Postpartum romantic attachment and constructiveness: The protective effects of a conflict communication intervention for parents' relationship functioning over one year.

Parent relationship functioning has a well-documented influence on children's early socioemotional development as early as infancy. Postpartum parenting is also a critically vulnerable period for relationships and often results in relationship decline. We investigated the effects of a rigorous, psycho-educational conflict communication intervention for supporting parents' relationship functioning in terms of self-reported romantic attachment and observed conflict constructiveness. Using latent growth curve models, we evaluated the change in romantic attachment and constructiveness among 202 mother-father couples from 6 to 18 months postpartum. We further tested a comparison of the effects of the Conflict Intervention (CI) versus the control group and the Conflict Intervention paired with an additional parent sensitivity intervention (anyCI) versus the control group. Results indicated romantic attachment and observed constructiveness decreased over the 1-year period; this decline was partially mitigated for fathers participating in the intervention(s), wherein fathers who received the Conflict Intervention showed less decline in observed conflict constructiveness over time. Moreover, compared with those in the control condition, mothers who received the Conflict Intervention reported lower attachment security at 18 months postpartum. These results underscore the importance of including perspectives from both mothers and fathers when investigating intervention effects and considering the impact of combining interventions for parents. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: A randomized control trial of a conflict intervention including mothers and fathers demonstrates protective effects for fathers' constructiveness between 6 and 18 months postpartum but was not protective for mothers. Parenting experience, whether parents were transitioning to parenthood or had older children, did not significantly predict romantic attachment or behavioral constructiveness trajectories. Interparental romantic attachment and constructiveness declined only slightly postpartum. Effects of the intervention were reduced when the intervention was combined with a second intervention.

Positive parenting, parenting stress, and child self-regulation patterns differ across maternal demographic risk.

We examined relations between positive parenting, parenting stress, and children's regulatory abilities across infancy and early childhood. First-time mothers and their infants (N = 682) were recruited prenatally. Mothers belonged to one of three potential demographic risk groups: adolescent mothers (AM), adult low-educated mothers (LEM), and adult high-educated mothers (HEM). Parent-child interactions were observed in the home and scored for positive parenting (at 4, 8, and 18 months) and child self-regulation (at 4, 8, 18, and 30 months). Parenting stress was measured by questionnaire at 6, 12, and 24 months. A multigroup cross-lagged panel model indicated different patterns of effects for adolescent and adult mothers: for AM, positive parenting and parenting stress were related early in infancy, but no relations emerged with regulation until 18 months. For LEM, parenting related to regulation only at later ages, and for HEM, positive parenting, parenting stress, and regulation were associated early in the infant's life but not later. Differing patterns of influence indicate, perhaps, the importance of considering demographic risk and timing of parenting in childhood in relation to child regulatory outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Social support moderates the relation between childhood trauma and prenatal depressive symptoms in adolescent mothers.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a concern during pregnancy, but it is especially prevalent for pregnant adolescents. Because prenatal depression is a strong predictor of postpartum depression and other forms of psychopathology in both mothers and children, it is important to understand potential risk and protective factors for prenatal depression. OBJECTIVES: The present study examined whether social support buffered the impact of childhood trauma on prenatal depression, and whether social support exerted a stronger buffering effect for adolescents compared to adults. METHOD: Self-reported levels of childhood trauma, social support, and prenatal depression were collected in a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 682 first-time mothers, 58% were adolescents (n = 396; Mage = 17.38 years) and 42% were adults (n = 286; Mage = 26.29 years). RESULTS: Using multi-group moderation analyses, we found that pregnant adolescents with more social support were buffered from the effects of childhood trauma on prenatal depression symptoms, but pregnant adults with more social support were not. CONCLUSION: Findings support the stress-buffering model in that those with more stressors may benefit more from social support than those with fewer stressors. These results highlight the importance of social support and inform prenatal depression prevention/intervention strategies particularly with pregnant adolescents.

Children's Dysregulated Representations Mediate Ineffective Parenting Practices and Effortful Control in Lower Income Families.

OBJECTIVE: Rooted in attachment theory, we tested the degree to which children's dysregulated representations mediate linkages between ineffective parenting and children's effortful control in a sample of lower income families. BACKGROUND: Children in lower income households are at greater risk for difficulties with effortful control. Although ineffective parenting practices may influence children's development of effortful control, there is limited knowledge related to the mechanisms underlying this association. According to attachment theory, it is possible that children who experience ineffective parenting practices have more dysregulated representations, which may then be linked with poorly regulated behavior. METHOD: This cross-sectional study included 40 preschool-age children enrolled in Head Start and their mothers. Ineffective parenting practices were operationalized using mothers' self-reported parenting styles and observed parenting behaviors; children's dysregulated representations and effortful control were measured during a series of observed laboratory tasks. Structural equation modeling was used to test pathways between measured variables. RESULTS: The relation between ineffective parenting practices and children's effortful control was not directly related; however, structural equation modeling indicated a significant indirect effect through children's dysregulated representations. Children whose mothers were more ineffective in their parenting had more dysregulated representations. In turn, more dysregulated representations were related to poorer effortful control. CONCLUSION: Children who experience ineffective parenting practices may be less likely to internalize reliable expectations regarding their environment's structure and order. Poorly stabilized perceptions may inhibit adaptive social and behavioral functioning. IMPLICATIONS: These findings inform intervention efforts aimed toward enhancing parenting practices to improve children's representations and effortful control behaviors.