Association of self-reported mother–infant relationship with child and adolescent mental health
Background The quality of the relationship between mother and infant may have profound implications for the development of a child. Early indicators of psychological vulnerability may allow targeting of support for the child's cognitive, emotional and social development. A challenging mother–in...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-03-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472423000042/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811156865123352576 |
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| author | Ida Scheel Rasmussen Philip Wilson Gritt Overbeck Katrine Strandberg-Larsen |
| author_facet | Ida Scheel Rasmussen Philip Wilson Gritt Overbeck Katrine Strandberg-Larsen |
| author_sort | Ida Scheel Rasmussen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background
The quality of the relationship between mother and infant may have profound implications for the development of a child. Early indicators of psychological vulnerability may allow targeting of support for the child's cognitive, emotional and social development. A challenging mother–infant relationship could be one indicator of risk.
Aims
This study examined variations in psychological well-being and psychopathology among boys and girls according to early maternal perception of the mother–infant relationship.
Method
This study is based on 64 663 mother–infant pairs from the Danish National Birth Cohort, for which data on the mother–infant relationship were collected at 6 months postpartum. Behavioural problems were assessed with the Danish version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at child ages 7, 11 and 18 years, and we retrieved information on diagnosed childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders and prescriptions of psychotropic drugs from Danish registries.
Results
Children in the challenging mother–infant relationship group had higher odds of behavioural problems at age 7 among both boys and girls. The same pattern of elevated estimates was identified for boys across all SDQ domains and for girls in three of five SDQ domains. All associations were attenuated at age 18, but increased odds of behavioural problems still existed. A challenging early mother–infant relationship increased the offspring's risk of being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder or being prescribed a psychotropic drug before the age of 18.
Conclusion
A challenging self-reported mother–infant relationship was associated with later psychopathological difficulties. Routine clinical enquiry may be useful in identification of future vulnerability.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:58:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8bc3a42f8fb54f93b40f352e99dcffba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:58:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-8bc3a42f8fb54f93b40f352e99dcffba2023-03-09T12:29:28ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242023-03-01910.1192/bjo.2023.4Association of self-reported mother–infant relationship with child and adolescent mental healthIda Scheel Rasmussen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3030-3729Philip Wilson1Gritt Overbeck2Katrine Strandberg-Larsen3The Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkThe Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; and Centre for Rural Health, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKThe Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Public Health, Section of Epidemiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkBackground The quality of the relationship between mother and infant may have profound implications for the development of a child. Early indicators of psychological vulnerability may allow targeting of support for the child's cognitive, emotional and social development. A challenging mother–infant relationship could be one indicator of risk. Aims This study examined variations in psychological well-being and psychopathology among boys and girls according to early maternal perception of the mother–infant relationship. Method This study is based on 64 663 mother–infant pairs from the Danish National Birth Cohort, for which data on the mother–infant relationship were collected at 6 months postpartum. Behavioural problems were assessed with the Danish version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at child ages 7, 11 and 18 years, and we retrieved information on diagnosed childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders and prescriptions of psychotropic drugs from Danish registries. Results Children in the challenging mother–infant relationship group had higher odds of behavioural problems at age 7 among both boys and girls. The same pattern of elevated estimates was identified for boys across all SDQ domains and for girls in three of five SDQ domains. All associations were attenuated at age 18, but increased odds of behavioural problems still existed. A challenging early mother–infant relationship increased the offspring's risk of being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder or being prescribed a psychotropic drug before the age of 18. Conclusion A challenging self-reported mother–infant relationship was associated with later psychopathological difficulties. Routine clinical enquiry may be useful in identification of future vulnerability. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472423000042/type/journal_articleAttention-deficit hyperactivity disorderautistic spectrum disorderconduct disorderepidemiologypersonality disorder |
| spellingShingle | Ida Scheel Rasmussen Philip Wilson Gritt Overbeck Katrine Strandberg-Larsen Association of self-reported mother–infant relationship with child and adolescent mental health BJPsych Open Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder autistic spectrum disorder conduct disorder epidemiology personality disorder |
| title | Association of self-reported mother–infant relationship with child and adolescent mental health |
| title_full | Association of self-reported mother–infant relationship with child and adolescent mental health |
| title_fullStr | Association of self-reported mother–infant relationship with child and adolescent mental health |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association of self-reported mother–infant relationship with child and adolescent mental health |
| title_short | Association of self-reported mother–infant relationship with child and adolescent mental health |
| title_sort | association of self reported mother infant relationship with child and adolescent mental health |
| topic | Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder autistic spectrum disorder conduct disorder epidemiology personality disorder |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472423000042/type/journal_article |
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