The impact of domestic violence on mothers' prenatal representations of their infants

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between domestic violence during pregnancy and moth- ers' prenatal representations of their infants and themselves as mothers. Two hundred and six women were recruited from the community and interviewed during their last trimester of pregnancy. Forty-four percent of women reported experiencing domestic violence during the current pregnancy, while 56% reported no domestic violence during the pregnancy. Maternal representations were assessed using the Working Model of the Child Interview(WMCI; Zeanah, Benoit, Hirshberg, Barton, & Regan, 1994). Multiple analysis of variance (MANCOVA) and analyses revealed that women who experienced 2