The effect of fathers' birth attendance on paternal attachment and the perception of parental role: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Fathers' birth attendance is associated with support for mothers in infant care, positive child health outcomes, and parental well-being. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted in a randomised controlled experimental design to investigate the effect of fathers' birth attendance on paternal-infant attachment and the perception of parental role. METHODOLOGY: Pregnant women during the childbirth process and their husbands were included in the study and were randomised according to fathers' birth attendance. The data were collected with the Information Form (IF), Paternal Antenatal Attachment Questionnaire (PAAQ), Self-Perception of Parental Role Scale (SPPRS), Postnatal Paternal-Infant Attachment Questionnaire (PPAQ), and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The IF data were obtained from women before birth, and the EPDS data were obtained from women 15 days after birth. RESULTS: Individual characteristics of mothers and fathers in the groups, and prenatal PAAQ and SPPRS scores of the fathers were similar (p > 0.05). In the postnatal period, a significant difference was found in favour of the intervention group in the PPAQ total (p < 0.01), Patience and Tolerance (p < 0.05) and Pleasure in Interaction (p < 0.01) sub-dimensions. The within-group variation of the SPPRS scores of fathers in the intervention and control groups was analysed. The postnatal Competence (p < 0.01) and Integration (p < 0.05) sub-dimension scores statistically significantly increased in both the intervention and control groups compared to the antenatal period. CONCLUSION: While husbands' accompanying their wives in the delivery room positively affects paternal-infant attachment, its effect on the perception of parental role is an issue that needs to be further investigated.

Past attachment experiences, the potential link of mentalization and the transmission of behavior to the child by mothers with mental health problems: cross-sectional analysis of a clinical sample.

Maternal capacity to mentalize (= reflective functioning, RF), secure attachment and emotionally available parenting has an impact on the child's development. The transmission of mothers' past attachment experiences gained with both her caregivers in her own childhood and the impact on current mother-child interaction is part of the 'transmission gap.' This study explores the transgenerational transmission mechanisms and the potential moderating effect of RF in a clinical sample of 113 mother-child dyads suffering from mental health problems. In a cross-sectional study, the associations between maternal attachment experiences, RF (coded based on Adult Attachment Interviews) and current mother-child interaction (Emotional Availability Scales) were examined with univariate correlation, moderator analyses, and structural equation models. We found relationships between attachment experiences and mother-child interaction, but RF had no moderating effect. Past loving experiences and perceived neglection, particularly with the own father in childhood, were predictors for the present mother-child interaction. There seems to be an intergenerational transmission of attachment experiences to the ongoing generation. Particularly past adverse childhood experiences with the own father seem to explain currently disruptive interactions with the child.Trial registration: DRKS00017008 and DRKS00016353.

Differential effects of maternal- and paternal-adolescent attachments on friendship security and intimacy.

The present study examined the differential contributions of adolescent-reported maternal and paternal attachment anxiety and avoidance on friendship security and intimacy. Participants were 776 Canadian adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 years (M = 15.18, SD = 1.58) who provided ratings of their perceived attachment avoidance and anxiety towards their mothers and fathers and responded to measures of friendship security and intimacy. Findings showed that maternal and paternal attachment avoidance and not anxiety negatively predicted friendship security. Moreover, maternal attachment avoidance was negatively associated with friendship intimacy. Multigroup analyses showed that security was negatively predicted by maternal anxious attachment for junior high school boys and girls. Additionally, paternal avoidant attachment was negatively associated with friendship intimacy for junior high school boys and girls. These findings highlight the unique effects associated with maternal and paternal attachment on specific friendship features and underscore the importance of the role of fathers in adolescence.

Associations of Partnership Quality and Father-to-Child Attachment During the Peripartum Period. A Prospective-Longitudinal Study in Expectant Fathers.

Background: During the transition to parenthood, a complex network of relationships unfolds between father, mother and the child. Expectant parents begin bonding with their unborn child, with this antenatal process supposedly being predictive for later postnatal attachment and child mental health. At the same time, couples may experience a change in partnership quality. While the majority of previous studies focused on associations between psychopathology, partnership quality and attachment from the perspective of mothers, the changes in partnership quality and attachment from the perspective of fathers has gained far less attention. Methods: Data were derived from the Maternal Anxiety and it's Relation to Infants' Development (MARI) study. N = 109 expectant fathers were recruited during mid-pregnancy (22 to 26 week of gestation). Lifetime anxiety and depressive disorders (DSM-IV) were assessed with a standardized diagnostic interview (CIDI). Paternal partnership characteristics and father-to-child attachments were assessed using standardized questionnaires at the second trimester, 10 days after delivery and 4 months after delivery in N = 76 fathers. Analyses were based on bivariate, robust and multivariate regression analyses. Results: Fathers did not report an overall decrease in partnership quality during the peripartum period. However, fathers with comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders reported lower partnership satisfaction at postpartum, as compared to unaffected fathers. Fathers with pure depressive disorders reported lower intensity of antenatal attachment. Paternal antenatal partnership quality was positively associated with antenatal father-to-child attachment. Furthermore, antenatal father-to-child attachment, as well as ante- and postnatal partnership quality in fathers, were positively related to postnatal father-to-child attachment. Conclusions: Antenatal father-to-child-attachment and paternal partnership quality appear to be promising targets for the prevention of postnatal attachment problems in fathers. The associations between partnership quality and attachment to the child further support an interpersonal approach in perinatal research, treatment and intervention, and may also feed into awareness programs that encourage expectant fathers to actively engage in relationships as early as during pregnancy-both with the mother and the unborn child.

