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Positive predictors of quality of life for postpartum mothers with a history of childhood maltreatment

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Abstract

The postpartum period brings a host of biopsychosocial, familial, and economic changes, which may be challenging for new mothers, especially those with trauma histories. Trauma-exposed women are at heightened risk for psychiatric symptomatology and reduced quality of life. The current study sought to evaluate whether a set of hypothesized promotive factors assessed during the first 18 months postpartum (positive parenting, family cohesion, and maternal resilience) are associated with life satisfaction in this population, after controlling for income and postpartum psychiatric symptoms. Analyses were based on data collected for 266 mother-infant dyads from a longitudinal cohort study, Maternal Anxiety during the Childbearing Years (MACY), of women oversampled for childhood maltreatment history. Hierarchical linear regression was used to evaluate the study hypotheses. Consistent with prior work, greater postpartum psychiatric symptoms and less income predicted poor perceptions of life quality. In hierarchical regressions controlling for income and psychiatric symptoms, positive parenting and family cohesion predicted unique variance in mothers’ positive perceptions of life quality, and resilience was predictive beyond all other factors. Factors from multiple levels of analysis (maternal, dyadic, and familial) may serve as promotive factors predicting positive perceptions of life quality among women with childhood trauma histories, even those struggling with high levels of psychiatric or economic distress.

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Acknowledgments

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 (K23 MH080147, PI: Muzik); and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR, UL1TR000433, PI: Muzik). The authors wish to thank the mothers and children who made this research possible and gratefully acknowledge the valuable contributions of Amanda Ellis, Heather Cameron, Rena Menke, Kelsie Thelen Rodriguez, and Lori Stark.

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Correspondence to Maria Muzik.

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All human studies have been approved by the appropriate ethics committee and have therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Irwin, J.L., Beeghly, M., Rosenblum, K.L. et al. Positive predictors of quality of life for postpartum mothers with a history of childhood maltreatment. Arch Womens Ment Health 19, 1041–1050 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0653-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0653-1

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