Abstract
A mother's environmental and personal resources may contribute to, or be reflected in, her perceptions of maternal self-efficacy and role satisfaction. In a two-phase prospective study, we examined a model depicting the contribution of adverse and benevolent childhood experiences, maternal disintegrative responses, and self-compassion to maternal self-efficacy and role satisfaction in the first year after childbirth. In Phase 1, a convenience sample of 715 women with infants up to 16 weeks old was recruited through social media. Of these, 392 (54%) completed questionnaires in both Phase 1 and Phase 2, 6–10 months postpartum. The questionnaires assessed their adverse and benevolent childhood experiences (Phase 1), maternal disintegrative responses and self-compassion (Phases 1 and 2), and maternal self-efficacy and role satisfaction (Phase 2). Path analysis found no direct relationships between adverse or benevolent childhood experiences and maternal self-efficacy or role satisfaction. However, significant serial indirect effects were found for disintegrative responses and self-compassion in both Phase 1 and Phase 2. The model explains 33% of the variance in maternal self-efficacy and 52% of the variance in role satisfaction. The study identifies a combination of environmental and personal variables that contribute to the outcomes of maternal self-efficacy and role satisfaction, showing both negative and positive trajectories.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman
Bandura, A. (2012). On the functional properties of perceived self-efficacy revisited. Journal of Management, 38(1), 9–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311410606
Baraitser, L. (2009). Maternal encounters: An ethic of interruption. Routledge.
Barbeau, K., Boileau, K., Sarr, F., & Smith, K. (2019). Path analysis in Mplus: A tutorial using a conceptual model of psychological and behavioral antecedents of bulimic symptoms in young adults. Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 15(1), 38–53. https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.15.1.p038
Bernstein, D. P., Stein, J. A., Newcomb, M. D., Walker, E., Pogge, D., Ahluvalia, T., Stokes, J., Handelsman, L., Medrano, M., Desmond, D., & Zule, W. (2003). Development and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27(2), 169–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(02)00541-0
Braehler, C., & Neff, K. (2020). Self-compassion in PTSD. In C. Braehler & K. Neff (Eds.), Emotion in posttraumatic stress disorder (pp. 567–596). Academic Press.
Brazeau, N., Reisz, S., Jacobvitz, D., & George, C. (2018). Understanding the connection between attachment trauma and maternal self-efficacy in depressed mothers. Infant Mental Health Journal, 39(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21692
Caçador, M. I., & Moreira, H. (2021). Fatigue and mindful parenting in the postpartum period: The role of difficulties in emotion regulation and anxious and depressive symptomatology. Mindfulness, 12(9), 2253–2265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01688-4
Caldwell, J. G., Shaver, P. R., Li, C. S., & Minzenberg, M. J. (2011). Childhood maltreatment, adult attachment, and depression as predictors of parental self-efficacy in at-risk mothers. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 20(6), 595–616. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2011.595763
Chasson, M., & Taubman-Ben-Ari, O. (2020). Early maternal caregiving: A conceptualization of maternal compassion preoccupation. Qualitative Health Research, 30(9), 1303–1313. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320908570
Chasson, M., & Taubman-Ben-Ari, O. (2022a). The Maternal Disintegrative Responses Scale (MDRS): Development and initial validation. Journal of Clinical Psychology.https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23414
Chasson, M., & Taubman-Ben-Ari, O. (2022b). The Maternal Disintegrative Responses Scale (MDRS) and its associations with attachment orientation and childhood trauma. Child Abuse & Neglect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105693
Chung, E. K., Mathew, L., Elo, I. T., Coyne, J. C., & Culhane, J. F. (2008). Depressive symptoms in disadvantaged women receiving prenatal care: The influence of adverse and positive childhood experiences. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 8(2), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ambp.2007.12.003
Coleman, P. K., & Karraker, K. H. (2003). Maternal self-efficacy beliefs, competence in parenting, and toddlers’ behavior and developmental status. Infant Mental Health Journal: Official Publication of the World Association for Infant Mental Health, 24(2), 126–148. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.10048
Fairbrother, N., & Woody, S. R. (2008). New mothers’ thoughts of harm related to the newborn. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 11, 221–229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-008-0016-7
Fairbrother, N., Thordarson, D. S., Challacombe, F. L., & Sakaluk, J. K. (2018). Correlates and predictors of new mothers’ responses to postpartum thoughts of accidental and intentional harm and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 46, 437–453. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465817000765
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8
Fraiberg, S., Adelson, E., & Shapiro, V. (1975). Ghosts in the nursery. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 14(3), 387–421.
Herman, J. L. (1992). Complex PTSD: A syndrome in survivors of prolonged and repeated trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5(3), 377–391. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490050305
Huth-Bocks, A. C., Guyon-Harris, K., Calvert, M., Scott, S., & Ahlfs-Dunn, S. (2016). The caregiving helplessness questionnaire: Evidence for validity and utility with mothers of infants. Infant Mental Health Journal, 37(3), 208–221. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21559
Jacobvitz, D., Leon, K., & Hazen, N. (2006). Does expectant mothers’ unresolved trauma predict frightened/frightening maternal behavior? Risk and protective factors. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 363–379. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579406060196
Johnston, C., & Mash, E. J. (1989). A measure of parenting satisfaction and efficacy. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 18(2), 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp1802_8
Kim, S., Fonagy, P., Allen, J., & Strathearn, L. (2014). Mothers’ unresolved trauma blunts amygdala response to infant distress. Social Neuroscience, 9(4), 352–363. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2014.896287
Leerkes, E. M., & Crockenberg, S. C. (2002). The development of maternal self-efficacy and its impact on maternal behavior. Infancy, 3(2), 227–247.
