Top

Published in:

01-10-2010 | Original Article

Three self-report questionnaires of the early mother-to-infant bond: reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the MPAS, PBQ and MIBS

Authors: Johan C. H. van Bussel, Bernard Spitz, Koen Demyttenaere

Published in: Archives of Women's Mental Health | Issue 5/2010

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the reliability and validity of three self-report questionnaires measuring the early emotional bond between a mother and her newborn infant: the Maternal Postpartum Attachment Scale (MPAS), the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) and the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS). In a monocentric prospective observational cohort study, 263 mothers completed the MPAS, the PBQ and the MIBS at 8–12 and at 20–25 weeks postpartum. The participants also completed measures of mental health and, during their pregnancy, measures of recalled parental bonding, adult romantic attachment, antenatal attachment and social desirability. In our study, the internal reliabilities of the PBQ and the MPAS were high at 8–12 weeks postpartum but dropped significantly at 20–25 weeks postpartum. Moderately strong correlations between the scales of the PBQ, the MPAS and the MIBS supported their construct validity. Further, weak correlations were found with social desirability and adult attachment representations, whereas moderate correlations were found with antenatal feelings of attachment and antenatal attitudes to motherhood. Finally, maternal feelings of bonding were also moderately associated with maternal mood. Overall, our findings suggest that the MPAS, the PBQ and the MIBS provide a reliable and valid indication of the early emotional tie between a woman and her newborn infant.

Bartels A, Zeki S (2004) The neural correlates of maternal and romantic love. Neuroimage 21(3):1155–1166CrossRefPubMed

Bartholomew K, Horowitz LM (1991) Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model. J Pers Soc Psychol 61(2):226–244CrossRefPubMed

Benoit D, Parker KC (1994) Stability and transmission of attachment across three generations. Child Dev 65(5):1444–1456CrossRefPubMed

Brockington IF (1996) Motherhood and mental health. Oxford University Press, Oxford

Brockington IF, Oates J, George S, Turner D, Vostanis P, Sullivan M et al (2001) A screening questionnaire for mother–infant bonding disorders. Arch Womens Ment Health 3:133–140CrossRef

Brockington IF, Fraser C, Wilson D (2006) The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire: a validation. Arch Womens Ment Health 9(5):233–242CrossRefPubMed

Campbell DT, Fiske DW (1959) Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait–multimethod matrix. Psychol Bull 56(2):81–105CrossRefPubMed

Condon JT (1993) The assessment of antenatal emotional attachment: development of a questionnaire instrument. Br J Med Psychol 66(Pt 2):167–183PubMed

Condon JT, Corkindale C (1997) The correlates of antenatal attachment in pregnant women. Br J Med Psychol 70(Pt 4):359–372PubMed

Condon JT, Corkindale C (1998) The assessment of parent-to-infant attachment: development of a self-report questionnaire instrument. J Reprod Infant Psychol 16(1):57–77CrossRef

Cox JL, Holden JM, Sagovsky R (1987) Detection of postnatal depression. Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Br J Psychiatry 150:782–786CrossRefPubMed

Crowne DP, Marlowe D (1960) A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. J Consult Psychol 24:349–354CrossRefPubMed

Damato EG (2004) Predictors of prenatal attachment in mothers of twins. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 33(4):436–445CrossRefPubMed

Figueiredo B, Costa R, Pacheco A, Pais A (2008) Mother-to-infant emotional involvement at birth. Matern Child Health J 13:539–549CrossRefPubMed

Fleming AS, Ruble DN, Flett GL, Shaul DL (1988) Postpartum adjustment in first time mothers: effects of mood on maternal responsiveness. Dev Psychol 24(1):71–81CrossRef

Gimpl G, Fahrenholz F (2001) The oxytocin receptor system: structure, function, and regulation. Physiol Rev 81(2):629–683PubMed

Heidrich SM, Cranley MS (1989) Effect of fetal movement, ultrasound scans, and amniocentesis on maternal–fetal attachment. Nurs Res 38(2):81–84CrossRefPubMed

Hermans H (1967) Sociale Wenselijkheids Schaal, SW (Social Desirability Scale). Catholic University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen

