Paternal perspectives of the childbirth experience

This study examined the responses given by first-time fathers who were asked to describe their feelings about their childbirth experience. The fathers answered three open-ended questions about their feelings concerning labor and childbirth, and the paternal behaviors believed to be most useful to their wives during labor and delivery. Data from fathers who attended prenatal childbirth education classes were examined separately from fathers who did not attend. The findings indicated that for all fathers, regardless of prenatal preparation, the labor experience evoked generally positive responses in addition to a significant number of negative responses, while perceptions of the birth experience were primarily characterized by positive or very positive feelings. The results also indicated that the fathers perceived that they were most helpful to their partner during labor.     

Maternal representations of past and current attachment relationships, and emotional experience across the transition to motherhood: A longitudinal study.

Sad and anxious feelings are known to increase in the immediate postpartum period, whereas studies on new mothers' other emotional qualities such as anger are scarce. In laboratory studies, attachment security was found to be associated with effective emotion regulation in challenging situations. This study investigated attachment representations of experiences with parents and of current experiences with the partner as predictors of sad, anxious, and angry feelings across the transition to motherhood. Seventy-seven pregnant women in their third trimester were administered the Adult Attachment Interview and the Current Relationship Interview. The Differential Emotions Scale was given in pregnancy and at the infant's ages of 2 weeks, 2, 4, and 6 months, asking both mothers and fathers about maternal emotional experience. Sadness and anxiety increased 2 weeks postpartum and returned to below baseline over the following months, while anger did not change. Contrary to mothers with an insecure representation of their couple relationship, those with a secure representation reported and displayed increased sadness and anxiety 2 weeks after giving birth, from which they quickly recovered. For mothers secure in their representation of past attachment relationships with parents, an increase of low-level anger emerged 4 months postpartum, which did not occur in insecure participants and receded quickly. It can be concluded that secure representations of current and past attachment relationships help new mothers express and recover from negative emotions. These findings further elucidate the associations between attachment status and emotion regulation while adding a couple perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning disabilities, locus of control, and mother attitudes.

Academic locus of control and mothers' school-related reactions and expectations were studied in 81 learning disabled (LD) and 81 normally achieving (control) children in Grades 3–6. The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire, the Intellectual subscale of the Parent Reaction Questionnaire, and the Parents Version of the Projected Academic Performance Scale were used. LD Ss indicated more external perceptions of control with respect to successful academic experiences. For failure outcomes, no difference between LD and control Ss was found; however, a trend toward increased internality was noted over grade levels for both groups. Mothers of LD Ss reported more negative and fewer positive reactions to their children. They also held lower academic performance expectations for their children than control mothers. Results are discussed in terms of the need to develop more internal control perceptions in LD children and the role of parental attitudes and expectations in school learning. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

First-time mothers' expectations of parenthood: What happens when optimistic expectations are not matched by later experiences?

Becoming a parent is a major developmental transition of adulthood. Individuals often have optimistic expectations about parenthood, yet this transition also presents a number of challenges. The authors investigated whether new parents have overly optimistic expectations about parenthood and, if they do, how this influences their adjustment to this role. The sample consisted of 71 first-time mothers who completed questionnaires during pregnancy and at 4 months postpartum. The study assessed women's expectations of caring for their infant and the influence parenthood would have on their well-being and their relationships with others. Most women's expectations were matched or exceeded by their parenting experiences. However, where experiences were negative relative to expectations, there was greater depression symptomatology and poorer relationship adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents, partnership and education officers: a study of attributions

Thirty-five parents of children with special educational needs were interviewed to ascertain their experiences of dealing with education officers involved in the assessment and placement of their children. They were found predominantly to make internal attributions for negative behaviours, and external attributions for positive behaviours. The implication of these results for new United Kingdom government initiatives to reduce conflict between parents and education authorities are examined.     

Work-parenting linkages among dual-earner couples at the transition to parenthood.

This study evaluates the impact of work experiences on parenting quality during the transition to parenthood. Dual-earner parents (n = 83) completed measures of work experiences (autonomy and interpersonal atmosphere). Parenting was observed twice, 3 months apart. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that mothers who reported a more negative interpersonal atmosphere at work showed decreases in positive parenting and increases in negative personal parenting over time, after controlling for their occupational status and general well-being. Mothers' work experiences also predicted changes in fathers' observed parenting. In contrast, fathers' work experiences were largely unrelated to fathers' or mothers' parenting. With one exception, parents' occupational status did not moderate work-parenting relationships, and feelings of role overload did not mediate these relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of interpersonal control, perspective taking, and attributions on older mothers' and adult daughters' satisfaction with their helping relationships.

