Abstract
The study explores the effects of maternal depression on the parental attachment representations
of 90 preschoolers. A sample of mothers
with unsettled infants was originally recruited from
a mothercraft unit at 2-4 months postpartum. A
diagnostic interview for depression was conducted
at four months and the sample was followed up
until infants were 15 months. The current study
reports a follow up of the group of mothers when
their children were 4 years old. Attachment representations
were assessed with the Attachment Story
Completion Task (SCT; see Bretherton, Ridgeway
L? Cassidy, 1990). The SCT uses five story stems
involving a child and hisher parents in increasingly
stressful situations to elicit narratives in a play
context. Children's enactments and story completions
were then examined for several attachment
themes, including coherency and resolution. Analyses
will examine the relationship between depression
in the first postnatal year, concurrent
depressive symptoms, and individual differences in
attachment representations at four years. In particular,
it will be determined whether even transient
exposure to maternal depression continues to
adversely affect the mother-child attachment
relationship during the preschool years.
of 90 preschoolers. A sample of mothers
with unsettled infants was originally recruited from
a mothercraft unit at 2-4 months postpartum. A
diagnostic interview for depression was conducted
at four months and the sample was followed up
until infants were 15 months. The current study
reports a follow up of the group of mothers when
their children were 4 years old. Attachment representations
were assessed with the Attachment Story
Completion Task (SCT; see Bretherton, Ridgeway
L? Cassidy, 1990). The SCT uses five story stems
involving a child and hisher parents in increasingly
stressful situations to elicit narratives in a play
context. Children's enactments and story completions
were then examined for several attachment
themes, including coherency and resolution. Analyses
will examine the relationship between depression
in the first postnatal year, concurrent
depressive symptoms, and individual differences in
attachment representations at four years. In particular,
it will be determined whether even transient
exposure to maternal depression continues to
adversely affect the mother-child attachment
relationship during the preschool years.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 230-230 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Australian Journal of Psychology |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | S1 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2004 |
| Event | Conference of the Australian Psychological Society (39th : 2004) - Sydney, Australia Duration: 28 Sept 2004 → 3 Oct 2004 |