Prenatale hechting en probleemgedrag: Hoe het executief functioneren bij de moeder, de prenatale moeder-kind-hechting en de zwangerschap die wel/niet gepland is een rol spelen het probleemgedrag van het kind op 4-jarige leeftijd.

Attachment begins to form during pregnancy, as mothers establish relationships with their unborn child. There is still limited knowledge about prenatal attachment and its relationships with other maternal and child factors. For the present study, the following research question was formulated: How do maternal executive functioning, the prenatal attachment and the pregnancy that was/wasn’t planned influence child problem behavior at the age of 4? Data from the MINDS-Leiden research project (Smaling et al., 2015) were utilized. This study examined potential predictors of early behavioral problems in young children (0-4 years) through tests and questionnaires administered to 275 Dutch women. Using a demographic questionnaire, the mothers were asked if the pregnancy was planned. The BRIEF-A was used to measure the maternal executive functioning. The MAAS was used to measure the prenatal mother-child attachment. The CBCL was used to measure the internalizing and externalizing problem...Show moreAttachment begins to form during pregnancy, as mothers establish relationships with their unborn child. There is still limited knowledge about prenatal attachment and its relationships with other maternal and child factors. For the present study, the following research question was formulated: How do maternal executive functioning, the prenatal attachment and the pregnancy that was/wasn’t planned influence child problem behavior at the age of 4? Data from the MINDS-Leiden research project (Smaling et al., 2015) were utilized. This study examined potential predictors of early behavioral problems in young children (0-4 years) through tests and questionnaires administered to 275 Dutch women. Using a demographic questionnaire, the mothers were asked if the pregnancy was planned. The BRIEF-A was used to measure the maternal executive functioning. The MAAS was used to measure the prenatal mother-child attachment. The CBCL was used to measure the internalizing and externalizing problem behavior of the child at 4 years old. Results showed that children whose pregnancies were not planned showed more (internalizing and externalizing) problem behavior at the age of 4 than children whose pregnancies were planned. Furthermore, better maternal executive functioning was related to lower (internalizing and externalizing) problem behavior. Maternal executive functioning was also positively related to prenatal mother-child attachment. Multiple regression analyses showed that maternal executive functioning was the only robust predictor of both internalizing and externalizing problem behavior. In conclusion, prenatal attachment is related to childhood behavior problems, but in predictive models including other factors associated with both prenatal attachment and problem behavior (in the present study: planned/unplanned pregnancy and, particularly, maternal executive function) it appears to lose its unique predictive value. Measurement of prenatal attachment could be improved or refined further to obtain the best possible representation of this construct.Show less

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Prenatale hechting en probleemgedrag: Hoe het executief functioneren bij de moeder, de prenatale moeder-kind-hechting en de zwangerschap die wel/niet gepland is een rol spelen het probleemgedrag van het kind op 4-jarige leeftijd.