The relationship of social support perceived by mothers and fathers and dyadic adjustment with maternal and paternal attachment in the postpartum period

Abstract

This descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study included mothers (n = 170) and fathers (n = 173) with 6-to 12-month-old babies. A personal information form, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI), and the Postnatal Paternal-Infant Attachment Questionnaire (PPAQ) were used to gather information. Mothers' median scores were 64 (27-84) for MSPSS, 57 (21-69) for RDAS, and 102 (92-104) for MAI. Fathers' median scores were 53 (24-84) for MSPSS, 57 (40-69) for RDAS, and 84 (57-94) for PPAQ. In mothers, a significant, moderate, positive correlation was found between the median scores of MSPSS and RDAS (r = .521; p < .001) and MAI (r = .362; p < .001). This relationship was also the same for the RDAS and MAI median scores (r = .299; p < .001). For fathers, a significant, low-level, positive correlation was found between median scores of MSPSS and RDAS (r = .53; p = .044) and PPAQ (r = .164; p = .031). A significant, moderate, positive correlation was also found between RDAS and PPAQ median scores (r = .468; p < .001). This study found that baby attachment increases with increasing social support for mothers and fathers and dyadic adjustment. In postnatal follow-ups, women's health nurses and midwives should assess the social support, dyadic adjustment, and attachment levels of mothers and fathers.

Spillover effects on the relationship with the partner of a mentalization‐based intervention for pregnant women

“…An important body of literature documented a decrease in couple satisfaction during the first years following the birth of a child, especially in couples having experienced childhood trauma (River et al., 2020) or having expected a baby during the pandemic (McMillan et al., 2021). In turn, poor dyadic adjustment in expecting parents or those with a young child was shown to be associated with higher parenting stress (deMontigny et al., 2020), poorer mental health (Mangialavori et al., 2019), greater sexual difficulties (Baumann et al., 2020), lower antenatal (Brandão et al., 2019) and postnatal (Kekeç & Dikmen, 2023) bonding with the child and poorer parenting alliance and co‐parenting (Jiménez‐Picón et al., 2021). The quality of the relationship between parents is also a protective factor for infant development.…”