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Postpartum depression and resilience predict parenting sense of competence in women with childhood maltreatment history

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Abstract

This study examines the effect of a history of childhood maltreatment (CM) on parenting sense of competence, taking into account the influence of resilience and postpartum depressive symptoms as moderators of this relationship. Participants (N = 131) were a community sample of women recruited into a larger study of maternal childhood maltreatment. Women completed questionnaires over the phone at 4 months postpartum and parenting sense of competence (PSOC) was assessed during a home visit at 6 months postpartum. A three-way interaction emerged; women with low depression and high resilience factors maintained high levels of PSOC, even when they had a CM history. In contrast, among women with one postpartum risk factor (depression or low resilience) CM was associated with decreased PSOC. Results suggest that a mother’s well-being postpartum moderates the effect of a childhood maltreatment history on her parenting sense of competence. Reducing postpartum depressive symptoms and enhancing resilience may be important components for interventions that address parenting confidence with maltreated women.

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Funding

This research was conducted at the University of Michigan supported by the National Institute of Health-Michigan Mentored Clinical Scholars Program awarded to M Muzik (K12 RR017607-04, PI: D. Schteingart); the National Institute of Mental Health - Career Development Award K23 (NIH, PI: Muzik); and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR, UL1TR000433, PI: Muzik).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, DePaul University, 2219 N Kenmore Ave, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA

    Cecilia Martinez-Torteya & Tiamo Katsonga-Phiri

  2. Department of Psychopedagogy, Universidad de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico

    Cecilia Martinez-Torteya

  3. Department of Psychiatry, and Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Katherine Lisa Rosenblum & Maria Muzik

  4. Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

    Lindsay Hamilton

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Depression Center, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2701, USA

    Maria Muzik

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  1. Cecilia Martinez-Torteya
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  2. Tiamo Katsonga-Phiri
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  3. Katherine Lisa Rosenblum
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  4. Lindsay Hamilton
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  5. Maria Muzik
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Correspondence to Maria Muzik.

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Martinez-Torteya, C., Katsonga-Phiri, T., Rosenblum, K.L. et al. Postpartum depression and resilience predict parenting sense of competence in women with childhood maltreatment history. Arch Womens Ment Health 21, 777–784 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0865-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0865-7

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