Chasson Miriam, Borelli Jessica L, Shai Dana, Taubman-Ben-Ari Orit
Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 May 23;15(6):717. doi: 10.3390/bs15060717.
Early caregiving can evoke feelings of helplessness in mothers that are potentially associated with disintegrative responses, i.e., intrusive thoughts and dissociative experiences in the context of infant care. Given the associated increase in stress and exposure to life-threatening dangers, crises such as pandemics and wars may intensify these responses, but this has not previously been tested.
This cross-sectional study aimed to (1) examine maternal disintegrative responses across three contexts-a high-intensity phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, a subsequent low-intensity pandemic period, and the Israel-Hamas war-and (2) compare the two crisis periods in terms of trauma-related exposure, a damaged experience of childbirth and childcare, and their links to disintegrative responses.
This study had two parts and was conducted among Israeli mothers. Part 1 involved 1416 mothers across three groups: high-intensity pandemic (N = 637), low-intensity pandemic (N = 360), and war (N = 419). Part 2 involved a subsample from Part 1 comparing the 1056 mothers from the high-intensity pandemic and war groups. All the participants completed questionnaires assessing maternal disintegrative responses, trauma-related exposure, and a damaged experience of childbirth and childcare. The analyses included ANOVA and mediation models, controlling for maternal characteristics.
Intrusive thoughts and dissociative experiences were significantly higher during both the high-intensity pandemic and war periods compared to the low-intensity pandemic period. Trauma exposure indirectly predicted intrusive thoughts and dissociative experiences through a damaged experience of childbirth and childcare, particularly during war.
The findings indicate that maternal disintegrative responses were higher during high-intensity crisis contexts, with the highest levels reported by mothers during the war. Trauma exposure and a damaged experience of childbirth and childcare were associated with more intrusive thoughts and dissociative experiences, underscoring the need for targeted support to protect maternal well-being and caregiving during crises.
早期照料可能会引发母亲的无助感，这种无助感可能与解体反应有关，即在照料婴儿的背景下出现侵入性思维和分离体验。鉴于压力增加以及面临危及生命的危险，诸如大流行和战争等危机可能会加剧这些反应，但此前尚未对此进行过测试。
这项横断面研究旨在（1）考察母亲在三种情境下的解体反应——新冠疫情的高强度阶段、随后的低强度疫情时期以及以色列与哈马斯的战争——（2）比较这两个危机时期在创伤相关暴露、分娩和育儿的受损经历以及它们与解体反应的联系方面的情况。
本研究分为两个部分，在以色列母亲中进行。第一部分涉及三组共1416名母亲：高强度疫情组（N = 637）、低强度疫情组（N = 360）和战争组（N = 419）。第二部分涉及从第一部分抽取的一个子样本，比较高强度疫情组和战争组的1056名母亲。所有参与者都完成了评估母亲解体反应、创伤相关暴露以及分娩和育儿受损经历的问卷。分析包括方差分析和中介模型，并对母亲的特征进行了控制。
与低强度疫情时期相比，高强度疫情和战争时期的侵入性思维和分离体验显著更高。创伤暴露通过分娩和育儿的受损经历间接预测侵入性思维和分离体验，尤其是在战争期间。
研究结果表明，在高强度危机情境下母亲的解体反应更高，战争期间母亲报告的水平最高。创伤暴露以及分娩和育儿的受损经历与更多的侵入性思维和分离体验相关，这凸显了在危机期间提供有针对性支持以保护母亲福祉和照料行为的必要性。
