title: Improvements in the Child-Rearing Attitudes of Latina Mothers Exposed to Interpersonal Trauma Predict Greater Maternal Sensitivity Toward Their 6-Month-Old Infants.
abstract: The current study investigated maternal sensitivity in a treatment-seeking sample of predominately Latina, low-income pregnant women with histories of interpersonal trauma exposure. Pregnant women (N = 52; M = 27.08 years, SD = 5.66) who enrolled in a study of a perinatal adaptation of child-parent psychotherapy reported on their posttraumatic stress symptoms and child-rearing attitudes at baseline and again at 6-months postpartum. Maternal sensitivity was measured via observational coding of a free-play episode at 6-months postpartum. Two thirds of mothers exhibited healthy levels of maternal sensitivity, M > 4.0 (range = 2.5-7.0). The results of multiple linear regression predicting maternal sensitivity, R(2) = .26, indicated that greater improvements in child-rearing attitudes over the course of treatment predicted higher levels of maternal sensitivity, β = .33, whereas improvements in posttraumatic stress symptoms over the course of treatment did not, β = -.10. Mothers' attitudes regarding parenting during the perinatal period may be a mechanism by which intervention fosters healthy mother-infant relationship dynamics. Thus, parenting attitudes are a worthy target of intervention in vulnerable families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, Washington State University, Vancouver, Vancouver, Washington, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Child Trauma Research Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Sara F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Child Trauma Research Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.|Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hagan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Child Trauma Research Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Child Trauma Research Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Alicia F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Lieberman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D016014:Linear Models; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D009769:Object Attachment; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D012495:San Francisco; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult