Abstract
This study examines the effect of a history of childhood maltreatment (CM) on parenting sense of competence, taking into account the influence of resilience and postpartum depressive symptoms as moderators of this relationship. Participants (N = 131) were a community sample of women recruited into a larger study of maternal childhood maltreatment. Women completed questionnaires over the phone at 4 months postpartum and parenting sense of competence (PSOC) was assessed during a home visit at 6 months postpartum. A three-way interaction emerged; women with low depression and high resilience factors maintained high levels of PSOC, even when they had a CM history. In contrast, among women with one postpartum risk factor (depression or low resilience) CM was associated with decreased PSOC. Results suggest that a mother’s well-being postpartum moderates the effect of a childhood maltreatment history on her parenting sense of competence. Reducing postpartum depressive symptoms and enhancing resilience may be important components for interventions that address parenting confidence with maltreated women.
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Funding
This research was conducted at the University of Michigan supported by the National Institute of Health-Michigan Mentored Clinical Scholars Program awarded to M Muzik (K12 RR017607-04, PI: D. Schteingart); the National Institute of Mental Health - Career Development Award K23 (NIH, PI: Muzik); and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR, UL1TR000433, PI: Muzik).
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Martinez-Torteya, C., Katsonga-Phiri, T., Rosenblum, K.L. et al. Postpartum depression and resilience predict parenting sense of competence in women with childhood maltreatment history. Arch Womens Ment Health 21, 777–784 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0865-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0865-7