Haptonomic guidance of pregnancy and the prenatal attachment of both parents to their unborn child

In een quasi-experimenteel design met een voor- en nameting en een interventie- (n = 46) en een controlegroep (n = 38) is onderzocht of haptonomische zwangerschapsbegeleiding (HZB) meerwaarde heeft voor het bevorderen van prenatale gehechtheid ten opzichte van andere vormen van of geen zwangerschapsbegeleiding. Methode Vragenlijsten (MAAS/PAAS, MFAS) en een beeldrepresentatie betreffende de gevoelsmatige afstand tussen ouder en ongeboren kind (PRAM) werden ingevuld op 20 en 35 weken zwangerschap. Resultaten De resultaten lieten in beide groepen een nagenoeg gelijke toename van de prenatale gehechtheid zien. Conclusie Prenatale gehechtheid neemt toe ongeacht óf men begeleiding krijgt en zo ja, welke. Aanvullend onderzoek of HZB prenatale gehechtheid kan bevorderen bij moeders met een risico op verminderde prenatale gehechtheid lijkt gerechtvaardigd op basis van de theoretisch goed onderbouwde werkzame elementen van de begeleiding

Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Bonding, Parenting Stress, and Executive Functioning in Toddlerhood

Early executive functioning is an important predictor for future development of children’s cognitive skills and behavioral outcomes. Parenting behavior has proven to be a key environmental determinant of child executive functioning. However, the association of parental affect and cognitions directed to the child with child executive functioning has been understudied. Therefore, in the present study we examine the associations between parental bonding (i.e., the affective tie from parent to child), parenting stress, and child executive functioning. At 26 weeks of pregnancy, and at 6 months and 24 months postpartum the quality of the maternal (N = 335) and paternal (N = 261) bond with the infant was assessed. At 24 months, postnatal parenting stress and child executive functioning were measured by means of parent-report questionnaires. Results indicated that for both mothers and fathers feelings of bonding negatively predicted experienced parenting stress over time. In addition, for both parents a negative indirect effect of bonding on child executive functioning problems was found via experienced parenting stress. These findings indicate the importance of monitoring parents who experience a low level and quality of early parent-child bonding, as this makes them vulnerable to parenting stress, consequently putting their children at risk for developing executive functioning problems

Parental Attachment Dimensions and Parenting Stress: The Mediating Role of Parental Reflective Functioning

Research suggests that parental reflective functioning—the parent’s capacity to envision the mind of his/her child—may play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of attachment and reflective functioning. Studies also suggest the importance of this capacity for the transition to parenthood, and particularly parents’ capacity to deal with parenting stress. This study focused on the potential mediating role of PRF dimensions in the relationship between parental attachment dimensions (attachment anxiety and avoidance) and parenting stress, using data from a 1-year longitudinal study in biological first-time parents (N = 106). Structural equation modeling showed that parents’ use of prementalizing modes of reflecting upon their child (PM) fully mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and three parenting stress dimensions (marital relationship, role restriction, and social isolation) across a 1-year interval, while attachment avoidance was indirectly related to these parenting stress dimensions through PM. Further, PM partially mediated the relationship between parental attachment anxiety and avoidance and a fourth dimension of parenting stress, lack of trust in parental competence. In addition, multi-group analyses revealed some interesting gender differences. Implications of these findings for the conceptualization of the relationship between parental attachment, PRF, and parenting stress are discussed