Older mother-adult daughter dyads (N?=?44) were interviewed separately about 3 variables hypothesized to affect satisfaction with the help provided to mothers by their daughters: feelings of interpersonal control, perspective-taking abilities, and attributions made about the self and other dyad member during positive and negative helping interactions. The most important predictors of partner satisfaction were mothers' and daughters' ability to accurately perceive the partner's feelings about the helping relationship and their feelings of interpersonal control. The most salient predictors of mothers' and daughters' own satisfaction were the attributions they made about the partner during a negative helping situation and their feelings of interpersonal control. These findings underscore the importance of considering interpersonal psychological variables in research concerned with helping relationships in later life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women's evaluation of the labor and delivery experience

The purpose of this study was to identify how women described and evaluated their labor and delivery experience and what factors were related to their responses. Sixty Lamaze-prepared, married multigravidae, aged 21 to 37 years, participated in this qualitative field study. Detailed, open-ended tape-recorded interviews were conducted on the postpartum unit of a community hospital or in the women's homes early during the postpartum period. Women evaluated their labor and delivery experience according to how well they perceived they had managed their own childbirth performance. Women who managed well viewed childbirth as positive, whereas women who had difficulty or managed poorly viewed it as both positive and negative. Women who managed well thought their own performance and the nature of labor and delivery (physical aspects) went well; women who had difficulty thought labor and delivery and the performance of others went well, but women who managed poorly had problems identifying anything that went well. There was overall agreement that the baby was the best part of the experience and that pain and pushing were the worst parts. Since women's evaluation of their labor and delivery experience may be related to the quality of their subsequent mothering, it is important to enhance their perceptions of their own performance, and thus their evaluation of the childbirth experience.     

Maternal self-efficacy, knowledge of infant development, sensory sensitivity, and maternal response during interaction.

When their infants were 6 months of age, mothers were assessed for self-efficacy (low, moderate, and high illusory control) and knowledge of infant development to determine their impact on mothers' behavioral sensitivity and affect during a feeding task at 9 months (N=70). Mothers' sensory sensitivity to digital images of infants' negative and positive expressions assessed in a signal detection task at 6 months was hypothesized to mediate this relation. Mothers with moderate illusory control exhibited greatest behavioral sensitivity and positive affect. Low knowledge was associated with reduced sensitivity for mothers with low illusory control only. When viewing the negative expression, mothers with moderate illusory control and high knowledge exhibited greatest sensory sensitivity, and mothers with high illusory control and moderate/high knowledge were least sensitive. Although sensory sensitivity was not a mediating variable, its relation to both illusory control and subsequent maternal measures during feeding was informative. Although greater sensory sensitivity predicted more sensitive behavior and more positive affect, only for maternal affect was the relation independent of illusion of control effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Who wants the children?: Some relationships among attitudes toward children, parents, and the liberation of women.

Investigated the relationship between attitudes toward child rearing, the quality of childhood experiences, and agreement with women's liberation. A self-report measure of these variables was administered to 101 male and 117 female undergraduates and to 42 women in a continuing education program (CEWs). Results show that (a) CEWs had the most positive attitudes toward child rearing and males had the least positive; (b) no relationship was found between desire to have children and having a father who was home during most of childhood or a working mother; (c) Ss with positive attitudes toward children ranked child rearing as more creative and of more value to society and remembered more nuturant mothers and fathers; (d) males had the least favorable attitudes toward women's liberation, while CEWs had the most; (e) the most child-oriented men had more favorable attitudes toward women's liberation than males with moderately or unfavorable attitudes; and (f) proliberation women were less eager to have children, remembered less attention from their parents, and had more positive feelings toward mothers than fathers. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregnancy problems, postpartum depression, and early mother–infant interactions.

24 women (mean age 24 yrs) who had received ultrasound examinations and psychological interviews during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy were subsequently divided into a group of 12 Ss who had reported pregnancy problems (marital difficulties and ambivalence about the child) and another group of 12 Ss who had not. Ss were then observed at 3–5 mo postpartum in interactions with their infants and were given the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Nowicki-Strickland Internal–External Control Scale for Adults, measures of mothers' and infants' temperament, and a maternal developmental expectations and childrearing attitudes scale. The mothers who had experienced pregnancy problems were more depressed, anxious, and externalizing postpartum and expressed more punitive childrearing attitudes. These depressed mothers and their infants showed less optimal interaction behaviors. Results suggest that postpartum depression can be predicted from a simple set of questions regarding the mother's negative feelings about her marriage and her expectant child during the prenatal period. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of neonatal risk, maternal attitude, and cognitive style on early postpartum adjustment.

