During the perinatal period, the establishment of the attachment relationship with the fetus and subsequently with the real child is crucial for the parents' and the child's well-being. Coherently with the assumption that the attachment relationship starts to develop during pregnancy, this systematic review aims to analyze and systematize studies focused on the association between pre-natal attachment and parent-to-infant attachment, in order to clarify the emerging results and provide useful information for clinical purposes. Nineteen studies were included. Sixteen researches identified a positive relationship between pre-natal attachment and parent-to-infant attachment, and three articles highlighted a negative association between antenatal attachment and post-partum bonding disorders. These results were found both in women and men, in normative and at-risk pregnancies, adopting different assessment approaches (i.e., self-report measures, observations, and projective measures). However, only small or moderate associations were found. Future studies are needed to further confirm these findings across different populations (e.g., male samples, non-normative samples or samples in disadvantaged conditions) and with different methodological approaches (e.g., observational measures). Moreover, studies would be needed in order to clarify mechanisms through which pre-natal attachment influences parent-to-infant attachment, as well as protective and risk factors which intervene between these two variables.
Pre-natal Attachment and Parent-To-Infant Attachment: A Systematic Review / Trombetta, T.; Giordano, M.; Santoniccolo, F.; Vismara, L.; Della Vedova, A. M.; Rolle, L.. - In: FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY. - ISSN 1664-1078. - 12:(2021), p. 620942. [10.3389/fpsyg.2021.620942]
Pre-natal Attachment and Parent-To-Infant Attachment: A Systematic Review
Giordano M.
;
2021
Abstract
During the perinatal period, the establishment of the attachment relationship with the fetus and subsequently with the real child is crucial for the parents' and the child's well-being. Coherently with the assumption that the attachment relationship starts to develop during pregnancy, this systematic review aims to analyze and systematize studies focused on the association between pre-natal attachment and parent-to-infant attachment, in order to clarify the emerging results and provide useful information for clinical purposes. Nineteen studies were included. Sixteen researches identified a positive relationship between pre-natal attachment and parent-to-infant attachment, and three articles highlighted a negative association between antenatal attachment and post-partum bonding disorders. These results were found both in women and men, in normative and at-risk pregnancies, adopting different assessment approaches (i.e., self-report measures, observations, and projective measures). However, only small or moderate associations were found. Future studies are needed to further confirm these findings across different populations (e.g., male samples, non-normative samples or samples in disadvantaged conditions) and with different methodological approaches (e.g., observational measures). Moreover, studies would be needed in order to clarify mechanisms through which pre-natal attachment influences parent-to-infant attachment, as well as protective and risk factors which intervene between these two variables.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.