Liao, K. Y. H., Stead, G. B., & Liao, C. Y. (2021). A meta-analysis of the relation between self-compassion and self-efficacy. Mindfulness, 12(3), 1878–1891. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01626-4
Lieberman, A. F., Van Horn, P., & Ozer, E. J. (2005). Preschooler witnesses of marital violence: Predictors and mediators of child behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 385–396. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050182
Main, M., Hesse, E. (1995). Frightening, frightened, timid/deferential, dissociated, or disorganized behavior on the part of the parent: Coding system (2nd ed.). Unpublished manual, University of California at Berkeley.
Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. Guilford.
Monteiro, F., Fonseca, A., Pereira, M., Alves, S., & Canavarro, M. C. (2019). What protects at-risk postpartum women from developing depressive and anxiety symptoms? The role of acceptance-focused processes and self-compassion. Journal of Affective Disorders, 246, 522–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.12.124
Monteiro, F., Fonseca, A., Pereira, M., & Canavarro, M. C. (2021). Is positive mental health and the absence of mental illness the same? Factors associated with flourishing and the absence of depressive symptoms in postpartum women. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77(3), 629–645. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23081
Murray, L., & Finn, M. (2012). Good mothers, bad thoughts: New mothers’ thoughts of intentionally harming their newborns. Feminism & Psychology, 22(1), 41–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353511414015
Naismith, I., Zarate Guerrero, S., & Feigenbaum, J. (2019). Abuse, invalidation, and lack of early warmth show distinct relationships with self-criticism, self-compassion, and fear of self-compassion in personality disorder. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 26(3), 350–361. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2357
Narayan, A. J., Atzl, V. M., Merrick, J. S., Harris, W. W., & Lieberman, A. F. (2020). Developmental origins of ghosts and angels in the nursery: Adverse and benevolent childhood experiences. Adversity and Resilience Science, 1, 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-020-00008-4
Narayan, A. J., Rivera, L. M., Bernstein, R. E., Harris, W. W., & Lieberman, A. F. (2018). Positive childhood experiences predict less psychopathology and stress in pregnant women with childhood adversity: A pilot study of the benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) scale. Child Abunaismse & Neglect, 78, 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.09.022
Neff, K. (2003). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2(2), 85–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309032
Neff, K. D. (2011). Self-compassion, self-esteem, and well-being. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00330.x
Pedro, L., Branquinho, M., Canavarro, M. C., & Fonseca, A. (2019). Self-criticism, negative automatic thoughts and postpartum depressive symptoms: The buffering effect of self-compassion. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 37(5), 539–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2019.1597969
Pepping, C. A., Davis, P. J., O’Donovan, A., & Pal, J. (2015). Individual differences in self-compassion: The role of attachment and experiences of parenting in childhood. Self and Identity, 14(1), 104–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2014.955050
Perez-Blasco, J., Viguer, P., & Rodrigo, M. F. (2013). Effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on psychological distress, well-being, and maternal self-efficacy in breast-feeding mothers: Results of a pilot study. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 16(3), 227–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-013-0337-z
Petruccelli, K., Davis, J., & Berman, T. (2019). Adverse childhood experiences and associated health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 97, 104127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104127
Raes, F., Pommier, E., Neff, K. D., & Van Gucht, D. (2011). Construction and factorial validation of a short form of the self-compassion scale. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 18(3), 250–255. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.702
Raphael-Leff, J. (2010). Healthy maternal ambivalence. Studies in the Maternal, 2(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.16995/sim.97
Solomon, J., & George, C. (2011). Disorganization of maternal caregiving across two generations: The origins of caregiving helplessness. In J. Solomon & C. George (Eds.), Disorganized attachment and caregiving (pp. 25–51). Guilford Press.
Talmon, A., Horovitz, M., Shabat, N., Haramati, O. S., & Ginzburg, K. (2019). “Neglected moms”—The implications of emotional neglect in childhood for the transition to motherhood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 88, 445–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.12.021
Teti, D. M., & Gelfand, D. M. (1991). Behavioral competence among mothers of infants in the first year: The mediational role of maternal self-efficacy. Child Development, 62(5), 918–929. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01580.x
Treat, A. E., Sheffield-Morris, A., Williamson, A. C., & Hays-Grudo, J. (2020). Adverse childhood experiences and young children’s social and emotional development: The role of maternal depression, self-efficacy, and social support. Early Child Development and Care, 190(15), 2422–2436. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1578220
van der Kolk, B. A. (2003). Psychological trauma. American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This study is part of the PhD dissertation submitted to the School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University by the first author, and was carried out under the supervision of the second author.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Chasson, M., Taubman – Ben-Ari, O. The contribution of childhood experiences, maternal disintegrative responses, and self-compassion to maternal self-efficacy and role satisfaction: a prospective study. Curr Psychol 42, 30164–30173 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04085-9
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04085-9