Cuban Mothers' Schemas of ADHD: Development, Characteristics, and Help Seeking Behavior

Parents play a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), one of the most prevalent developmental disorders of young children We report the findings of a qualitative study of Cuban-American mothers of 7 to 10 year old children with ADHD. Results suggest that mothers lacked a cultural model for ADHD and held a cultural model of normal child development which hampered their development of a schema of ADHD. Development of ADHD schemas were motivated by perplexity at their children's behavior and by the high value mothers ascribed to academic achievement. Although the schemas developed by the mothers were labeled as ADHD, their behavioral characterizations of their children, their attributions for the condition and for its causes, and their management strategies were not always in agreement with those of the biomedical model for the condition. However, once mothers classified their children's behavior as atypical, they actively sought assistance from the professional sector.     

Let Me Tell You About My Mother: Two Daughters Re-Story and Restore Their Aging Mothers

Two daughters undertake to restory their aging Jewish mothers. Their projects serve as a demystification of motherhood, as an insight into the ever-changing mother-daughter relationship, and as a way to restore a parent whose life story is being masked by the facade of aging. Kim Chernin's In My Mother's House (1983) chronicles the life of Rose Chernin, Communist activist, while Vivian Gornick's Fierce Attachments (1987) focuses on a woman who spent most of her life in a Bronx tenement. Both writers are children of powerful mothers to whom they are strongly connected, and their writing describes their ongoing struggle to separate from these women. Gornick and Chernin become the bearers of family histories which will be passed on to the next generation, and a voice for first-generation woman whose stories have never been told.     

母亲的情景特异性归因与儿童问题行为:儿童消极情绪的调节作用

以67对3~6岁的儿童及其母亲为研究对象,通过假设情景法探索母亲对不同情景下儿童问题行为的归因方式,并考察这种特定情景下的归因对儿童后续问题行为的影响,以及儿童消极情绪的调节作用。研究发现:(1)母亲对儿童不同问题行为的稳定性归因和不可控归因存在情景上的差异;(2)母亲的不可控归因和稳定性归因可以影响儿童内隐问题行为的发展且受到儿童消极情绪的影响,但母亲的归因方式不可以预测儿童的外显问题行为。     

Parenting and mother-infant interactions in the context of maternal postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder: Effects of obsessional symptoms and mood

BackgroundMaternal mental illness is associated with negative effects on the infant and child. Increased attention has been paid to the effects of specific perinatal disorders on parenting and interactions as an important mechanism of influence. OCD can be a debilitating disorder for the sufferer and those around them. Although OCD is a common perinatal illness, no previous studies have characterized parenting and mother infant interactions in detail for mothers with OCD.Methods37 mothers with postpartum OCD and a 6 month old infant were compared with 37 community control dyads on a variety of measures of psychological distress and parenting. Observed mother-infant interactions were assessed independently.ResultsObsessions and compulsions were reported in both groups, although they did not cause interference in the control group. Mothers with OCD were troubled by their symptoms for a mean of 9.6 hours/day. Mothers with OCD were less confident, reported more marital distress and less social support than healthy peers and were less likely to be breastfeeding. Infant temperament ratings did not differ. Mothers with OCD were rated as less sensitive in interactions than the comparison group, partly attributable to levels of concurrent depression.ConclusionsMaternal postpartum OCD is a disorder that can affect experiences of parenting and mother-infant interactions although this may not be driven by OCD symptoms. Longitudinal studies are required to assess the trajectory and impact of maternal difficulties as the infant develops.     

“I find peace there”: how faith,church, and spirituality help mothers of colour cope with postpartum depression

This article reports the findings of 30 semi-structured, qualitative interviews with new African American and Latina mothers who have histories of postpartum depression (PPD) to learn how their faith, church participation, and spiritual practices helped them cope with PPD. Six themes emerged: relief from stress, feeling valued and less alone, experiencing gratitude, developing perspective and accepting God’s guidance, changing and developing relationships, and preventing self-harm. Specifically, mothers who adhered to their faith beliefs and engaged in spiritual practices described shifts in their perspectives on various life stressors known to contribute to PPD such as negative thoughts and feelings, and strained family relationships, which in turn led them to make positive changes in their lives.     