Herrmann C (1997) International experiences with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale—a review of validation data and clinical results. J Psychosom Res 42(1):17–41CrossRefPubMed

Hjelmstedt A, Widstrom AM, Collins A (2006) Psychological correlates of prenatal attachment in women who conceived after in vitro fertilization and women who conceived naturally. Birth 33(4):303–310CrossRefPubMed

Hock E, McBride S, Gnezda M (1989) Maternal separation anxiety: mother–infant separation from the maternal perspective. Child Dev 60:793–802CrossRef

Kumar RC (1997) “Anybody's child”: severe disorders of mother-to-infant bonding. Br J Psychiatry 171:175–181CrossRefPubMed

Kumar R, Hipwell AE (1996) Development of a clinical rating scale to assess mother–infant interaction in a psychiatric mother and baby unit. Br J Psychiatry 169(1):18–26CrossRefPubMed

Leifer M (1977) Psychological changes accompanying pregnancy and motherhood. Genet Psychol Monogr 95(1):55–96PubMed

Lerum CW, LoBiondo-Wood G (1989) The relationship of maternal age, quickening, and physical symptoms of pregnancy to the development of maternal–fetal attachment. Birth 16(1):13–17CrossRefPubMed

Lowyck B, Luyten P, Hutsebaut J, Corveleyn J (2003) De relatievragenlijst van Bartholomew & Horowitz. Center for Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Psychology (K.U.Leuven), Leuven

Moehler E, Brunner R, Wiebel A, Reck C, Resch F (2006) Maternal depressive symptoms in the postnatal period are associated with long-term impairment of mother–child bonding. Arch Womens Ment Health 9(5):273–278CrossRefPubMed

Müller ME (1994) A questionnaire to measure mother-to-infant attachment. J Nurs Meas 2:129–141PubMed

Müller ME (1996) Prenatal and postnatal attachment: a modest correlation. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 25(2):161–166CrossRefPubMed

Murray D, Cox JL (1990) Screening for depression during pregnancy with the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDDS). J Reprod Infant Psychol 8(2):99–107CrossRef

Nagata N, Nagai Y, Sobajima H, Ando T, Nishide Y, Honjo S (2000) Maternity blues and attachment to children in mothers of full-term normal infants. Acta Psychiatr Scand 101:209–217CrossRefPubMed

Pajulo M, Savonlahti E, Sourander J, Helenius H (2004) Maternal representations, depression and interactive behaviour in the postnatal period: a brief report. J Reprod Infant Psychol 22(2):91–98CrossRef

Parker G (1989) The parental bonding instrument: psychometric properties reviewed. Psychiatr Dev 7(4):317–335

Parker G, Tupling H, Brown L (1979) A parental bonding instrument. J Med Psychol 52:1–10

Pollock PH, Percy A (1999) Maternal antenatal attachment style and potential fetal abuse. Child Abuse Negl 23(12):1345–1357CrossRefPubMed

Pop VJ, Komproe IH, van Son MJ (1992) Characteristics of the Edinburgh Post Natal Depression Scale in The Netherlands. J Affect Disord 26(2):105–110CrossRefPubMed

Priel B, Besser A (2000) Adult attachment styles, early relationships, antenatal attachment, and perceptions of infant temperament: a study of first-time mothers. Pers Relat 7(3):291–310CrossRef

Ranson KE, Urichuk LJ (2008) The effect of parent–child attachment relationships on child biopsychosocial outcomes: a review. Early Child Dev Care 178(2):129–152CrossRef

Raphael-Leff J (2005) Psychological processes of childbearing. The Anna Freud Centre, London

Reck C, Klier CM, Pabst K, Stehle E, Steffenelli U, Struben K et al (2006) The German version of the Postpartum Bonding Instrument: psychometric properties and association with postpartum depression. Arch Womens Ment Health 9(5):265–271CrossRefPubMed

Rubin R (1984) Maternal identity and the maternal experience. Springer, New York

Salariya EM, Cater JI (1984) Mother–child relationship: the FIRST score. J Adv Nurs 9:589–595CrossRefPubMed

SAS Institute Inc (2002) SAS software version 9.1 of the SAS system for windows (version 9.1). SAS Institute, Cary

