Search

Introduction Psychosocial risks increase the levels of not-integrated/ambivalent and restricted/disengaged representations during pregnancy, but no study has specifically analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal representation styles. Objectives (1) to compare maternal representation styles in primiparous women who became pregnant before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to analyse the content of representation styles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A total of 37 Italian pregnant women were recruited from 2019 to 2021. The sample was divided into two groups: the pre-COVID-19 group (22 women, mean age = 33.14 years; SD = 3.78) and the COVID-19 group (15 women, mean age = 35.9 years; SD = 4.6). Interviews on maternal representations during pregnancy were administered and analysed for style and content. Results: Women during the COVID-19 pandemic reported more restricted/disengaged and less integrated/balanced representation styles than women pre-COVID-19. Content analysis showed that the COVID-19 pandemic led women to focus more on concrete aspects of pregnancy in lieu of emotional aspects, thus leading them to develop more restricted/disengaged representation styles. Conclusions for practice In future pandemics pregnant women should be supported in focusing their attention to emotions, sensations and fantasies about themselves as mothers and their children., Author(s): Martina Smorti [sup.1] , Giulia Mauri [sup.1] , Alessia Carducci [sup.1] , Angelica Andreol [sup.2] , Lucia Bonassi [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.5395.a, 0000 0004 1757 3729, Department of [...]

Literature has shown that hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancy tend to develop anxious and depressive symptoms. Research has used quantitative or qualitative methods. By integrating both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study aims to analyze: a) the level of depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety in a group of women hospitalized with high-risk pregnancy (hospitalized high-risk) compared with a group of non-hospitalized women with low-risk pregnancy; b) the content of hospitalization-related emotions in a high-risk group. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 hospitalized high-risk pregnant women and 32 women with low-risk pregnancy. Participants completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Anxiety), and Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire. The hospitalized high-risk group also completed open-ended questions about emotions experienced during hospitalization. Univariate Analysis of Covariance showed that the hospitalized high-risk group reported higher general anxiety and depression than the low-risk pregnancy group. Low-risk group reported higher level of concerns about own appearance than high-risk group. Narratives showed that the anxious and depressive symptoms of hospitalized women are related to the loneliness of being away from family. Despite attempts to understand hospitalization, they express concerns about pregnancy. Psychological support for hospitalized pregnant women should be provided to facilitate the communication of emotions that leads women to elaborate the experience of hospitalization to better adapt and cope with the critical condition., Author(s): Martina Smorti [sup.1] , Francesca Ginobbi [sup.1] , Tommaso Simoncini [sup.2] , Federica Pancetti [sup.3] , Alessia Carducci [sup.1] , Giulia Mauri [sup.1] , Angelo Gemignani [sup.1] Author Affiliations: [...]

In the Italian context, parental bonding has great relevance in promoting satisfaction of emerging adults' psychological needs, impacting their wellbeing, also in terms of interpersonal sensitivity. Aims: to analyse, in 497 emerging adults: the direct influence of maternal and paternal bonding on young interpersonal sensitivity and life satisfaction; indirect influence, mediated by the influence of the parents-offspring relationship on the need for relatedness, autonomy, and competence. SEM analysis showed that parental bonding characterized by high warmth and low over-protection could help satisfaction of all three needs; only paternal bonding is directly and positively related with life satisfaction and negatively with interpersonal sensitivity; satisfaction of needs could significantly improve life satisfaction. Implications are discussed in the article.

