The influences of stress and social support during pregnancy on maternal attachment in infancy: An examination of postpartum depression and its mediating effects
AUTHOR : 홍현재, 문혁준
INFORMATION : page. 125~145 / 2011 Vol.18 No.4
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the paths in which stress and social support during pregnancy influence maternal attachment in infancy through postpartum depression. The subjects of this study consisted of 408 mothers with infants (aged between 7 to 36 months) drawn from twenty-three childcare centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces. The major findings of this study were as follows: The level of maternal attachment in infancy was presumably associated with stress and social support levels during pregnancy and postpartum depression. Stress and social support during pregnancy and postpartum depression were seen to have an influence on maternal attachment in infancy. In other words, as stress
during pregnancy increases and postpartum depression increases, maternal attachment is likely to decrease.
In addition, as social support during pregnancy increases and postpartum depression decreases, maternal attachment is likely to increase. Furthermore, postpartum depression was found to mediate the effects of mother\'s stress and social support during pregnancy on maternal attachment in infancy. The influence of mother\'s stress and social support during pregnancy on maternal attachment in infancy seemed to occur indirectly through the facilitation of postpartum depression.