Predictive and Incremental Validity of Parental Representations During Pregnancy on Child Attachment

Abstract

Parental pre-natal representations predict the interactive patterns that parents will put in place after childbirth. Early interactions defined by high parental emotional availability (EA) influence the development of security in children. To date, research on the predictive role of parental pre-natal representations on child attachment is still poor. Moreover, investigations on pre-natal representations have mainly focused on mothers. This study aimed at: investigating the criterion validity of the Interview of Maternal Representations During Pregnancy-Revised (IRMAG-R) and of the Interview of Paternal Representations During Pregnancy (IRPAG), using EA, parental attachment, and child attachment toward both parents, as criteria; testing the incremental validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG in the prediction of child attachment, controlling for other covariates, such as depressive and anxious levels during pregnancy, EA, and parental attachment; evaluating the possible mediation role of EA on the relationship between parental representations during pregnancy and child attachment. Fifty couples of primiparous parents were recruited during pregnancy, when the IRMAG-R and IRPAG were administered to mothers and fathers. At 6–9 months after childbirth, the mother–child and father–child interactions were coded by means of the EA Scales (EAS). At 14–18 after childbirth, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was administered to parents, and the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) was carried out to assess children's attachment toward mothers and fathers, respectively. The results showed significant correlations between parental pre-natal representations and EA, parental attachment and child attachment. As regards the prediction of child attachment, the IRMAG-R/IRPAG categories showed: a significant and large unique contribution for maternal representations; a close to be significant contribution for paternal representations (with a higher effect size for mothers than fathers). Moreover, while the indirect effect of pre-natal representations in the prediction of child attachment was not significant for mothers, it was instead significant for fathers. The results of this study confirmed the criterion validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG, and supported the incremental validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG in the prediction of children's attachment categories. Finally, the mediation models revealed that EA did not mediate the relationship between maternal pre-natal representations and child attachment, while it totally mediated the relationship between paternal pre-natal representations and child attachment.

Prenatal parental representations: Influences on perceived romantic couple adjustment and infant's temperament during pregnancy and after the infant's birth

“…Many researchers have proved that the association between maternal representations and her interactions with their infants contribute to the child's regulatory capacity (Benoit et al, 1997; Davis et al, 2020; Foley & Hughes, 2018; Guyon‐Harris et al, 2021; Tambelli et al, 2020; Trumello et al, 2018). Therefore, it may be assumed that mother's prenatal representations may impact her perception of her child's temperament and, consequently, her parenting behavior.…”

“…To our knowledge, no data are available on parental representations and their infant's temperament; however, some studies have linked maternal attachment representations with infant temperament. Attachment representations have been found to be related to the quality of parental representations (Tambelli et al, 2020). The first representations are derived from narratives about the individual's past experiences with their caregivers; the latter are narratives about the ongoing construction of the representation of themselves as caregivers in the relationship with their own child.…”

“…Therefore, it is essential to acknowledge and analyze the interplay among the variables and processes that co‐contribute to the child's outcome. Within such framework, it is important to examine in depth the role of prenatal parental representations on parenting and the child's development (Ammaniti et al, 2013; Barlow, 2018; Tambelli et al, 2020), a core element of the assessment of infants and their parents (Vreeswijk et al, 2012).…”

Neural Responses to Infant Emotions and Emotional Self-Awareness in Mothers and Fathers during Pregnancy

“…These inclinations will shape the ground in which their child's sense of security will be rooted [27][28][29][30][31][32]. In mothers, the experience of somatic gestation significantly contributes to increasing the richness and specificity of thoughts about their still unborn infant [134]. Indeed, during pregnancy, maternal representations are sustained by the direct perception of the baby, whose vitality is expressed through movements, body development, and the emotionally salient visual inputs coming from ultrasound images [5,[135][136][137].…”

“…In contrast, expectant fathers make greater efforts than mothers to imagine their infants and their future relationship with them [134]. This is because their emotional relationship with the infant is still indirect, as it is modulated via the mothers' motivation to share with them emotions and physical perceptions of pregnancy [138].…”