This study investigated the role of anger expression and control in the relationships between mindfulness and romantic relationship quality. 237 emerging adults (167 females and 70 males) who had been in a relationship for at least three weeks (range = 3 weeks − 84 months) completed a set of questionnaires that assessed mindfulness, anger expression and control, and romantic relationship quality. Mediation analysis demonstrated that anger control strategies, which involve attempts to remain calm and reduce angry feelings mediated the relationship between mindfulness and romantic relationship quality. Bootstrap analyses also revealed that anger expression did not play a mediating role in the association between mindfulness and romantic relationship quality. A higher level of mindfulness may contribute to romantic relationship quality via increased anger control, but not via expressing anger externally or internally. The importance of examining different facets of anger and mindfulness and the implications for intervention programmes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between the experience of childbirth as a traumatic event and the quality of postnatal attachment to child, analyzing the role of depressive symptomatology on this relationship. A sample of 103 women, aged from 26 to 46 years (M = 35.05, SD = 4.51) filled in questionnaires to assess postpartum stress symptoms related to the childbirth experience, postnatal attachment toward their newborns, and level of depressive symptomatology. A mediation analysis was carried out. The level of postpartum stress symptoms positively affects maternal depressive symptomatology and negatively affects the quality of postnatal attachment. Moreover, the relationship between a traumatic childbirth experience and postnatal attachment is both direct and indirect. In fact, a traumatic childbirth experience also affects the level of postnatal depression that, in turn, negatively affects the quality of postnatal attachment bond. The presence of postpartum distress symptoms affects the well-being of mothers, and these conditions interfere with the ability of women to develop good attachment bonds with their children. These results showed the relevance of paying attention to pregnant women, to help them to live childbirth in a positive and non-stressful way., Author(s): Lucia Ponti [sup.1] , Martina Smorti [sup.2] , Simon Ghinassi [sup.1] , Paolo Mannella [sup.3] , Tommaso Simoncini [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.8404.8, 0000 0004 1757 2304, Department of [...]

Research has shown that both parenting and emotional dysregulation are associated with mental health outcomes in youth. This cross-sectional research was developed to replicate these noted findings and explore the mediating role of emotional dysregulation to explain the relationship between parenting and emotional and behavioral difficulties (internalizing and externalizing problems) in adolescents. A total of 104 adolescents (61.5% females; M = 15.62 yrs., SD = 1.38) participated in the study. Participants completed the Parental Bonding Instrument (measuring care, promotion of autonomy, and overprotection) referring to both the mother and father, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Youth Self-Report. The results showed that difficulties in emotion regulation fully mediated the relationship between overprotection (in both parents) and low maternal care with internalizing problems, on the one hand, and the relationship between maternal overprotection and low care (in both parents) with externalizing problems, on the other hand. Furthermore, emotional dysregulation partially mediated the effect of paternal care on internalizing problems. These findings help to clarify one of the mechanisms through which parenting can affect mental health in youth. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caregivers' psychological well-being is linked to the quality of care provided for familiar with chronic illness. Despite caregivers of cardiac patients present an impaired psychological well-being, less investigated is the psychological well-being of caregivers of individuals with a rare disease such as the Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis (ATTR-CA). Specifically, given that no study explored the well-being of the caregiver and the caregiver-patient relationship, this study aimed to analyze the prevalence of anxiety and depression in ATTR-CA caregivers and if these disorders were associated with patient's and caregiver's characteristics. Fifty-eight dyad caregiver-ATTR-CA patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Network of Relationships Inventory. Moreover, ATTR-CA patients completed the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, while caregivers completed the Multidimensional Scale of Social Support. Results showed that anxious caregivers (44%) reported higher conflict with patients. They had ATTR-CA relatives with a worse perception of cardiac symptoms and higher anxiety and depression. Depressed caregivers (39%) reported higher conflict with ATTR-CA relatives and lower perceived social support. Caregiver reported a high prevalence of anxiety and depression associated with worse personal relational well-being and to patient's psycho-physical condition. The care of ATTR-CA patient should consider the caregiver well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women with a cancer history report high distress during pregnancy and infant feeding. Despite the clear advantages of breastfeeding, little is known about factors influencing infant feeding behavior in women with cancer history. Research Aim: This three-time point longitudinal study aimed to explore the centrality of pregnancy and infant feeding experiences in 17 pregnant women with a cancer history (cases) compared to 17 pregnant women without cancer history (controls). Methods: During pregnancy, participants filled out the Centrality of Events Scale and an ad hoc questionnaire about specific emotions, concerns, and expectations about infant feeding (T1), and their childbirth and infant feeding experiences during hospitalization (T2), and at 3-months postpartum (T3). Results: Results at T1 demonstrated that participants with a history of cancer reported a higher perception of negative judgment and moral choice about breastfeeding than participants without a history of cancer. At T2 they reported a more positive childbirth experience than controls. From T2 to T3 participants with a history of cancer breastfed at a higher percentage than controls, and at T3 they reported higher levels of emotional and physical pleasure about the infant feeding experiences. Conclusions: Women with cancer history may experience a higher emotional and physical pleasure with infant feeding. Despite initial difficulties, a greater prevalence of breastfeeding was present for women with a history of cancer. Although this is a small sample, this research suggests that support and promotion of breastfeeding might be very effective after a serious medical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal narratives tell the stories of people's lives as well as provide insight into the meaning of those experiences. These narratives both reflect and are influenced by the relationships within which an individual is embedded. In this study, autobiographical narratives for two groups of women were compared: women who had experienced habitual gender-based domestic violence in their couple relationships and women who had not. The language of narratives was analyzed by LIWC (Language Inquiry and Word Count procedure). Results showed that the language and structure of narratives by women with a history of domestic violence indicated greater stress and trauma, more incoherent space-time organization, and poorer relationship quality. Women who experienced violence wrote longer narratives that contained proportionately more negative emotion words and more references to cognitions and physical/body issues, and indicated more disorganized structure by means of incoherent use of verbal tense, more impoverished use of connectives, and greater use of negative sentence syntax and discrepancy words. They also included proportionately more pronoun references to 'I','You',' and 'He', indicating self vs. partner conflictual relationships. However, women who had experienced relationship violence for longer decreased their references to the emotions of fear and anxiety, suggesting adaptation to violence over time., Author(s): Franca Tani[sup.1] , Carole Peterson[sup.2] , Martina Smorti[sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Via San Salvi, 12, Pad. 26, 50135, FlorenceItaly (2) Department of [...]

