young, white, well educated, married, and employed. The Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) was used to measure attachment before birth. The Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI), the How I Feel About my Baby Now Scale, and the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale were used to measure attachment after birth. One hundred ninety-six women completed all the measures. A correlation was found between PAI and MAI scores (r = 0.41, p < 0.001). A correlation between prenatal and postnatal attachment was found. However, the modest size of the correlation indicated that other factors also influenced postnatal scores. Thus, caution should be exercised when promoting increased prenatal attachment in hopes of improving postnatal attachment.

The effects of suitability for current role on the psychological well-being of employed and non-employed mothers

Abstract It was hypothesized that mothers whose interests matched their current occupation would experience better psychological well-being and greater satisfaction with their maternal and work roles, regardless of whether their occupation was as a full-time mother or included employment outside the home. It was also predicted that suitability for current occupation would affect mothers' feelings about being separated from their children. The suitability of 29 employed and 29 non-employed mothers of young children for their current occupation was assesed on the basis of their occupational interests. Mothers who were suited to their current occupation had significantly higher levels of satisfaction with their work and maternal roles. Scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Zigmond and Snaith, 1983) showed they were also less anxious and depressed, but these differences failed to reach significance. Employed women who were suited to their occupatiuon, and non-employed women who were unsuitred to being full-time mothers, expressed less negative feelings about being apart from their children on the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (Hock et al., 1989). These results suggest that suitability for their current occupation is a better indicator of those mothers who are likely to suffer psychological strain than their employment status alone

Maternal separation anxiety: relations to adult attachment representations in mothers of infants.

Guided primarily by attachment theory, this longitudinal study explored how adult mental representations of attachment relationships and memories of childhood experiences with parents contributed to a mother's anxiety about separation from her own infant. The Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale, the Adult Attachment Interview, and the Mother-Father-Peer Scale were administered to a sample of 49 first-time mothers. The mothers with insecure attachment representations, when asked to remember details of their own childhood, reported more negative recollections of early parental caregiving, particularly rejection and discouragement of independence. When their own infants were 2 months old, these mothers experienced heightened levels of maternal separation anxiety. The findings provide theoretical and empirical support for the view that very high levels of maternal separation anxiety may indicate dysfunction.

Effects of Military-Induced Separation on the Parenting Stress and Family Functioning of Deploying Mothers

In this study we examined the responses of 118 U.S. Navy deploying mothers on the Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1990), the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (Hock, McBride, & Gnezda, 1989), the P...

Maternal, infant, and occupational characteristics that predict postpartum employment patterns

This longitudinal study examined maternal, infant, and occupational characteristics that predicted maternal employment in the postpartum period as a function of plan. Women were assessed at birth, 3, and 6 months postpartum. Comparison groups consisted of 91 women who planned to remain home and did so (home/home), 30 women who planned to remain home and were employed outside the home at 6 months postpartum (home/outside), 56 women who planned to work outside the home and did so (outside/outside), and 10 women who planned to work outside the home and remained home at 6 months (outside/home). Employment-related separation concerns from the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale were higher in the home/home group than the outside/outside and home/outside groups, and there were no effects of parity, infant sex, or time of measurement on separation anxiety scores. Women in the outside/outside group scored higher on the Autonomy subscale of the Personality Research Form-E than women in the home/outside group. There were no main effects of group on infant temperament as assessed by the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire, but significant interactions showed that ratings of unpredictability by women in the outside/outside group decreased from 3 to 6 months postpartum. Infants were also rated as less dull over time. Stress and coping factors related to maternal employment and parenting may have influenced temperament ratings. Occupational characteristics did not distinguish the groups: Women cited different occupational characteristics that facilitated making their personal decision of whether to work outside the home postpartum.

A Questionnaire to Measure Mother-to-Infant Attachment

The Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) was developed and tested to provide a practical measure of maternal affectionate attachment. MAI items were identified from the literature, and their construct validity was assessed by experts who numerically rated them for relevance. The MAI, two other indicators of maternal attachment, and a measure of maternal adjustment were completed by 196 women approximately 1 month after the birth of their infants. Two subgroups of women completed the research instruments when their infants were 4 (Group A) or 8 (Group B) months old. The MAI demonstrated evidence of validity through significant correlations with other indicators of maternal attachment (the How I Feel About the Baby Now Scale and the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale) at all time points and a correlation with maternal adjustment as measured by the Maternal Attitudes and Maternal Adjustment Scale. The MAI also demonstrated evidence of acceptable internal consistency reliability at all three time points.

Perinatal loss and maternal attitudes toward the subsequent child

Twenty-five mothers who had experienced a previous perinatal loss and a comparison group of 30 nonloss mothers completed the Maternal Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ) and the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (MSAS) when their children were 16 months old. The purposes of the study were to describe and evaluate the development of a new measure (the MAQ) and to examine the hypothesis that mothers who experienced a perinatal loss would express (a) more concern about the subsequent child's health, (b) more investment in the child, and (c) heightened concern about maternal-child differentiation/separation in comparison to nonloss mothers. The results showed that the MAQ had good internal consistency. None of the three factors of the MSAS differentiated between the two groups of mothers while two subscales of the MAQ did: (1) Maternal Concern with Child's Health and (2) Maternal Concern with Differentiation. Mothers who had experienced a perinatal loss thus expressed more concerns about their children's physical well-being and more concerns about differentiating from their child than mothers who had not had a perinatal loss.

Maternal Separation Anxiety: Mother-Infant Separation from the Maternal Perspective

Mother-infant separation from the maternal perspective is the focus of 2 studies reported here. First, a questionnaire, the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (MSAS), was developed and administered to 620 mothers soon after their infants were born and again 3 months later. In study 2, maternal separation anxiety was assessed using the MSAS and other methods: an interview, an emotional status index (taken at the point of actual separation), and an observational index based on mothers' behavior during departure and reunion from their infants in a structured laboratory setting. Data from this multiple-measures approach supported the validity of the MSAS and verified the strength of the construct

Employed mothers' concerns about separation from the first- and second-born child.

The effect of birth order on mothers' anxiety about separation from their infants was examined. Forty employed mothers were assessed in 1982 when their firstborns were 7 months old and again when their second-borns were 7 months old. Assessment included two measures: an Interview-Based Rating Scale (IBRS) and the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (MSAS). Findings revealed that mothers felt less guilt and anxiety about separation from their second-borns than they had from their first-borns at a similar age. They were more positive about the effects of separation on the child; however, their concerns about employment-related separation did not change.