Psychology Department, Stanford University, CA, United States.
The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Child Abuse Negl. 2019 Feb;88:445-454. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.12.021. Epub 2019 Jan 7.
The transition to motherhood involves many challenges that require adjustment; included among them are adapting to body changes, forging a maternal identity, and attaching to the baby. Although these tasks may not be easy for any women, those who experienced emotional neglect during childhood may find them especially difficult.
The aim of the current study was to examine a model illuminating the mechanism underlying the association between childhood emotional neglect and women's adjustment during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Three hundred and ninety four Israeli women participated in the study, during their pregnancy (Time 1) and two months postpartum (Time 2).
Participants filled out a battery of questionnaires assessing their history of childhood emotional neglect, body experience, maternal self-efficacy, attachment to the fetus/baby, and depression.
Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that childhood emotional neglect was associated with depression at both Time 1 and Time 2. These associations were mediated by the body experience during pregnancy (Time 1) and motherhood (Time 2) as well as by anticipated maternal self-efficacy (Time 1) and maternal self-efficacy (Time 2). The model explained 56% of the variance of postpartum depression (Time 2).
These findings point to the long-term implications of childhood emotional neglect for women's adjustment to the transition to motherhood. The underlying mechanism suggested by the research model is discussed.
母亲身份的转变涉及许多挑战，需要进行调整；其中包括适应身体变化、形成母性认同以及与婴儿建立联系。尽管这些任务对任何女性来说都不容易，但那些在童年时期经历过情感忽视的女性可能会发现这些任务特别困难。
本研究旨在检验一个模型，该模型阐明了童年情感忽视与女性在怀孕和产后期间的调整之间的关联的机制。
394 名以色列女性参与了这项研究，她们在怀孕期间（第 1 时间点）和产后两个月（第 2 时间点）参加了研究。
参与者填写了一系列问卷，评估他们的童年情感忽视史、身体体验、母亲自我效能感、对胎儿/婴儿的依恋和抑郁情况。
结构方程模型（SEM）的结果表明，童年情感忽视与第 1 时间点和第 2 时间点的抑郁有关。这些关联通过怀孕期间（第 1 时间点）和产后（第 2 时间点）的身体体验以及预期的母亲自我效能感（第 1 时间点）和母亲自我效能感（第 2 时间点）来介导。该模型解释了产后抑郁（第 2 时间点）的 56%的方差。
这些发现指出了童年情感忽视对女性适应母亲身份转变的长期影响。研究模型提出的潜在机制进行了讨论。