Corrigendum: Associations of Partnership Quality and Father-to-Child Attachment During the Peripartum Period. A Prospective-Longitudinal Study in Expectant Fathers.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.572755.].

Paternal Attachment, Negative Life Events, Automatic Thoughts and Depressive Symptoms of Adolescents in Peninsular Malaysia

@#Introduction: Depressive symptoms are major public health issues with significantly increasing rates during adolescence. Specific factors and mechanisms associated with depressive symptoms still need to be identified. The present study aimed to examine direct relationships between paternal attachment and negative life events (NLE) to depressive symptoms. Indirect effect of automatic thoughts on the relationships was also examined. Methods: A sample of 1030 adolescents aged between 13 and 19 years (mean=15.36) was recruited using probability proportional to size cluster sampling from selected states in Peninsular Malaysia to complete self-report measures on the study variables. Results: Structural equation modelling indicated that paternal attachment in terms of secure, approachability and anxious fearful were directly associated to depressive symptoms. Broadly, increases in secure and approachability attachments followed by decreases in depressive symptoms. Adolescents who experienced anxious fearful attachment seemed to be more vulnerable to depressive symptoms. Moreover, results from mediation analyses revealed that automatic thoughts mediated the effect of two attachment variables (i.e., anxious fearful and responsiveness) and NLE to depressive symptoms. Conclusion: These findings shed light on the concurrent effects of attachment and life events on depressive symptoms, providing evidence on how to reduce depressive symptoms among adolescents. The current study also expands knowledge on the role of automatic thoughts as potentially relevant mediator. Intervention and prevention programs aimed at preventing adolescents from the deleterious effects of depressive symptoms should involve both parents and adolescents in order to promote optimal attachment relationships and minimize depressive cognitions in adolescents

The Effect of Fathers' Kangaroo Care Experience of Preterm Babies on Paternal Attachment / 중환자간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was intended to standardize the Kangaroo care protocol for fathers, and to determine the effect of fathers' Kangaroo care experience on paternal attachment.METHODS: The data was collected from February to April, 2013. The study subjects were 34 fathers (17 experimental group subjects, 17 control group subjects) of premature babies, bornatatertiaryhospitalinSeoul, who agreed to participate. The standardized Kangaroo care protocol, which consisted of at least three 60-minutes sessions during the hospitalization period in a neonatal intensive care unit, was carried out with the experimental group. The data was analyzed by a χ2-test and Mann-Whitney U test.RESULTS: The results were as follows: 1) There were no between-group differences in the general characteristics of babies and their fathers. 2) The Kangaroo care fathers showed higher scores of paternal attachment than the control group (Z=-3.657, p=0.008).CONCLUSION: Fathers who attended the Kangaroo care sessions showed stronger paternal attachment than those who did not. Therefore, use of a Kangaroo care program for fathers of premature babies at neonatal intensive care units is recommended.

Effects of antenatal education on fear of childbirth, maternal self-efficacy and parental attachment.

OBJECTIVE: to examine the effects of antenatal education on fear of childbirth, maternal self-efficacy, and maternal and paternal attachment. DESIGN: quasi-experimental study, comparing an antenatal education group and a control group. PARTICIPANTS: 63 pregnant women and their husbands. MEASUREMENTS: demographic data forms, the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire, the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory, the Maternal Attachment Inventory and the Postnatal Paternal-Infant Attachment Questionnaire were used for data collection. FINDINGS: antenatal education was found to reduce the fear of childbirth and to increase childbirth-related maternal self-efficacy. However, antenatal education was found to have no effect on parental attachment. KEY CONCLUSIONS: it is recommended that widespread antenatal education programmes should be provided in developing countries, and the content of the education programme about parental attachment should be increased. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: this study found that antenatal education has no influence on maternal and paternal attachment. As such, there is a need to increase the content of the education programme about parental attachment.

A Comparison of Attachment in Adolescents of Mainland China and Malaysia / 中国临床心理学杂志

Objective: To compare the differences of the relationships of paternal attachment,maternal attachment and peer attachment in adolescents of Mainland China and Malaysia.Methods: Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment was used and 1694 adolescents were tested(315 were Malay of Malaysia,666 were Chinese of Malaysia and 713 were Chinese of Mainland China).Results: Adolescents of Malay evaluated more positive in parental and peer attachment than those in China and Malaysia.Conclusion: Significant differences between the attachment by Malay and Chinese adolescents point to the need to understand attachment in adolescents within a cultural context.