Mind-Mindedness and Parenting Stress: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Cohort of Mothers of 3-Month-Old Full-Term and Preterm Infants

Abstract

The preterm birth of a child is a sudden event that can disturb the overall family system and its functioning. Many studies have been conducted with the aim of exploring how and the degree to which this event affects the early mother–infant dyadic relationship and maternal well-being, with often mixed findings. The present study investigates the combined effect of preterm birth and parenting stress on mind-mindedness, a parenting dimension that captures how parents represent and treat their children as separate individuals with their own mental states and activities. A hundred and ten mothers and their three-month-old infants (preterm = 54; full-term = 56) participated in the study. Mind-mindedness was assessed by coding mothers’ comments about infant’s mental states during dyadic face-to-face interaction. Parenting stress was evaluated with the Parenting Stress Index Short Form questionnaire. Mothers of preterm infants reported similar levels of appropriate and non-attuned mind-related comments to mothers of full-term infants. The reported parenting stress levels were also comparable. Interestingly, only mothers of preterm infants who reported higher stress in parenting showed more non-attuned comments during the interaction. The results underline the need to address preterm birth as a complex event, going beyond group differences and considering its interplay with other risk or protective factors in shaping children’s and parents’ adjustments and well-being.

An Early Collaborative Intervention Focusing on Parent-Infant Interaction in the Neonatal Period. A Descriptive Study of the Developmental Framework

“…The EACI is provided through an individual, mutual discussion in a dialogue manner, focusing on both parents and infant simultaneously. This builds upon previous research showing that intervention programs targeting the relationship between preterm infants and their parents should be individualized [ 31 , 38 ] and target both the preterm infant and the parents [ 30 ]. Preterm birth impacts the expected new role as a parent [ 39 ].…”

Parental Reflective Functioning as a Moderator of the Link Between Prematurity and Parental Stress

“…According to the World Health Organization (3), an infant is considered premature if born before completing 37 weeks of gestation. Preterm birth is considered a risk factor for the infant, potentially negatively affecting several areas of the infant's development, with the risk increasing as a function of the severity of prematurity (4). Indeed, premature infants often display a variety of short-and long-term motor, language and communication, cognitive and behavioral developmental delays (5)(6)(7).…”

“…A recent meta-analysis reported an increased risk of postpartum depression among mothers of premature infants ( 10 ). In addition, prematurity may interfere, either directly or indirectly, with the mother's parental self-image ( 4 ), parenting satisfaction and parental sense of efficacy ( 11 ).…”

“…On one hand, premature infants of mothers with higher levels PRF showed the expected soothing behavior in the Still Face procedure in contrast with mothers of such infants who had poorer PRF ( 58 ), suggesting that maternal PRF is important in the context of prematurity. On the other hand, mothers of premature and full-term infants demonstrated similar frequencies of mental state talk (another form of parental mentalization) when interacting with their 3-month-old infants ( 4 ). Mothers in the two groups also reported similar levels of perceived parenting stress.…”

Special Issue: Preterm Birth: Research, Intervention and Developmental Outcomes

“…In contrast, other studies suggest that the differences between preterm and full-term samples are not revealed by group comparisons but are instead detected by analysing the interplay between risk and protective factors. A first study finds that even if the preterm and full-term groups do not differ in parenting stress level and mind-mindedness (the caregivers’ representation of a child’s mental life), the mothers of preterm infants with higher stress show more non-attuned comments with their children [ 7 ]. In a second study, preterm (<37 weeks of gestation) and full-term late talkers do not differ in child language measures and parental speech input at 30 months [ 8 ].…”