Maternal social support as a predictor of mother-child stress and stimulation

doi:10.1016/0145-2134(86)90050-5

Child Abuse & Neglect

Volume 10, Issue 4, 1986, Pages 463-470

https://doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(86)90050-5 Get rights and content

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the role of social support in determining risk for child abuse and neglect. The present study assessed the relationship between maternal social support and two areas: stress in the mother-child relationship: und level of stimulation provided in the home. Maternal social support was assessed prenatally and at a two-year follow-up, while the latter variables were compiled at the two-year follow-up. The data were obtained from 38 urban, low SES (80% on public assistance) mothers and their 2-year-old children. Maternal social support correlated positively with level of stimulation und negatively with level of mother-child stress, and was the best predictor of both, relative to any SES, mother or child variables. In addition, high stress, low support mothers provided significantly less stimulation to their children. The theoretical implications for social support as a mediator variable as well as its implications for early identification and prevention efforts in abuse and neglect are discussed.

Résumé

On porte une attention croissante au rôle du soutien social à la mère dans la prévision du risque que courra l'enfant à naître d'être maltraité ou négligé. L'enquête ici présentée a pour but d'évaluer la relation entre le soutien social dont jouissait la mère pendant la grossesse et ensuite la relation avec (a) les tensions qui caractériseront les relations mère-enfant et (b) le niveau de stimulation de l'enfant que le foyer sera capable de fournir. Les enquêteurs ont évalué le soutien social à la mère avant la naissance et après un suivi de 2 ans: les autres variables ont été étudiés lors du suivi à deux ans. Les données provenaient de 38 mères économiquement faibles (80% recevait le secours de l'assistance publique) ainsi que leur enfant de 2 ans. On a trouvé une corrélation positive entre le soutien social dont bénéficiait la mère et le niveau de stimulation de l'enfant. On a trouvé une corrélation négative entre le niveau de soutien social et les tensions mère-enfant et ce niveau de soutien social était le meilleur moyen de prédire à la fois le niveau de stimulation et les tensions ultérieures bien mieux que les facteurs sociaux-économiques ou d'autres caractéristiques de la mère ou de l'enfant. Les mères les plus stressées et ayant bénéficié du soutien social le plus bas ont de plus fourni à leur enfant le moins de stimulation par la suite. Les applications théoriques concernant le soutien social, son rôle prédictif et ses applications dans le dépistage précoce et la prévention de la maltraitance-négligence font l'objet de la discussion.

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Cited by (64)