African American adolescent mothers and grandmothers: A multigenerational approach to parenting

This study is an adaptation and extension of Apfel and Seitz’s (Family Relations, 40(4), 421–429, 1991) models of adolescent parenting and adolescent-grandmother relationships to a sample of 148 African American, first-time adolescent mothers and their 6-month-old infants. The Parental Supplemental model, in which adolescent mothers and grandmothers shared caregiving, described 63% of Apfel and Seitz’s (1991) sample and 66% of the current sample. Shared caregiving was not associated with conflict in the adolescent mother–grandmother relationship. Adolescent mothers who had caregiving responsibilities and a supportive adolescent-grandmother relationship also reported competence in their parenting role. Findings provide support for Apfel and Seitz’s Parental Apprentice model, in which young mothers gain competence through direct caregiving experience in the context of a supportive relationship.     

Adolescent motherhood: a Q‐methodological re‐evaluation of psychological and social outcomes

Traditionally, adolescent motherhood has been associated with numerous negative social, psychological and societal outcomes. However, in recent years there has been a gradual acceptance that there are many positive features to adolescent motherhood, but methodological issues have been identified within the field. This study aimed to examine adolescent motherhood from the mothers' own perspectives, exploring their attitudes towards the issues that they described as being important in their lives, by using Q‐methodology in an attempt to counter some of these methodological limitations. The mothers within the study appeared to be coping positively in their role in that levels of symptomatology, as determined from questionnaire assessment, appeared to be relatively low and they indicated through Q‐sort analysis that motherhood had been beneficial to their lives. Three independent factors (clusters of attitudes) were identified within the sample (N = 23) which differed over the dimensions of: employment, social support, coping, partner co‐habitation, financial support, maternal role satisfaction, aspirations for the future, as well as the nature of the relationship with their child(ren)'s father and their satisfaction with the fathers' role. The significance of these findings with regard to educational and social services is discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Pilot Study Assessing the Relationship Between Child Harming Thoughts and Postpartum Depression

This pilot study explored relationships between postpartum mood and child harming thoughts. Fifty mothers from an outpatient pediatric office completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Postpartum Depression Predictors Inventory-Revised (PDPI-R), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Participants also completed the Child Thoughts Inventory (CTI), a modified version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (Y-BOCS) and Florida Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (FOCI). Results indicated significant positive correlations between postpartum depression and anxiety and frequency and intensity of child harming thoughts. In addition, having a poor self-view was significantly correlated with intensity of child harming thoughts and previous anxiety was correlated with both frequency and intensity of child harming thoughts. Despite the fact that mothers experiencing postpartum mood disturbances rarely harm their infants the findings of this pilot study suggest that these women may have frequent and intense ego-dystonic thoughts about harming their children. Results also suggest that postpartum depression and anxiety may share similar cognitive processes.     

Postpartum Daily Stress,Relationship Quality,and Depressive Symptoms

This study explored the relationships among daily stresses, specifically interpersonal conflict, the quality of supportive spousal relationships, and the experience of postpartum depressive symptoms. In our sample of 51 women nearly 30% reported symptoms consistent with postpartum depression. Using regression analysis and controlling for depression during pregnancy, results suggested that arguments with family members and the depth of the spousal relationship acted as significant predictors of the severity of reported postpartum depressive symptoms. Results of the regression were in the expected direction, but due to the small sample size, the findings should be interpreted with caution. Post-hoc analyses were conducted separating the women into three groups based on their depression scores. Therapeutic interventions to reduce postpartum depressive symptoms are considered. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Perceived and observed parenting behavior in American and Italian first-time mothers across the first 3 months

This short-term longitudinal study investigated cross-cultural universality (similarities) and cultural specificity (differences) in American and Italian first-time mothers’ perceived parenting efficacy and observed parenting behavior in early infancy. Thirty-two mother–infant dyads from the United States (n = 16) and Italy (n = 16) participated in this study at 1 and 3 months across the first developmental transition. Maternal self-efficacy in parenting was assessed by self-reports. Mothers’ parenting behavior was observed and videotaped in a feeding situation. Both micro- (15-s time sampling) and macro-analytic (global ratings) strategies were employed to measure maternal and infant behaviors. Results revealed both cross-cultural similarities and differences in American and Italian mothers’ perceived parenting efficacy and observed parenting behavior. Both American and Italian mothers perceived themselves as becoming more efficacious in their parental role from 1 to 3 months and demonstrated significant stability in their individual differences over time. Compared to American mothers, Italian mothers displayed greater social/affective and handling/holding behavior. Whereas American mothers showed more synchronous responses to their infants when they were resting, Italian mothers spent significantly more time in synchronous dyadic social exchanges with their infants. The findings are discussed from the perspective of cultural organization of parenting, which suggests that parents structure everyday activity for their infants in accordance with cultural values and expectations.