College of Social and Behavioral Science
161 Timing of Maternal Trauma History, Emotion Dysregulation, and Antenatal Attachment
Raina Miller; Sheila Crowell; Parisa Kaliush; Aaliyah Henderson; and Elisabeth Conradt
Faculty Mentor: Sheila Crowell (Psychology, University of Utah)
Background
Antenatal attachment (i.e., an expectant mother’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors toward her developing baby; Condon, 1993) has been associated with infant social-affective development, maternal postnatal health, and parent-child relationship quality (Le Bas et al., 2022; Figueiredo & Costa, 2009). Maternal trauma history—particularly childhood maltreatment and interpersonal traumas—has been associated with reduced antenatal attachment (Sancho-Rossignol et al., 2018). Such traumatic experiences may interfere with the development of capacities central to effective parenting, such as emotion regulation (Kerig, 2020). Although most research on parenting has focused on the legacy of childhood trauma, interpersonal traumas may occur during adulthood and pregnancy, which also may influence antenatal attachment. For instance, pregnancy is a sensitive developmental period during which traumatic experiences can recalibrate neurobiological functioning (Gunnar & Howland, 2022), which may have implications for mothers’ feelings towards their developing babies. Thus, we tested the developmental timing of maternal trauma on antenatal attachment and hypothesized that maternal childhood trauma exposure would predict lower antenatal attachment above and beyond traumas experienced during adulthood and pregnancy. We also hypothesized that this negative association would be significant only for women who reported high levels of prenatal emotion dysregulation.
Method
Third-trimester pregnant women in the western United States (N = 184; 21.2% Latina) completed the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS; Condon, 2015); Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004); and Traumatic Experiences of Betrayal Across the Lifespan (TEBL; Kaliush et al., 2023). High global MAAS scores indicate more frequent and positive thoughts and feelings towards the baby. The TEBL asks participants to indicate which of 22 traumatic life experiences, such as domestic violence exposure, sexual abuse, and physical neglect, occurred during three distinct developmental periods: childhood (age 0 to 17), adulthood (age 18 to current pregnancy), and current pregnancy.
Results
We used hierarchical linear regression to test maternal trauma and emotion dysregulation as predictors of antenatal attachment. Results indicated that higher levels of trauma during pregnancy predicted lower antenatal attachment (B = -.57, p < .001) above and beyond trauma experienced during childhood (B = .01, p = .95) and adulthood (B = .37, p = .06). While prenatal emotion dysregulation did not moderate the association between prenatal trauma and antenatal attachment (B = .01, p = .25), emotion dysregulation actually predicted antenatal attachment above and beyond prenatal trauma, such that more difficulties with emotion regulation during pregnancy predicted lower antenatal attachment (B = -.06, p < .001).
Discussion
These results suggest that pregnancy is a distinctly critical time for expectant mothers to establish strong, positive thoughts and feelings towards their developing babies. Prenatal interventions targeting emotion dysregulation may help to increase antenatal attachment. These findings underscore the importance of prevention and intervention efforts during pregnancy that target women’s experiences with trauma and emotion dysregulation.
References
Condon, J.T. (1993). The assessment of antenatal emotional attachment: development of a questionnaire instrument. The British journal of medical psychology, 66 (Pt 2), 167-83. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.2044-8341.1993.TB01739.X
Condon, J. (2015). Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale [Measurement instrument]. Retrieved February 9, 2024, from https://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2328/35292/Maternal_Antenatal_Attach ment_Scale.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y
Figueiredo, B. & Costa, R. Mother’s stress, mood and emotional involvement with the infant: 3 months before and 3 months after childbirth. (2009). Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 12, 143–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-009-0059-4
Gratz, K. L. & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26, 41-54.
Gunnar, M. R. & Howland, M. A. (2022). Calibration and recalibration of stress response symptoms across development: Implications for mental and physical health. In J. J. Lockman (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (pp. 35-69). Academic Press.
Kaliush, P. R., Kerig, P. K., Raby, K. L., Maylott, S. E., Neff, D., Speck, B., Molina, N. C., Pappal, A. E., Parameswaran, U. D., Conradt, E., & Crowell, S. E. (2023). Examining implications of the developmental timing of maternal trauma for prenatal and newborn outcomes. Infant Behavior and Development, 72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2023.101861.
Kerig, P. (2020). Emotion dysregulation and childhood trauma. In T. P. Beauchaine & S. E. Crowell (Eds.), The oxford handbook of emotion dysregulation (pp. 265-280). Oxford University Press.
Le Bas, G., Youssef, G., Macdonald, J. A., Teague, S., Mattick, R., Honan, I., McIntosh, J. E., Khor, S., Rossen, L., Elliott, E. J., Allsop, S., Burns, L., Olsson, C. A., & Hutchinson, D. (2022). The Role of Antenatal and Postnatal Maternal Bonding in Infant Development. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 61(6), 820-829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.08.024.
Sancho-Rossignol, A., Schilliger, Z., Cordero, M.I., Rusconi Serpa, S., Epiney, M., Hüppi, P., Ansermet, F., & Schechter, D.S. (2018). The association of maternal exposure to domestic violence during childhood with prenatal attachment, maternal-fetal heart rate, and infant behavioral regulation. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9, 358. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00358
