Adult attachment style and maternal-infant bonding: the indirect path of parenting stress

Abstract

Background: The quality of maternal-infant bonding is related to important child outcomes. The literature has assumed that the ability to form relationships is a relatively stable trait, and research studies have suggested that a mother's attachment style in close adult relationships is related to mother-infant bonding. The transition to parenthood is also often stressful, and the adult attachment style may relate to parenting stress in the first year after birth. Such stress could possibly have a negative relationship with the mother-infant bond. In the present study, we examined the associations between maternal adult attachment styles and the quality of mother-infant bonding and whether this relationship is mediated by parenting stress. Methods: The present study sample comprised 168 women (mean age 31.0 years, SD 4.23 years). Between weeks 31 and 41 of gestation, the anxious and avoidant adult attachment dimensions were measured with the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire (ECR). Between 5 and 15 weeks after birth mother-infant bonding and parenting stress were measured with the Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale (MPAS) and the Parenting Stress Index-Parent Domain (PSI-PD), respectively. Results: Both attachment-related avoidance and attachment-related anxiety correlated significantly and negatively with mother-infant bonding. However, a regression analysis showed that only attachment-related avoidance was a significant predictor of mother-infant bonding when controlling for demographic variables and maternal mental health history. The relationship between the adult attachment style and bonding was mediated by parenting stress. Higher scores on attachment avoidance and anxiety were related to increased stress, which was related to decreased quality of bonding. The overall parent domain and the subscale of competence in the parent-related stress dimension mediated between attachment avoidance and bonding, and the overall parent domain and the subscales of competence and role restriction mediated between attachment anxiety and bonding. There was no direct relationship between the adult attachment style and mother-infant bonding when parenting stress was included as a mediator.

Associations of Maternal-Infant Bonding with Maternal Mental Health, Infant’s Characteristics and Socio-Demographical Variables in the Early Postpartum Period: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…For instance, Bieleninik et al [46] observed that paternal stress mediates the relationship between paternal anxiety and paternal postpartum bonding. Our results are partially in agreement with those obtained by Nordahl et al [69] who found no direct relationship between adult attachment style dimensions and bonding with the child when parental stress was included as a mediator. However, when examining each adult attachment domain with Maternal-Infant bonding, Nordahl et al [69] found that the relationship between those two variables was mediated by parenting stress.…”

“…Our results are partially in agreement with those obtained by Nordahl et al [69] who found no direct relationship between adult attachment style dimensions and bonding with the child when parental stress was included as a mediator. However, when examining each adult attachment domain with Maternal-Infant bonding, Nordahl et al [69] found that the relationship between those two variables was mediated by parenting stress. This demonstrated that parenting stress is important to the quality of maternal bonding with a child.…”

Anxious Attachment Mediates the Associations Between Early Recollections of Mother's Own Parental Bonding and Mother–Infant Bonding: A 2-Month Path Analysis Model

“…However, various studies investigating the specific associations of avoidant and anxious attachment orientations and mother–infant bonding report inconsistent findings, similarly to our findings. For example, only avoidance was a significant predictor of mother–infant bonding when controlling for demographic variables and maternal mental health history ( 29 ). In another study, there was no direct relationship between attachment and mother–infant bonding; however, anxious attachment was associated with postpartum depression, and depressive symptoms predicted impaired bonding ( 30 ).…”

“…Several studies examined the association between those concepts with inconclusive results pattern. On the one hand, during the transition to motherhood, insecure attachment (anxious and avoidant) was associated directly with bonding difficulties among parents ( 27 ) and indirectly mediated by postpartum depression among mothers ( 28 ) or mediated by parenting stress ( 29 ). On the other hand, Van Bussel et al ( 9 ) reported a weak correlation between mother–infant bonding and attachment style while maternal romantic attachment style predicted attachment with the fetus in the antenatal, but not with the baby in the postpartum period ( 30 ) and only women with a dual/disorganized attachment style reported lower bonding than with women with secure and insecure attachment styles ( 31 ).…”

Development of a risk classification model in early pregnancy to screen for suboptimal postnatal mother-to-infant bonding: A prospective cohort study

“…The avoidance subscale assesses discomfort with dependence and intimate self-disclosure towards the partner. Recently, other authors describe the constructs as different constructs as well [ 4 , 52 ]. We cannot completely rule out that there is the slight possibility that the way the mother responded to one questionnaire affected the way she responded to the second one.…”