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Influence of adolescent maternal characteristics on infant development
Author(s) -
Aiello Rachele,
Lancaster Sandra
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/imhj.20150
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , feeling , anxiety , separation (statistics) , individuation , infant development , scale (ratio) , bayley scales of infant development , cognition , social psychology , psychomotor learning , psychiatry , psychotherapist , physics , quantum mechanics , machine learning , computer science
The present study proposed that several adolescent maternal variables would be associated with infant development. Using a sample of 71 adolescent mother‐infant dyads, the study examined the relative influences of the adolescent's level of separation‐individuation (Separation‐Individuation Process Inventory), feelings of attachment towards the infant (Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale), and feelings of anxiety regarding separation (Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale) on infant mental and motor development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd ed.). As it was assumed that the adolescent's perceptions of being parented would provide the foundation for each of these independent variables, this factor was also included (Parental Bonding Instrument). In the current sample, adolescent separation‐individuation was the only maternal psychological variable to uniquely predict infant development, but only on the mental scale. Present findings highlight the importance of considering critical developmental processes of adolescence when exploring cognitive functioning and other outcomes in infants of adolescents. A number of possible mechanisms for the influence of separation‐individuation are considered in the discussion.