Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
J Clin Psychol. 2023 Jan;79(1):126-142. doi: 10.1002/jclp.23372. Epub 2022 May 6.
This study aimed to explore the role of alexithymia and potential sex differences in the associations between perceived parental bonding and mental health.
The sample consists of 2421 parents from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study who completed the parental bonding instrument, the Toronto alexithymia scale, the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, and the anxiety subscale of the symptom checklist-90. Moderated mediation analyses were conducted to examine the possible mediating role of alexithymia and moderating role of sex in the associations between parental bonding and depressive/anxiety symptoms.
Alexithymia was found to be a potential mediator and sex be a moderator in the relations between perceived dysfunctional parental bonding and the psychological symptoms. Specifically, dysfunctional paternal bonding, especially paternal overprotection, had stronger indirect effects (via alexithymia) on the psychological symptoms in males.
This study indicates the importance of alexithymia in the parenting-related mental health impacts and highlights the significance of paternal bonding for the development of alexithymia and mental health problems in male populations. The findings improve the limited understanding of sex-related parental factors for alexithymia and mental health problems. Future studies in longitudinal designs are warranted to clarify the causal process of the mediation.
本研究旨在探讨述情障碍及潜在的性别差异在感知父母养育方式与心理健康之间关系中的作用。
该样本由芬兰脑出生队列研究中的 2421 名父母组成，他们完成了父母养育方式问卷、多伦多述情障碍量表、爱丁堡产后抑郁量表和症状清单 90 的焦虑子量表。采用中介调节分析来检验述情障碍在父母养育方式与抑郁/焦虑症状之间关系中的潜在中介作用，以及性别在这些关系中的调节作用。
发现述情障碍是感知不良父母养育方式与心理症状之间关系的潜在中介，性别是其调节因素。具体来说，不良的父亲养育方式，特别是父亲过度保护，对男性的心理症状有更强的间接影响（通过述情障碍）。
本研究表明述情障碍在与父母养育相关的心理健康影响中的重要性，并强调了父亲养育对男性人群中述情障碍和心理健康问题发展的重要性。这些发现提高了对性别相关父母因素对述情障碍和心理健康问题的有限理解。未来有必要进行纵向设计的研究，以澄清中介过程的因果关系。
