Naturally Occurring Variations in Maternal Caregiving in Turkey and Associations with Psychological Distress: An Observational Study

Aran O., İPLİKÇİ A. B., Selcuk E., Gunaydin G.

TURK PSIKOLOJI DERGISI, cilt.35, sa.86, ss.77-98, 2020 (SSCI) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 35 Sayı: 86
  • Basım Tarihi: 2020
  • Doi Numarası: 10.31828/tpd1300443320190729m000023
  • Dergi Adı: TURK PSIKOLOJI DERGISI
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Psycinfo
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.77-98
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Maternal caregiving behaviors, maternal responsiveness, Q-factor analysis, naturalistic observation, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, DIFFERENTIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY, EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIOR, POSTNATAL DEPRESSION, ATTACHMENT SECURITY, TRIPARTITE MODEL, AUTONOMY SUPPORT, FEAR-REGULATION, EARLY-CHILDHOOD, NEGATIVE AFFECT
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The aim of this study is to reveal naturally occurring variation in maternal caregiving behaviors. Mothers and their interactions with 7 to 13 month-old infants were observed in intensive three-hour-long home visits by using the Maternal Behavior Q-Set. One hundred and twelve mother-infant dyads participated in the study. Results of the Q-factor analysis revealed two different caregiving profiles. The first profile, warmth/responsiveness, describes mothers who are responsive to their infants' needs and demands, enjoy intimate interactions with their infants, and follow the pace of the infants during interactions. The second profile, indifference/aloofness, describes mothers who are indifferent to the needs of their infants, and respond only if the infants persistently demand attention. Moreover, maternal distress was found to be positively correlated with the indifference/aloofness profile. These findings indicate that individual differences in everyday maternal caregiving represent more than one global sensitivity dimension.