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

Maor Kalfon Hakhmigari; Yoav Peled; Haim Krissi; Sigal Levy; Maayan Molmen-Lichter; Jonathan E Handelzalts

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.682161

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

Front Psychiatry. 2021 Jul 5:12:682161. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.682161. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Maor Kalfon Hakhmigari¹, Yoav Peled^{2

3}, Haim Krissi^{2

3}, Sigal Levy⁴, Maayan Molmen-Lichter¹, Jonathan E Handelzalts^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ School of Behavioral Sciences, The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv, Israel.
² The Helen Schneider Hospital for Women, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.
³ Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
⁴ Statistics Education Unit, The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv, Israel.
⁵ Psychiatry Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.

Abstract

Parental bonding (recollection of own parents' parenting), adult attachment, and mother-infant bonding are all closely related yet distinct concepts of the parent-child relationship, sometimes used interchangeably in the literature. This study aimed to examine the associations between these concepts in a longitudinal path analysis design. A total of 262 postpartum women who gave birth at the maternity ward of a large tertiary health center in Israel completed a demographic questionnaire, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) at 1-4 days postpartum, and the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) at 2 months postpartum. Parental care factor (PBI) was found to be associated with mother-infant bonding (PBQ), directly and indirectly through insecure anxious attachment (ECR). Denial of autonomy factor (PBI) was found to be associated with mother-infant bonding (PBQ) only through insecure anxious attachment (ECR). Encouragement of behavioral freedom factor (PBI) was found to be associated with mother-infant bonding (PBQ) in a simple correlation but not in the complete model. The results highlight the intergenerational aspects of parenting and suggest that early childhood interventions with parents may have a long-term impact on child-rearing though generations, and by that on children's development.

Keywords: adult attachment; childbirth; mother–infant bonding; parental bonding; postpartum.