Attempted to document clinical observations of increased psychological stress among mothers of at-risk infants. Ss were 100 mothers, primarily from low-socioeconomic and minority groups, who had recently delivered infants representing a wide range of neonatal conditions. Assessments conducted between Postpartum Days 1–5 included the Depression Check List, State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, Neonatal Perception Inventory, Embedded Figures Test, Maternal Attitude Toward Pregnancy Instrument, and background variables. Multiple regression and correlational analyses confirmed the hypotheses that higher levels of neonatal risk were related to higher levels of depression and anxiety and to more negative perceptions of the newborn. Negative maternal attitudes toward pregnancy and childbirth were significantly related to postpartum anxiety but not to depression or perception of the newborn. Field dependence–independence was not associated with the postpartum adjustment measures. Significant relationships were also detected between age and postpartum anxiety and between cesarean section delivery and positive perceptions of the newborn. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Length of maternity leave and quality of mother-infant interactions

The aim of this study was to assess the association between the length of maternity leave and the quality of mother-infant interactions; 198 employed mothers of 4-month-old infants were interviewed and videotaped in their homes during a feeding time. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated a direct association between shorter length of leave and more negative affect and behavior in maternal interactions with their infants. Infant and mother stressor/protective variables added significantly in predicting the quality of the mother-infant relationship. There were also significant interaction effects between the length of leave and these variables. Mothers who either reported more depressive symptoms or who perceived their infant as having a more difficult temperament and who had shorter leaves, compared with mothers who had longer leaves, were observed to express less positive affect, sensitivity, and responsiveness in interactions with their infants. The public policy implications of the relation between length of maternity leave, maternal and infant individual differences, and the quality of mother-infant interactions are discussed.     

Assessment of psychosocial stressors and maladjustment among foreign students of the University of the Ryukyus

Hormone replacement therapy: determinants of women's decisions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the decision-making process used by menopausal women initiating or remaining on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), stopping HRT, or never starting HRT. Eight focus groups, composed of women reflecting these categories, were conducted. Four major themes or spheres of influence emerged as important in the women's decision-making process: the woman's internal influence--the interface between her perceptions and feelings including the symptoms of menopause, the benefits realized by HRT usage, and the experiences of negative side effects; interpersonal relationships, including the patient-physician relationship, family, friends and information networks; external influences, such as ageism and sexism; and consequences resulting from whichever treatment decision was chosen. A new concept was elucidated called "weighted influence" to underscore the dynamic interplay among the spheres. As information about HRT continues to grow and change, an understanding and application of these spheres of influence can assist physicians in engaging in a dialogue with their patients that allows individual evaluation and application of this new information.     

The development of children's moral sensibility: Individual differences and emotion understanding.

Developmental changes and individual differences in children's conceptions of transgressions were studied in 46 children in their kindergarten and 1st-grade years; the children had previously been studied with their mothers and siblings as 2- and 3-year-olds. Differences in responses to moral transgressions in kindergarten were related to mothers' control management and to siblings' friendly behavior in the preschool period, early understanding of emotions, and verbal ability. Family variables and emotion understanding were also correlated with responses to moral transgressions in 1st grade. The incidence of children's attribution of happiness or mixed feelings to victimizers did not change between 6 and 7 years. The findings suggest experiences with both mothers and siblings, and differences in how children assess the feelings of others show consistent and comparatively long-term associations with children's responses to moral issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive factors in source monitoring and auditory hallucinations

BACKGROUND: In order to elucidate further the cognitive processes underlying auditory hallucinations, an experiment investigating delayed and immediate source monitoring for positive, negative and neutral verbal material was conducted with schizophrenic patients. METHODS: Patients experiencing auditory hallucinations, patients not experiencing auditory hallucinations and normal subjects participated in a word association task, rating their responses for how much a self-generated thought was their own, how controllable and involuntary it was and their confidence in these ratings. A delayed source monitoring test in which subjects had to recall the source (self or experimenter) of the words from the association task was also administered. RESULTS: Hallucinators showed a greater bias towards external attribution of their thoughts compared with both control groups for immediate attributions of source, but not for delayed attributions. Hallucinators showed a bias towards external attribution of emotional material for immediate source monitoring and all subjects showed a bias towards misattribution of positive material to an external source and negative material to an internal source for the delayed source monitoring task. CONCLUSIONS: These findings appear to be most consistent with theories proposing that hallucinations result from an external attributional bias for internal events. The implications of these results for research and practice are also discussed.     

