A Longitudinal Study of Maternal Postnatal Bonding and Psychosocial Factors that Contribute to Social-Emotional Development.

In this longitudinal study, we examined how maternal bonding and psycho-social factors are associated with social-emotional problems in two-year-old children. Our data came from a birth cohort from which data were collected at four timepoints: prenatally during the third trimester, and postnatally at 3, 8 and 24 months. The participants were 1,667 mothers, of which 943 (56.6%) returned the questionnaire at each timepoint of the longitudinal study. The Children's social-emotional problems were examined using the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment. According to linear regression analysis, maternal bonding difficulties at three and eight months, maternal expectations of the unborn baby during pregnancy, and maternal relationships within and outside the family were related to social-emotional problems in children of two years of age. The results highlight the importance of screening mothers who already prenatally have bonding problems or mothers who have bonding problems postnatally to provide effective and targeted intervention support.

The significance of supportive and undermining elements in the maternal representations of an unborn baby.

OBJECTIVE: The maternal representations of an unborn baby begin to develop during pregnancy. However, the factors that moderate them are not well identified. The objective of this study was to jointly explore supportive and undermining factors in the maternal representations of an unborn baby and motherhood. METHODS: Cross-sectional data comprising 1646 women studied during the third trimester of pregnancy. Maternal expectations were measured using a 12-item self-report questionnaire, Mother's Representations about an Unborn Baby. Depression, anxiety, family atmosphere and adult attachment were measured using standardised questionnaires. Statistical analysis is based on multivariate linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The most powerful predictors of a mother's prenatal expectations were the mother's educational status, age, closeness in adult relationships, higher levels of depressive symptoms and family atmosphere. In accordance with our hypothesis, depression was related to the mother's more negative expectations on their relationship with the unborn baby and on regularity in the baby's sleeping and eating patterns. A positive family atmosphere and the mother's ability for closeness and dependence (i.e. confidence) in adult relationships were related to more positive expectations of the mother-unborn baby relationship. On the other hand, stress, anxiety and adverse life events were not related to the mother's expectations of her unborn baby. CONCLUSIONS: The results may be helpful in identifying families who need early professional support and call for studies where the prenatal phase is explored as a proactive phase for the development of the child-parent relationship.

Do parental co-viewing and discussions mitigate TV-induced fears in young children?

BACKGROUND: While excessive television viewing has been associated with negative outcomes in children's welfare, parental co-viewing has been suggested as an effective way to prevent these negative effects. The objective of the present study is to specify some social contexts of co-viewing and to assess whether co-viewing modifies the effects of media on children's TV-related fears. METHODS: The study is based on a representative random sample of 331 children aged 5-6 years. It is based on parental reports of children's TV-related fears and family television viewing practices. RESULTS: Parental co-viewing and discussion of television programmes with the child were found to be associated with higher rates of children's TV-related fears, high television exposure in general and watching adults' television programmes. The association between TV-related fears and co-viewing remained significant even after controlling for gender, maternal education, family income and the quantity and quality of television viewing. Co-viewing and TV-related discussions increased the risk for TV-related fears nearly fourfold (adjusted odds ratio 3.92, 95% confidence interval 1.37-11.17 and adjusted odds ratio 3.31, 95% confidence interval 1.33-8.20, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that co-viewing and discussing television programmes are more common in families where television exposure is high. Because both co-viewing and discussing television programmes were associated with higher fear scores regardless of the quantity and quality of television exposure, the research shows that in everyday life co-viewing may not be done in such a way that it leads to a reduction of children's fears. More studies are needed to explore the co-viewing practices of families in more detail.