Abstract
Transition to parenthood is considered a critical process for mothers of twins. There are, however, few studies on the subject. This study aims to evaluate the differences between mother-twin infant dyads and mother-singleton infant dyads with regard to maternal depression, anxiety, parenting stress, and the quality of mother-infant interaction. Mothers of twin infants (N = 40) were compared to mothers of singletons (N = 72). At infant 3 months, maternal depression, anxiety, and parenting stress were assessed via a questionnaire and styles of interaction with the Care-Index. The results indicated that mothers of twins (vs mothers of singletons) had significantly higher state anxiety and higher scores on the Difficult Child Scale of the Parenting Stress Index at infant 3 months. No significant differences between the two groups were found with regard to maternal depression. Mothers of twins had significantly lower sensitivity and were more unresponsive than mothers of singletons. Twin infants had significantly more difficult and compliant behaviours than singleton infants. Assisted reproductive treatment (ART) and prematurity had no effect on any of the examined variables. State anxiety was shown to partially mediate the relationship between twin parenthood and maternal sensitivity and to completely mediate the relationship between twin parenthood and infant difficult style. Maternal unresponsiveness was shown to be exclusively linked to being the parent of twins. The study shows that twin parenthood has a significant effect on maternal mental health and on the quality of mother-infant interaction and highlights the importance of early prevention programmes for twin parents.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Azienda Sanitaria Locale no. 2 Savonese” and Dr. Valentino Ferro and Dr. Cristina Parodi for their help in collecting data.
We would also like to thank Dr. Andrea Landini, MD, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Director of the Family Relations Institute in Italy and the US and Dr. Francesca Nuccini, Psychotherapist and CARE Index trainer, for their precious contribution in coding the data.
Funding
The project was financed by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR-PRIN 2010-2011; 20107JZAF4_003).
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Riva Crugnola, C., Ierardi, E., Prino, L.E. et al. Early styles of interaction in mother-twin infant dyads and maternal mental health. Arch Womens Ment Health 23, 665–671 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-020-01037-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-020-01037-9