@article{ref1,
title="Caregiving representations in war conditions: associations with maternal trauma, mental health, and mother-infant interaction",
journal="Infant mental health journal",
year="2020",
author="Isosävi, Sanna and Diab, Safwat Y. and Qouta, Samir and Kangaslampi, Samuli and Sleed, Michelle and Kankaanpää, Saija and Puura, Kaija and Punamäki, Raija-Leena",
volume="41",
number="2",
pages="246-263",
abstract="Risk features in mothers' caregiving representations remain understudied in dangerous environments where infants most urgently need protective parenting. This pilot study examines the feasibility of a novel coding system for the Parent Development Interview (PDI) interview (ARR, Assessment of Representational Risk) in assessing 50 war-exposed Palestinian mothers' caregiving representations. First, we explored the content and structure of risks in the representations. Second, we examined associations between the high-risk representations, mothers' pre- and postnatal exposure to traumatic war events (TWE), depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and self-rated emotional availability (EA) with their 1-year-old infants. Following three dimensions of high-risk caregiving representations were identified: self/dyadic dysregulation, unavailable, and fearful. Mothers' prenatal depressive symptoms were associated with dysregulating and fearful representations, and their postnatal PTSD with fearful representations. TWE were not associated with the high-risk representations. Moreover, mothers of boys reported more fearful representations, and mothers with financial difficulties reported more unavailable representations. TWE and high-risk representations were not associated with EA. However, qualitative analysis of the representations indicated risks in the mother-infant relationship. Further, older mothers and mothers with postnatal PTSD reported lower EA. Cultural variance in caregiving representations and the use of self-report measures among traumatized mothers are discussed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0163-9641",
doi="10.1002/imhj.21841",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21841"
}