The Impact of Physical Maltreatment History on the Adolescent Mother–Infant Relationship: Mediating and Moderating Effects During the Transition to Early Parenthood

Using attachment theory as a framework, this paper examines how pregnant adolescents' experiences of physical maltreatment during childhood influence the subsequent mother-infant relationship in 203 low-income adolescents followed from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy through the 1st year of parenthood. The relation between physical maltreatment history and early difficulty in the mother-infant relationship was mediated by adolescents' evaluations of the relationship with their primary caretaker and the feelings they associated with motherhood measured prior to childbirth. In addition, a supportive romantic relationship during pregnancy acted as a protective factor by moderating the impact of maltreatment history on the quality of the subsequent mother-infant relationship. Findings support the importance of assessments and interventions that consider the social context and relational history of pregnant and parenting adolescents.     

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.     

Possible contribution of better maternal psychological well-being to the acquisition of sleeping through the night in infants during the early postpartum period

The objective of this study was to elucidate whether better maternal psychological well-being contributes to the acquisition of “sleeping through the night” (STN) in infants during the early postpartum period. Fifty-two primiparous mothers completed the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) in the third trimester (prenatal) and when the conceptional ages of their babies reached 8–9 weeks (hereafter, 2 months), 12–13 weeks (3 months), and 16–17 weeks (4 months). They also recorded babies’ nocturnal sleep patterns in a timetable for 5 consecutive days each month postpartum. “Regular STN” was defined when the mean of longest nocturnal sleep duration for 5 consecutive days was > 8 h or between 6 and 8 h with < 1.0 nocturnal awakenings. According to these criteria, a total of 14 infants (27 %) acquired regular STN at 4 months (referred to as “STN infants”), with STN infants showing a marked increase in longest nocturnal sleep duration and a decrease in nocturnal awakenings from 2 to 3 months of age. The mothers of STN infants demonstrated steady reductions in postnatal GHQ-28 scores and had significantly lower prenatal GHQ-28 scores compared with the mothers of non-STN infants (3.7 ± 3.0 vs. 6.4 ± 4.1, p = 0.027). In random forest models for binomial classification, both prenatal and postnatal (at 4 months) GHQ-28 scores were identified as significant covariates for distinguishing STN infants, and other important covariates, including weeks of delivery, stepfamily, birth weight of the infant, and maternal co-sleeping at bedtime, were selected. Among these covariates, maternal co-sleeping at bedtime had relatively stronger correlations with both STN infants (r = − 0.440) and prenatal maternal GHQ-28 scores (r = 0.377). In conclusion, because prenatal maternal psychological well-being was thought to predict the acquisition of STN in infants, infants born from mothers with better psychological well-being appear to have some advantages in acquiring STN. These cross-lagged correlations suggest that the pathway from mothers to infants may be mediated by certain parenting behaviors, such as maternal co-sleeping at bedtime.     

MOTHERS AS EFFECTIVE THERAPISTS FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN'S PHOBIAS

Two autistic children were treated for specific fears. A three-component participant modeling procedure was implemented within a multiple baseline design across subjects. Children were exposed gradually to fearful situations, with mothers serving as therapists and reinforcers. Dependent measures were (a) number of approach steps completed, (b) frequency of verbalizations and vocalizations of fear, and (c) overall appearance of fear. Following treatment, the children functioned effectively in previously fearful situations without verbalizations or appearance of fear. Five-month and 1-year follow-up assessments with 1 child showed maintenance of treatment effects.     

Birth-order and sex differences in the frequency of referral of children for psychological treatment: A partial replication and extension

A previous study of two-child families by Lahey, Hammer, Crumrine, and Forehand (1980) found that firstborn children were more likely to be referred for psychological treatment than second-borns and that males were more likely to be referred than females. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction between these two variables. In the present study, a new sample of two-child families from the same clinic was studied, confirming the previous findings of significant birth-order and sex effects but not the interaction. Separate analyses indicated that both birth-order and sex effects were significant for children given externalizing diagnoses, but only the birth-order effect was significant for heterogeneous internalizing diagnoses. Similarly, an analysis of only children revealed a significant sex effect for externalizers but not internalizers. A combined sample of two-child families independent of diagnosis (N=425)suggests that there are reliable associations of birth order and sex, but not the interaction, with referral rates in two-child families. Referred children were significantly more likely to have a female sibling than would be expected by chance, regardless of birth order or sex, suggesting that these children may look more deviant by comparison to female, vs. male, siblings, thus increasing the likelihood of clinic referral. The potential utility of birth order and sex as demographic marker variables for etiological research is discussed.     

“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.