The Protective Effect of Prenatal Social Support on Infant Adiposity in the First 18 Months of Life
2019, Journal of Pediatrics
Citation Excerpt :
It does not ask for further specification of who provides support, such as a family member, friend, or spouse. This item of the Maternal Social Support Index has been shown to be independently associated with maternal depression26 and parenting stress27 in prior studies. This item reflects the perceived availability of social support, a subconstruct of social support that has stronger ties to positive health outcomes than measures of actual or received support.9
To determine whether prenatal social support was associated with infant adiposity in the first 18 months of life in a low-income, Hispanic sample, known to be at high risk of early child obesity.
We performed a longitudinal analysis of 262 low-income, Hispanic mother-infant pairs in the control group of the Starting Early child obesity prevention trial. Prenatal social support was measured using an item from the Maternal Social Support Index. We used multilevel modeling to predict weight-for-length z-score trajectories from birth to age 18 months and logistic regression to predict macrosomia and overweight status at ages 6, 12, and 18 months.
High prenatal social support was independently associated with lower infant adiposity trajectories from birth to age 18 months (B = −0.40; 95% CI, −0.63 to −0.16), a lower odds of macrosomia (aOR = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.15-0.80), and a lower odds of overweight at ages 12 (aOR = 0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.74) and 18 months (aOR = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.14-0.89). Prenatal social support was not significantly associated with overweight status at age 6 months.
Prenatal social support may protect against excessive infant adiposity and overweight in low-income, Hispanic families. Further research is needed to elucidate mechanisms underlying these associations and to inform preventive strategies beginning in pregnancy.
Mom doesn't care: When increased brain CRF system activity leads to maternal neglect in rodents
2019, Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
Citation Excerpt :
Postpartum depression represents an episode of major depression with a specific temporal manifestation, which is still under debate. A crucial feature of maternal depression that distinguishes it from other depressive episodes is the loss of interest in the infant (Atkinson et al., 2000; Lovejoy et al., 2000), which may lead to maternal neglect due to an aversive perception of the child (Adamakos et al., 1986; Bifulco et al., 2004). Finally, postpartum psychosis is probably the most serious postpartum disorder and has a prevalence of 0.1–0.5% in parturient women.
Mothers are the primary caregivers in mammals, ensuring their offspring’s survival. This strongly depends on the adequate expression of maternal behavior, which is the result of a concerted action of “pro-maternal” versus “anti-maternal” neuromodulators such as the oxytocin and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) systems, respectively. When essential peripartum adaptations fail, the CRF system has negative physiological, emotional and behavioral consequences for both mother and offspring often resulting in maternal neglect. Here, we provide an elaborate and unprecedented review on the implications of the CRF system in the maternal brain. Studies in rodents have advanced our understanding of the specific roles of brain regions such as the limbic bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, medial preoptic area and lateral septum even in a CRF receptor subtype-specific manner. Furthermore, we discuss potential interactions of the CRF system with other neurotransmitters like oxytocin and noradrenaline, and present valuable translational aspects of the recent research.
Resilience in families raising children with disabilities and behavior problems
2014, Research in Developmental Disabilities
Citation Excerpt :
Of course, the data from this study will be unsurprising to researchers in other fields who, over the last three decades, have found that measures of maternal social support and integration are associated with a wide range of outcomes. These include but are not limited to pre and post-natal depression (Collins, Dunkel-Shetter, Lobel, & Scrimshaw, 1993; Cutrona & Troutman, 1986); fetal growth and birth weight (Feldman, Dunkel-Schetter, Sandman, & Wadhwa, 2000); parenting stress and sense of competence (Adamakos et al., 1986); maternal warmth and responsiveness (Burchinal, Follmer, & Bryant, 1996; Crnic, Greenberg, Ragozin, Robinson, & Basham, 1983; Pascoe, Loda, Jeffries, & Earp, 1981); risk of child abuse and neglect (Bishop & Leadbeater, 1999; Garbarino & Crouter, 1978; Kotch, Browne, Dufort, Winsor, & Catellier, 1999; Wandersman & Nation, 1998); and, child cognitive, emotional and social development (Melson, Ladd, & Hsu, 1993; Pianta & Ball, 1993; Sameroff, Seifer, Baldwin, & Baldwin, 1993). Overall, the study findings support a social–ecological approach to understanding and building resilience: if a family has reasonably good social–ecological resources, outcomes are likely to be good even in the context of severe stressors.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the resilience displayed by families raising children with disabilities and behavior problems. The question is why do some families do well when others, exposed to similar stressors, struggle to keep their family life running? A stratified (by child age group) random sample of 538 families raising children with disabilities in Alberta, Canada took part. Participants completed the Family Life Survey, which incorporated measures of child behavior problems, social–ecological resources and family-level ‘outcomes’. Families raising children with disabilities and behavior problems ‘do well’ under conditions of high social support and low financial hardship. In contrast, families with low levels of social support and high levels of financial hardship typically struggle, even when the number or intensity of child behavior problems is low. The study findings are consistent with the view that ‘resilience’ has more to do with the availability and accessibility of culturally relevant resources than with intrinsic, individual or family factors. With respect to family-level outcomes, strengthening social relationships and ameliorating financial hardship may be more important than behavior modification.
Maternal social stress modulates the development of prepulse inhibition of startle in infants
2013, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Citation Excerpt :
Hence, from a developmental perspective, postnatal rat pup stress may be comparable to prenatal human fetal stress. The quality and quantity of a mother's social network are important predictors of parenting behavior (Adamakos et al., 1986; Goldstein et al., 1996), which is generally linked to child development (Webster-Stratton and Hammond, 1999). The birth of a child is a joyful event for many parents, yet the first months after birth are characterized by several adaptation and readjustment processes and can be perceived as stressful.
Stress during rearing has negative effects on the maturation of information processing in rodent offspring, but similar evidence in humans is absent. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle is a measure reflecting the integrity of information processing. PPI does not depend on active cooperation, making it a suitable measure for studying newborns and infants. This study investigated whether postnatal development of infant PPI is influenced by self-reported stress in the mother.
49 healthy term-born infants were studied twice, four days after birth and again at four months. PPI was assessed by presentation of acoustic startle stimuli (95dB) either alone or preceded (SOA 120ms) by a prepulse (75dB). Mother's social stress levels were assessed with the modified Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress (TICS). Cortisol saliva samples were collected from mothers and their children.
ANOVA revealed a different development of PPI in infants whose mothers reported enhanced stress levels due to social isolation and reduced social recognition. Cortisol levels were related to mothers’ self-report stress, but not to PPI development in infants.
Maternal stress experience has an impact on the maturation of human infants’ information processing in the first four months after birth.
Protective Effect of Prenatal Social Support on the Intergenerational Transmission of Obesity in Low-Income Hispanic Families
2023, Childhood Obesity
Community-based knowledge in culturally transformative pedagogies
2023, Translanguaging for Equal Opportunities: Speaking Romani at School

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^☆

Some of the data from this paper were presented at a meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, May 2, 1985.

Partial support for this project was provided by an FRC Research Grant, #84-18, Bowling Green State University, to Douglas G. Ullman, Ph.D.

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Maternal social support as a predictor of mother-child stress and stimulation☆

Abstract

Résumé

Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry

Child maltreatment: An ecological integration

American Psychologist

A preliminary study of some ecological correlates of child abuse: The impact of socioeconomic stress on mothers

Child Development

The human ecology of child maltreatment: A conceptual model for research

Journal of Marriage and the Family

The social context of child maltreatment

Developmental sequelae of maltreatment in infancy

Effects of stress and social support on mothers and premature and full-term infants

Child Development

Social support as a moderator of life stress

Psychosomatic Medicine

The association between mothers' social support and provision of stimulation to their children

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Construct validity of the maternal social support index

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics