Postpartum romantic attachment and constructiveness: The protective effects of a conflict communication intervention for parents’ relationship functioning over one year

IF 3.1 1区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Developmental Science Pub Date : 2023-12-25 DOI:10.1111/desc.13470

Samantha A. Murray-Perdue, Amanda L. Nowak, Molly J. O'Neill, Lijuan Wang, E. Mark Cummings, Julia M. Braungart-Rieker

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Parent relationship functioning has a well-documented influence on children's early socioemotional development as early as infancy. Postpartum parenting is also a critically vulnerable period for relationships and often results in relationship decline. We investigated the effects of a rigorous, psycho-educational conflict communication intervention for supporting parents’ relationship functioning in terms of self-reported romantic attachment and observed conflict constructiveness. Using latent growth curve models, we evaluated the change in romantic attachment and constructiveness among 202 mother-father couples from 6 to 18 months postpartum. We further tested a comparison of the effects of the Conflict Intervention (CI) versus the control group and the Conflict Intervention paired with an additional parent sensitivity intervention (anyCI) versus the control group. Results indicated romantic attachment and observed constructiveness decreased over the 1-year period; this decline was partially mitigated for fathers participating in the intervention(s), wherein fathers who received the Conflict Intervention showed less decline in observed conflict constructiveness over time. Moreover, compared with those in the control condition, mothers who received the Conflict Intervention reported lower attachment security at 18 months postpartum. These results underscore the importance of including perspectives from both mothers and fathers when investigating intervention effects and considering the impact of combining interventions for parents.

Research Highlights

A randomized control trial of a conflict intervention including mothers and fathers demonstrates protective effects for fathers’ constructiveness between 6 and 18 months postpartum but was not protective for mothers.
Parenting experience, whether parents were transitioning to parenthood or had older children, did not significantly predict romantic attachment or behavioral constructiveness trajectories.
Interparental romantic attachment and constructiveness declined only slightly postpartum.
Effects of the intervention were reduced when the intervention was combined with a second intervention.

Abstract Image

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产后浪漫依恋和建构性：冲突沟通干预在一年内对父母关系功能的保护作用。

早在婴儿时期，父母的关系功能就对儿童的早期社会情感发展产生了影响，这是有据可查的。产后养育也是关系极其脆弱的时期，往往会导致关系衰退。我们通过自我报告的浪漫依恋和观察到的冲突建构性，研究了严格的心理教育冲突沟通干预对支持父母关系功能的影响。我们使用潜在的成长曲线模型，评估了 202 对母子在产后 6 至 18 个月期间在浪漫依恋和建设性方面的变化。我们进一步测试了冲突干预（CI）与对照组的效果比较，以及冲突干预配以额外的父母敏感性干预（anyCI）与对照组的效果比较。结果表明，浪漫依恋和观察到的建构性在一年的时间里有所下降；这种下降在参与干预的父亲身上得到了部分缓解，其中接受冲突干预的父亲在观察到的冲突建构性方面的下降幅度较小。此外，与对照组相比，接受冲突干预的母亲在产后 18 个月的依恋安全感较低。这些结果表明，在调查干预效果和考虑对父母进行综合干预的影响时，纳入母亲和父亲的观点非常重要。研究亮点：一项包括母亲和父亲的冲突干预随机对照试验表明，父亲的建构性在产后 6 到 18 个月期间具有保护作用，但对母亲没有保护作用。养育子女的经历，无论父母是初为人父还是已育有年长子女，对浪漫依恋或行为建构力轨迹的影响都不大。父母间的浪漫依恋和建构性在产后仅略有下降。当干预与第二项干预相结合时，干预的效果会减弱。

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来源期刊

Developmental Science Multiple-

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

8.10%

发文量

132

期刊介绍： Developmental Science publishes cutting-edge theory and up-to-the-minute research on scientific developmental psychology from leading thinkers in the field. It is currently the only journal that specifically focuses on human developmental cognitive neuroscience. Coverage includes: - Clinical, computational and comparative approaches to development - Key advances in cognitive and social development - Developmental cognitive neuroscience - Functional neuroimaging of the developing brain