Social Support and Spousal Relationship Quality Improves Responsiveness among Anxious Mothers.
Maternal responsiveness, a mother's ability to consistently identify infant cues and then act on them, is critical for healthy child development. A woman's social support and spousal relationship may affect responsiveness to an infant, especially among mothers with anxiety. We assessed how social su...
| Publicado en: | Child Psychiatry & Human Development Vol. 57; no. 1; pp. 138 - 152 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Springer Nature
Feb2026
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=192199224&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 192199224 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 0009398X CPH jtl: Child Psychiatry & Human Development issn: 0009398X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Feb2026 vid: 57 iid: 1 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 192199224 10.1007/s10578-024-01702-5 ppf: 138 ppct: 14 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.4MB tig: atl: Social Support and Spousal Relationship Quality Improves Responsiveness among Anxious Mothers. aug: au: Bain, Miranda Park, Soim Zaidi, Ahmed Atif, Najia Rahman, Atif Malik, Abid Surkan, Pamela J affil: https://ror.org/00za53h95 Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St, 21205, Baltimore, MD, USA https://ror.org/02a37xs76 Public Mental Health Department, Health Services Academy, PM Health Complex, Islamabad, Pakistan https://ror.org/021p6rb08 Human Development Research Foundation, Global Institute of Human Development, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Gujar Khan Campus, Near Government Rural Health Center Mandra, Rawalpindi, Pakistan https://ror.org/04xs57h96 Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, 1-5 Dover Street, L69 3GL, Liverpool, UK su: Pakistan Social support Marital quality Child development Parental sensitivity Postpartum depression Infant psychology Postpartum anxiety sug: subj: Social support Marital quality Child development Parental sensitivity Pakistan Other Individual and Family Services Postpartum depression Infant psychology Postpartum anxiety keyword: Infant development Maternal health Maternal responsiveness Medical and Health Sciences Public Health and Health Services Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology Spousal relationship quality Infant development Maternal health Maternal responsiveness Medical and Health Sciences Public Health and Health Services Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology Spousal relationship quality ab: Maternal responsiveness, a mother's ability to consistently identify infant cues and then act on them, is critical for healthy child development. A woman's social support and spousal relationship may affect responsiveness to an infant, especially among mothers with anxiety. We assessed how social support and spousal relationship quality is associated with responsiveness among anxious mothers, and if postpartum depression (PPD) moderated these associations. Cross-sectional data were collected from 2019 to 2022 in a public hospital in Pakistan from 701 women at six-weeks postpartum. Eligible women had at least mild anxiety in early- to mid- pregnancy. Linear regression analyses assessed if spousal relationship quality and social support from family and friends were associated with maternal responsiveness, measured using the Maternal Infant Responsiveness Instrument. Interaction terms were used to examine if PPD moderated these associations. Spousal relationship quality (B = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.48, 3.50) and social support (B = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.31, 1.83) were positively related to maternal responsiveness to the infant. Emotional support from a spouse was positively associated with responsiveness (B = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.12, 2.03 depressed; B = 2.96, 95% CI: 1.34, 4.58 non-depressed), and conflict with the spouse was negatively associated with responsiveness (B=-1.02, 95% CI: -1.94, -0.09 depressed; B=-2.87, 95% CI: -4.36, -1.37 non-depressed). However, social support was related to responsiveness only in non-depressed women (B = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.14, 4.07). While spousal relationships and social support enhance maternal responsiveness, for depressed women, spousal relationships were particularly critical. In considering maternal-infant interventions to improve child development outcomes, our study indicates the importance of supportive relationships that foster effective responsiveness. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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