Relative effects of breastfeeding intention and practice on maternal responsiveness

Our objective was to examine the differential effects of antenatal breastfeeding intention (BI) and breastfeeding practice (BP) on maternal postnatal responsiveness. We conducted a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from a subsample of 962 mother–infant dyads from a U.K.-based birth cohort study the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Exposures were BI and BPs measured at 32 weeks of gestation and 18 months’ postpartum. The outcome was maternal responsiveness assessed at 12 months’ postpartum. We used logistic regression analyses unadjusted and adjusted for confounders. Intention to breastfeed was associated with increased odds of postnatal maternal responsiveness independent of BP, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.34, 95% CI [1.42, 3.86]. There was no evidence that BP was an independent predictor of maternal responsiveness, OR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.55, 1.57]. Life-course epidemiology analyses demonstrated that maternal responsiveness is most positive when both BI and BP are present. This is the first population-based study to provide evidence that BI during pregnancy is more strongly associated with maternal postnatal responsiveness than is BP. Further research is needed to understand the determinants of BI in pregnancy and its relationships with maternal responsiveness.     

Validation of the 2012 European Social Survey Measurement of Wellbeing in Seventeen European Countries

The measurement of wellbeing provides an important indicator of the welfare of nations and presents opportunities for policy making. Researchers generally share the view of wellbeing as a multidimensional concept. The 2012 European Social Survey (ESS) measurement of personal and social wellbeing, a combination of theoretical models and evidence from statistical analysis, is defined as a six-dimensional construct: evaluative wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, functioning, vitality, community wellbeing and supportive relationships. In this paper, the proposed theoretical structure is investigated and the psychometric properties of the measure are assessed for 17 European countries. This involved splitting each country’s sample randomly into halves and performing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on the first half-samples. EFA resulted in a four-factor solution for Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, a five-factor solution for Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation and Sweden, and a six-factor solution for Denmark and Hungary. These results were supported by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) performed on the second half-samples. Subscales were constructed based on analysis of the total samples, applying a simple transformation in order to deal with the different number of response categories used for the wellbeing items. Reliabilities and internal consistencies were investigated. Although the definition of each subscale differs from the proposed structure and across countries, the analysis did produce reliable and valid summary measures (subscales) of wellbeing for informing social policy in each country.