Scher A (2001) Facilitators and regulators: maternal orientation as an antecedent of attachment security. J Reprod Infant Psychol 19(4):325–333CrossRef

Schwerdtfeger KL, Goff BS (2007) Intergenerational transmission of trauma: exploring mother–infant prenatal attachment. J Trauma Stress 20(1):39–51CrossRefPubMed

Scopesi A, Viterbori P, Sponza S, Zucchinetti P (2004) Assessing mother-to-infant attachment: the Italian adaptation of a self-report questionnaire. J Reprod Infant Psychol 22(2):99–109CrossRef

Sjögren B, Edman G, Widström AM, Mathiesen AS, Uvnäs-Moberg K (2004) Maternal foetal attachment and personality during first pregnancy. J Reprod Infant Psychol 22(2):57–69CrossRef

Spinhoven P, Ormel J, Sloekers PP, Kempen GI, Speckens AE, Van Hemert AM (1997) A validation study of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in different groups of Dutch subjects. Psychol Med 27(2):363–370CrossRefPubMed

Strahan R, Gerbasi K (1972) Short, homogeneous versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. J Clin Psychol 28:191–193CrossRef

Taylor A, Atkins R, Kumar R, Adams D, Glover V (2005) A new Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale: links with early maternal mood. Arch Womens Ment Health 8(1):45–51CrossRefPubMed

van Bussel JCH, Spitz B, Demyttenaere K (2009a) Anxiety in pregnant and postpartum women. An exploratory study of the role of maternal orientations. J Affect Disord 114(1–3):232–242CrossRefPubMed

van Bussel JCH, Spitz B, Demyttenaere K (2009b) Depressive symptomatology in pregnant and postpartum women. An exploratory study of the role of maternal antenatal orientations. Arch Womens Ment Health 12(3):155–166CrossRefPubMed

van Bussel JCH, Spitz B, Demyttenaere K (2009c) Maternal antenatal orientations on pregnancy, the child and motherhood, reliability and construct validity of a brief measure. Indiv Differ Res (in press)

van Bussel JCH, Spitz B, Demyttenaere K (2009d) Reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale. Archives of Women's Mental Health. doi:10.1007/s00737-00009-00127-00739

van IJzendoorn MH (1995) Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant attachment: a meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview. Psychol Bull 117(3):387–403CrossRefPubMed

Verschueren K, Marcoen A (1993) Gehechtheidsstijl, intimiteit en vertrouwen in de jongvolwassenheid: een reflectie van de ervaren ouderlijke sensitiviteit? Psychol Belg 33:49–76

Winnicott DW (1956) Primary maternal preoccupation. Through paediatrics to psychoanalysis. Hogarth, London

Winnicott DW (1968) The family and individual development. Routledge, London

Wittkowski A, Wieck A, Mann S (2007) An evaluation of two bonding questionnaires: a comparison of the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale with the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire in a sample of primiparous mothers. Arch Womens Ment Health 10(4):171–175CrossRefPubMed

Zigmond AS, Snaith RP (1983) The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatr Scand 67(6):361–370CrossRefPubMed

Title: Three self-report questionnaires of the early mother-to-infant bond: reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the MPAS, PBQ and MIBS
Authors: Johan C. H. van Bussel
Bernard Spitz
Koen Demyttenaere
Publication date: 01-10-2010
Publisher: Springer Vienna
Published in: Archives of Women's Mental Health / Issue 5/2010
Print ISSN: 1434-1816
Electronic ISSN: 1435-1102
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-009-0140-z

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Three self-report questionnaires of the early mother-to-infant bond: reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the MPAS, PBQ and MIBS

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 5/2010

The obsessive–compulsive spectrum in the perinatal period: a prospective pilot study

Neuroticism-related personality traits are related to symptom severity in patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and to the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphism 5-HTTPLPR

Between life and death: exploring the sociocultural context of antenatal mental distress in rural Ethiopia

Benefits of switching women schizophrenic patients to aripiprazole: a case study and brief review of the literature

The prevalence and determinants of antepartum mental health problems among women in the USA: a nationally representative population-based study

Antenatal reports of pre-pregnancy abuse is associated with symptoms of depression in the postpartum period