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Once and Again

History of Rearing Experiences and Psychosocial Parenting Resources at Six Months in Primiparous Mothers

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Abstract

Animal and human studies suggest that parenting style is transmitted from one generation to the next. The hypotheses of this study were that (1) a mother’s rearing experiences (G1) would predict her own parenting resources (G2) and (2) current maternal mood, motivation to care for her offspring, and relationship with her parents would underlie this association. In a subsample of 201 first-time mothers participating in the longitudinal Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment project, we assessed a mother’s own childhood maltreatment and rearing experiences (G1) using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Parental Bonding Instrument. At 6 months postpartum, mothers completed questionnaires on parenting stress (G2), symptoms of depression, maternal motivation, and current relationship with their own parents. The sample consisted of mostly high socioeconomic status mothers recruited from Montréal (n = 135) or Hamilton (n = 66), Canada, with an age range from 18 to 43 years (M = 29.41, SD = 4.85 years). More severe maltreatment and less supportive rearing by the mother’s parents (G1) predicted increased parenting stress at 6 months (G2). These associations were mediated through distinct psychosocial pathways: maltreatment (G1) on parenting stress (G2) through symptoms of depression (Z = 2.297; p = .022); maternal rearing (G1) on parenting stress (G2) through maternal motivation (Z = −2.155; p = .031) and symptoms of depression (Z = −1.842; p = .065); and paternal rearing (G1) on parenting stress (G2) through current relationship with the father (Z = −2.617; p = .009). Maternal rearing experiences predict a mother’s own parenting resources though distinct psychosocial pathways, including depressed mood, maternal motivation, and social support.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR, http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/193.html) trajectory grant for the MAVAN and by individual grants to EU (Swiss National Science Foundation, SNSF), AF (CIHR), and MS (CIHR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. We like to thank all students and research assistants working in the MAVAN research team and all the families participating in the MAVAN study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montréal, Canada

    Eva Unternaehrer, Sabine K. Dhir, Shantala Hari Dass & Michael J. Meaney

  2. Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, McGill University, Montréal, Canada

    Eva Unternaehrer, Sabine K. Dhir, Shantala Hari Dass & Michael J. Meaney

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Constance, Constance, Germany

    Eva Unternaehrer

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

    Katherine Tombeau Cost

  5. University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, Canada

    Katherine Tombeau Cost, Wibke Jonas & Alison S. Fleming

  6. Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Wibke Jonas

  7. Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), Montréal, QC, Canada

    Sabine K. Dhir

  8. Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Canada

    Andrée-Anne Bouvette-Turcot & John E. Lydon

  9. Batshaw Youth and Family Center, Montréal, Canada

    Andrée-Anne Bouvette-Turcot

  10. Department of Psychology, Université de Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada

    Hélène Gaudreau

  11. McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

    Meir Steiner

  12. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

    Peter Szatmari

  13. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Peter Szatmari

  14. Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore, Singapore

    Michael J. Meaney

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  1. Eva Unternaehrer
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  2. Katherine Tombeau Cost
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Correspondence to Eva Unternaehrer.

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Unternaehrer, E., Cost, K.T., Jonas, W. et al. Once and Again. Hum Nat 30, 448–476 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-019-09355-3

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