Parenting Stress, Maternal Self-Efficacy and Confidence in Caretaking in a Sample of Mothers with Newborns (0–1 Month)

Giacomo Tognasso, Laura Gorla (), Carolina Ambrosini, Federica Figurella, Pietro De Carli, Laura Parolin, Diego Sarracino and Alessandra Santona
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Giacomo Tognasso: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
Laura Gorla: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
Carolina Ambrosini: Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, 35131 Padova, Italy
Federica Figurella: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
Pietro De Carli: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
Laura Parolin: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
Diego Sarracino: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
Alessandra Santona: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: A mother’s responses to her newborn and her confidence in the child’s caretaking depend on her attachment security, general parental stress, and perceived self-efficacy. However, few studies have analyzed maternal confidence in caretaking and how it is influenced by some mothers’ characteristics. We aimed to examine the association between maternal adult attachment and confidence in a child’s caretaking and to understand whether this relationship was mediated by parenting stress and maternal self-efficacy. The sample consisted of 96 mothers with a mean age of 33 years with newborn children aged between 3 and 30 days. The instruments used were the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), the Mother and Baby Scale (MABS), the Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF), and the Maternal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MEQ). The results showed a positive association between attachment avoidance and lack of confidence in caretaking, and this association was mediated by parenting stress. Conversely, attachment anxiety appeared not to influence confidence in caretaking, and maternal self-efficacy did not appear to mediate the relationship between attachment and confidence in the caretaking of infants. Our results could guide new research in studying confidence in caretaking and enable healthcare professionals to recognize at-risk situations early from the first month after childbirth.

Keywords: attachment; maternal confidence; self-efficacy; newborn; caretaking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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