81 research outputs found
Attachment Theory and Maternal Drug Addiction: The Contribution to Parenting interventions.
No full textChildren’s emotional and relational development can be negatively influenced bymaternal substance abuse, particularly through a dysfunctional caregiving environment. Attachment Theory offers a privileged framework to analyze how drug addiction can affect the quality of adult attachment style, parenting attitudes and behaviors toward the child, and how it can have a detrimental effect on the co-construction of the attachment bond by the mother and the infant. Several studies, as a matter of fact, have identified a prevalence of insecure patterns among drug-abusing mothers and their children. Many interventions for mothers with Substance Use Disorders have focused on enhancing parental skills, but they have often overlooked the emotional and relational features of the mother–infant bond. Instead, in recent years, a number of protocols have been developed in order to strengthen the relationship between drug-abusing mothers and their children, drawing lessons from Attachment Theory. The present study reviews the literature on the adult and infant attachment style in the context of drug addiction, describing currently available treatment programs that address parenting and specifically focus on the mother–infant bond, relying on Attachment Theory
Maternal drug addiction: Mother-child relationship and attachment-informed interventions. La tossicodipendenza materna: Il legame madre-bambino e modelli di intervento basati sull’attaccamento.
No full textMaternal drug addiction: Mother-child relationship and attachment-informed inter -
ventions
Maternal substance abuse constitutes a severe risk factor for the child’s emotional and relational
development, especially in terms of caregiving environment. Attachment theory
offers a reliable theoretical framework to comprehend the influence that drug addiction
exerts on the quality of the adult state of mind, the parental function of protection and
care towards the child and the quality of the mother-child relationship that, in turn, affect
the development of infant attachment. As a matter of fact, national and international studies
observe that drug addicted mothers and their children show a prevalence of insecure
attachment, even though they fail in identifying a predominant model of insecurity. Nevertheless,
these results have fostered the implementation of treatment programs that focus
specifically on the addicted mother-child relationship, based partly on already available
intervention protocols and partly on new specific features accordingly to this clinical population.
The present review presents the outcomes of studies on the adult and on the infant
attachment in dyads where the mother is drug-addicted and describes the treatment protocols
based on attachment theory that are currently available.
Keywords: drug-addicted mothers, mother-infant attachment, attachment and drug addiction,
attachment-informed interventions, attachment and psychopathology
Implications of maternal executive functions and psychopathology on observed parenting behaviors: the context of parental substance use disorder
No full textIntroduction: Substance Use Disorder (SUD) represents a risk factor for parenting, for adult-child relationships, and for child development. Empirical studies report high rates of psychopathology and deficits in Executive Functions (EF) in individuals with SUD, which could further compromise parenting behaviors. Despite this, previous studies did not examine the associations between these two areas of parental functioning and observed parenting behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the associations between parental EF, psychopathology, and observed parenting behaviors in the context of SUD.
Methods: Twenty-nine mothers with SUD participated to the study. The mothers were assessed with rispect to EF (ENB-2), psychopathology (SCL-90-R) and quality of parenting behaviors (EAScales) during free-play interactions with their children.
Results: The results highlighted high rates of EF impairments and psychopathology in the participants, as well as poor quality parenting behaviors. Regression analyses highlighted that EF was significantly associated with observed maternal sensitivity, whereas the role of psychopathology was only marginally significant.
Conclusions: Impairments in EF play a significant role in determining the quality of parenting behaviors in the context of maternal SUD. Clinical implications of the findings in terms of prevention and treatment are discussed
From the intuitive behaviors to the triadic interactions at 9th month after delivery.
No full textIntroduction The study is focused on the triadic competences: they are early interactive modalities that characterize the child’s affective-relational development. They emerge and can be observed during pregnancy, as adult intuitive behaviors (Papousek & Papousek, 1987), and subsequently to the delivery, in the interactions with the baby. Method The research aims to investigate: a) the role (predictive) of parental intuitive behaviors in pregnancy on the subsequent mother-father-child interaction; b) the correlates of intuitive behaviors, as couple adjustment and child development, and their impact on patterns of stability and change of early triadic interactions in the first year of the child. 90 non-referred primiparous families were recruited at the child-birth courses. The data are collected with the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP, Fivaz-Depeursinge & Corboz- Warnery, 1999) and with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS, Spanier, 1986) at 7th month of pregnancy and at 4th and 9th month after child’s birth. Results Globally, the triadic interactions in pregnancy are predictive of family interactions at 9th month of the child (R2=.07; F(1,69)=5.06, p=.028) and the quality of parental intuitive behavior play a main role in this influence. The couple adjustment is not associated to the intuitive behaviors in pregnancy and it is statistically not related to the quality of the triadic interactions after delivery. Multilevel analysis highlight a linear relation between the time and the quality of family interactions (t=4.78; p<.001; B= 2.36), that improves in each observational phase and are determined by the child’s competences at this developmental stage. Conclusions The adult interactive skills in pregnancy, particularly the parental intuitive behaviors, represent an interactive matrix for the construction of family relations during the child’s first year of life and may be considered as a central factor in the infant’s development of early triadic interactive abilities
Infant Massage and Quality of Early Mother–Infant Interactions: Are There Associations with Maternal Psychological Wellbeing, Marital Quality, and Social Support?
No full textInfant massage programs have proved to be effective in enhancing post-natal development of highly risk infants, such as preterm newborns and drug or HIV exposed children. Less studies have focused on the role of infant massage in supporting the co-construction of early adult–child relationships. In line with this lack of literature, the present paper reports on a pilot study aimed at investigating longitudinally the quality of mother–child interactions, with specific reference to emotional availability (EA), in a group of mother–child pairs involved in infant massage classes. Moreover, associations between mother–child EA, maternal wellbeing, marital adjustment, and social support were also investigated, with the hypothesis to find a link between low maternal distress, high couple satisfaction and high perceived support and interactions of better quality in the dyads. The study involved 20 mothers and their children, aged between 2 and 7 months, who participated to infant massage classes. The assessment took place at
three stages: at the beginning of massage course, at the end of it and at 1-month follow-up. At the first stage of assessment self-report questionnaires were administered to examine the presence of maternal psychiatric symptoms (SCL-90-R), perceived social support (MSPSS), and marital adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale); dyadic interactions were observed and rated with the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen,
2008) at each stage of data collection. The results showed a significant improvement in the quality of mother–child interactions, between the first and the last evaluation, parallel to the unfolding of the massage program, highlighting a general increase in maternal and child’s EA. The presence of maternal psychological distress resulted associated with less optimal mother–child emotional exchanges, while the hypothesis regarding couple satisfaction and social support influence were not confirmed. These preliminary results, if replicated, seem to sustain the usefulness of infant massage and the importance of focusing on early mother–infant interactions
Parental Substance Abuse As an Early Traumatic Event. Preliminary Findings on Neuropsychological and Personality Functioning in Young Drug Addicts Exposed to Drugs Early.
No full textParental substance use is a major risk factor for child development, heightening the risk of drug problems in adolescence and young adulthood, and exposing offspring to several types of traumatic events. First, prenatal drug exposure can be considered a form of trauma itself, with subtle but long-lasting sequelae at the neuro-behavioral level. Second, parents’ addiction often entails a childrearing environment characterized by poor parenting skills, disadvantaged contexts and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), leading to dysfunctional outcomes. Young adults born from/raised by parents with drug problems and diagnosed with a Substance Used Disorder (SUD) themselves might display a particularly severe condition in terms of cognitive deficits and impaired personality function. This preliminary study aims to investigate the role of early exposure to drugs as a traumatic event, capable of affecting the psychological status of young drug addicts. In particular, it intends to examine the neuropsychological functioning and personality profile of young adults with severe SUDs who were exposed to drugs early in their family context. The research involved three groups, each consisting of 15 young adults (aged 18–24): a group of inpatients diagnosed with SUDs and exposed to drugs early, a comparison group of non-exposed inpatients and a group of non-exposed youth without SUDs. A neuropsychological battery (Esame Neuropsicologico Breve-2), an assessment procedure for personality disorders (Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200) and the Symptom CheckList-90-Revised were administered. According to present preliminary results, young drug addicts exposed to drugs during their developmental age were characterized by elevated rates of neuropsychological impairments, especially at the expense of attentive and executive functions (EF); personality disorders were also common but did not differentiate them from non-exposed youth with SUDs. Alternative multi-focused prevention and intervention programs are needed for children of drug-misusing parents, addressing EF and adopting a trauma-focused approach
Two Perspectives On Drug-Addiction In Young Age: Neuropsychological Functioning And Personality Traits.
No full textThe study explores Substance Use Disorder in young age assessing neuropsychological profile, personality traits and emotional functioning in drug-addicts aged 18-24. The association between these domains is also verified, suggesting that personality disorders, emotional dysregulation problems and executive function impairments all refer to a common core, namely problematic control
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