Cover Image

Maternal emotional availability and its association with maternal psychopathology, attachment style insecurity and theory of mind

Background/Aims:High maternal emotional availability (EA) positively affects various domains of child development. However, the question of which factors promote or hinder maternal EA has not been investigated systematically. The present study investigated several maternal characteristics, namely ma...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Licata, Maria (Author) , Zietlow, Anna-Lena (Author) , Träuble, Birgit (Author) , Sodian, Beate (Author) , Reck, Corinna (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: August 6, 2016
In: Psychopathology
Year: 2016, Volume: 49, Issue: 5, Pages: 334-340
ISSN:1423-033X
DOI:10.1159/000447781
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1159/000447781
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/447781
Get full text
Author Notes:Maria Licata, Anna-Lena Zietlow, Birgit Träuble, Beate Sodian, Corinna Reck
Description
Summary:Background/Aims:High maternal emotional availability (EA) positively affects various domains of child development. However, the question of which factors promote or hinder maternal EA has not been investigated systematically. The present study investigated several maternal characteristics, namely maternal psychopathology, maternal attachment style insecurity, and theory of mind (ToM) as possible factors that influence maternal EA. Methods: The sample was comprised of 56 mothers and their preschool-aged children. Half of the mothers were diagnosed with postpartum depression and or anxiety disorders according to DSM-IV, and the other half were healthy controls. Results: The results showed that both low maternal attachment style insecurity and high ToM skills significantly predicted maternal EA sensitivity, independently from maternal postpartum and concurrent psychopathology and education. Moreover, maternal attachment style insecurity fully mediated the link between maternal postpartum psychopathology and sensitivity. Conclusion: The findings suggest that maternal attachment style security can buffer negative effects of maternal psychopathology on maternal sensitivity in the mother-child interaction.
Item Description:Gesehen am 04.06.2020
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1423-033X
DOI:10.1159/000447781

Similar Items