Mothers' recollections of parenting by their own mothers and fathers and maternal and infant outcomes

Objective

Using a family network approach, we examined patterns of remembered parental rearing by both parents and associations with maternal and infant outcomes.

Background

Women's memories of how they were cared for by their own mothers in childhood are associated with important outcomes in the perinatal period. However, few studies assess women's recollections of caregiving by their fathers, despite fathers' influence on the larger family context and child adjustment.

Method

We combined data from two prospective longitudinal studies of mothers and their infants (N = 468) in the perinatal period to identify profiles of remembered parental rearing by both parents using latent profile analysis and examined how these profiles were associated with maternal depressive symptoms, mothers' perceived romantic relationship satisfaction, parenting, and infant socioemotional problems.

Results

Four distinct profiles of remembered parental rearing emerged: two supportive parents, two unsupportive parents, a supportive mother but unsupportive father, and a supportive father but unsupportive mother. Results document the differential effects of these profiles on parenting and other maternal and infant outcomes.

Conclusion

Remembering two supportive parents confers the most benefit for mothers and their infants.

Implications

For mothers with nonsupportive childhood experiences, processing that legacy within a therapeutic relationship may bolster multiple perinatal domains.