Problematic parent-infant relationships in two-parent families: prevalence and risk factors in a Brazilian neighborhood.
BACKGROUND
Although the quality of parent-child relationships is known to be associated with the offspring's mental health, little is known about the prevalence of problematic relationships in this scenario. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of different types of early parent-infant relationships in a Brazilian population group.


METHODS
During 1 year, all families (n = 230) from an urban community of Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, with 4-month-old infants born in public hospitals were identified, and 148 were fully investigated by two family therapists. This study describes data on the 116 infants with two-parent families. Demographic, obstetric, and relational variables were collected through questionnaires and scales (Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale, Global Assessment of Relational Functioning, and Self-Report Questionnaire). Prevalence ratios were calculated, and Poisson regression with robust variance was performed to adjust for covariates.


RESULTS
Almost 10% of mothers and 12% of fathers showed at least a significantly perturbed relationship with their 4-month-old infants. Inadequate mother-infant bonding coincided with evidence of paternal mental disorder, poor maternal social network, and discontinuation of breastfeeding at 4 months. A problematic father-infant relationship was associated with a dysfunctional couple relationship and with low infant birth weight.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a high prevalence of early parent-child relationship problems, suggesting a need for health system interventions. Parent-infant relational problems are prevalent very early in life and more associated with other relational problems than with socioeconomic burden.
Department of Psychiatry, Faculdade de Medicina, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Olga Garcia
OG
Falceto
Department of Pediatrics, Faculdade de Medicina, HCPA, UFRGS.
Elsa R J
ER
Giugliani
Family and Community Medicine, Grupo Hospitalar Conceição, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Carmen Luiza C
CL
Fernandes