A liver-specific isoform of the betaine/GABA transporter in the rat: cDNA sequence and organ distribution

This paper discusses the findings of a quantitative study of nurses' willingness to care for patients with AIDS. It identifies several factors that enable nurses to confront the fear of AIDS nursing and to turn fear into compassion, and negative attitudes into positive ones. These factors include professional values, organizational support, group identity, patients' responses, spirituality, family and friends with AIDS, knowledge about AIDS, and the importance of personal choice. The value of these factors are further supported through personal statements made by nurses on AIDS-dedicated units as they express their feelings, thoughts, and positive experiences and expectations regarding AIDS nursing.     

Low birth weight: rate and risk factors in the Guédianwaye district (suburb of Dakar, Senegal)

The authors report the results of a six months survey about the low weight of birth (L.W.B.) in the district of Guédiawaye, suburb of Dakar. The purpose is to determine the rate of L.W.B. in two main maternity hospitals of that locality and the associated risk factors. It is a survey with a control group. This survey results in a 10.7% rate, according to the data of another retrospective survey in the same maternity hospitals in 1992 (10.03%). The risk factors are mainly: celibacy, primiparity, an associated pathology with the pregnancy, the physical strain of mothers correlated to the income and to the previous L.W.B.     

Unplanned pregnancies in Harare, Zimbabwe: what is the contraceptive history and awareness of the mothers?

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to estimate the proportion of unplanned pregnancies among mothers delivering at the referral Harare Hospital and to describe their levels of contraceptive use and awareness in relation to the planning of pregnancy. DESIGN: Systematic sample of mothers who had just delivered identified through maternity delivery, records. The study was analysed as a case-referent study where cases where mothers who had unintended pregnancies and those with intended or planned pregnancies served as referents. SETTING: Postnatal wards of Harare Maternity Hospital. SUBJECTS: 923 mothers following delivery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Socio-demographic characteristics, pregnancy planning, contraceptive history and contraceptive knowledge. RESULTS: Of the 923 deliveries studied, 377 (41%) were unintended (cases), of which 9% were unwanted. Mothers aged 19 years or below (Odds ratio [OR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6 to 3.7) and those aged 35 years or above (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.8 to 5.5) were significantly more likely to report the index pregnancy as having been unintended. Nulliparous (OR = 2.4) and parity five or more (OR = 8.2) mothers were at significantly increased risk of unintended pregnancy. Mothers presenting with unintended pregnancies were also significantly more likely to be single (OR = 7.8), divorced/separated or widowed (OR = 6.0). Contraceptive ever use was 53% and 58% in cases and referents, respectively. The combined oral contraceptive pill was the most commonly known and used method of contraception. Contraceptive failure was reported by 23% of mothers with unplanned pregnancies. Previous use of the progesterone only pill (OR = 2.2), the condom (OR = 2.3) or the IUCD (OR = 6.3) were significantly associated with the likelihood of reporting with unplanned pregnancy. Mothers in both groups were concerned about contraceptive method failure, irregular menstruation and perceived subsequent infertility with contraception. Failure to discuss family planning with the male partner (OR = 2.3) or partner refusing use of contraception (OR = 2.8) constituted risk factors for unplanned pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Results point to the need for wider contraceptive counselling and provisions which encourage and involve the male partner. Programmes for reproductive health services and education should target women in identified high risk circumstances.     

Organization of knowledge about a relationship partner: Implications for liking and loving.

In close relationships, the association between negative beliefs about a partner and loving was found to be moderated by how that negative knowledge was organized. In general, evaluatively integrative organization (i.e., categorizing positive and negative beliefs together) was associated with more positive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors toward the partner when the negative content of beliefs was high and relationships were relatively long. Additional evidence suggests that compartmentalization (i.e., organizing positive and negative beliefs in separate categories) may be an effective strategy for handling negative beliefs about a partner in a new relationship. Findings for behavioral closeness raise the possibility that the nature of shared activities, as well as an individual's cognitive processes, may influence how knowledge about a relationship partner is organized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)