Lombardy was the most affected Italian region by COVID-19. To limit the spread of infection, the government issued a national social lockdown. The obstetrical-gynaecological emergencies and essential services were guaranteed to protect pregnant women's health, and a return to a medicalised childbirth was necessary. This situation could had amplified risk factors on the psychological wellbeing of mothers-to-be. Indeed, the last trimester of pregnancy is a period of increased vulnerability itself. For better support women who experience pregnancy during social lockdown, we explored the impact of COVID-19 on psychic wellbeing of two samples of pregnant women (40 living in Lombardy and 35 in Tuscany). T-test and correlations analyses revealed that women living in the Lombardy had a higher perception of the centrality of COVID-19. Further, women that considered the pandemic as a significant event, experienced a higher perinatal depressive symptom. Those symptoms also arose in women who presented a higher number of intrusion and hyperarousal symptoms and a lower ability to plan. Pregnant women should be closely monitored and supported, especially those who live in high-risk areas, such as Lombardy Region. The target intervention could be focused on improving resilience to reduce depressive symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the changes in quality of couples' relationships from pregnancy to postpartum in pregnant Italian women who conceived spontaneously and to analyze the differences in transition to motherhood with respect to birth of (a) first child, (b) second child, and (c) twins. Background: The transition to motherhood leads to several changes for parents and can significantly affect a couple's adaptation. The couple's adaptation to parenthood may depend on whether they are having a first child, a second child, or twins. Method: A total of 119 women (61 primiparous women with single pregnancy, 42 multiparous women with single pregnancy, and 16 primiparous women with twin pregnancy) completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale during the third trimester of pregnancy and 3 months after childbirth. To explore whether the three groups differed regarding the quality of the couple relationship during pregnancy, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted. Subsequently, a series of mixed 2 × 3 ANOVA with Time (pregnancy and postpartum) as the within factor and Group as the between factor for each dependent variable linked to the dimensions of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale was carried out to explore whether the quality of the couple relationship differed 3 months after childbirth. Results: Results highlighted that, during pregnancy, mothers expecting one child (both primiparas and multiparas) reported a higher level of couple relationship quality than did women expecting twins. However, after childbirth, mothers of twins reported significant improvements on some qualitative aspects of their couple relationship (Affective Expression), whereas the other mothers reported some worsening in the perceived couple relationship 3 months after the birth of the child, especially regarding global score, Dyadic Cohesion, and Affective Expression. Conclusion: In conclusion, birth preparation courses must pay attention not only to parenting transition but also to promoting involvement of both partners in household duties. Anticipating a fair division of household chores can allow partners to prepare for childbirth and limit the stress of the couple. Implications: The promotion of dyadic adjustment can reduce parenting stress and increase parents' well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]