[Effect of maternal antepartum psychological therapy upon early infant temperament].
OBJECTIVE
To find out whether there was any change in early infant temperament after mothers had received group psychological therapy on depression and anxiety during pregnancy period.


METHODS
A total of 800 subjects meeting the inclusion criteria, without the exclusion criteria and willing to sign the informed consent were recruited randomly from Shanghai International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital in their l6th-20th weeks of pregnancy. They were randomized into the therapy group and the control group by the doll randomization table. Women in the therapy group would have a group psychological therapy for 6 times, 1.5 hours each time, while the control group not. The group psychological therapy included therapist introduction and participatory discussion. The therapy concerned the antepartum and postpartum depression, the risk factors concerned with antepartum and postpartum depression, antepartum and postpartum anxiety, psychological defense theory, reflex training and spouse lesson. Mothers reported their babies' infant temperament by filling the early infant temperament questionnaire (EITQ) within 3 months post-delivery.


RESULTS
The percent of easy infant temperament type was 87.9% in the psychological therapy group and 81.7% in the hard group. And there was significant difference between two groups (chi2 = 4.530, upsilon=1, P = 0.033). And there were significant differences in the dimensions of approach-withdrawal and threshold of responsiveness in infant temperament between two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The maternal antepartum psychological therapy can increase the ratio of easy infant temperament. And it has effects upon the temperament dimensions of approach-withdrawal and threshold of responsiveness.
Yang
Jie
J
Department of Psychiatry, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China.
Shi
Shen-xun
SX
Chen
Yan
Y
Yu
Wen
W
Zhu
Yong-Yong
YY
Tang
Yue-fen
YF
Lu
Wen
W
Wang
Qing-qing
QQ
Luo
Jian-feng
JF
Cheng
Li-nan
LN
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament