ABSTRACT
Background
Mother-infant bonding is the early emotional connection between mother and infant. It is affected by some aspects of maternal mental health, infant temperament, and the quality of a couple’s relationship.
Objective
This research aimed to determine the associations of the mother’s postnatal depression and anxiety symptoms, infant temperament, and the quality of the couple’s relationship with mother-infant bonding.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 241 Croatian mothers of infants aged between one month and one year (Mage = 6.34 months). The psychological instruments used in this study were: Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Infant Characteristic Questionnaire, and Perceived Quality of Marital Relationship Scale .
Results
Hierarchical regression analyses showed that previous maternal depression longer than two weeks, postnatal depression and anxiety symptoms, and difficult and unpredictable infant temperament were associated with self-report of poorer mother-infant bonding. Of the examined variables, the quality of the couple’s relationship was in the lowest association with mother-infant bonding.
Conclusion
Given the importance of, in particular, the maternal depression and infant temperament for poor mother-infant bonding, early intervention and the reduction of risks factors may be necessary to prevent the development of such difficulties.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.