Mother-Child Bond and Mental Health Problems in Preschool Children in Southern Brazil View PDF

^*Luciana De Avila Quevedo
Postgraduate Program In Health And Behavior, Catholic University Of Pelotas, Brazil

^*Corresponding Author:

Luciana De Avila Quevedo
Postgraduate Program In Health And Behavior, Catholic University Of Pelotas, Brazil
Email:lu.quevedo@bol.com.br

Published on: 2020-11-16

Abstract

Background: Child development occurs from the interaction of a set of factors. The initial experiences are predictors of the acquisition of a range of skills such as child’s behavior and affective and social capacities. In this context, mental health problems like behavioral or emotional difficulties may arise early. There is a consensus that the weak mother-child bond has a negative influence on the emotional and behavioral development of the child, but is a significant lack of studies evaluating this hypothesis.
Aim: To verify the association between the quality of the mother-child bond and mental health problems of preschooler’s children born from adolescent pregnancies in a city in southern Brazil.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort study that followed adolescent pregnant women who received prenatal care through the Brazilian public health system of a city in Southern Brazil and their children at 4 and 5 years and 11 months. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to identify children’s mental health problems and the protocol for assessment of mother-child bonding to evaluate the mother-child bond.
Results: Children of mothers with weak bonding presented an odds of 4.3 (95% CI: 1.9; 9.9) more emotional problems and an odds of 2.1 (95% CI: 1.1; 4.0) more conduct problems when compared to children of mothers with strong bonding.
Conclusion: With early identification, interventions focusing on the adequate development of the mother-child bond in the gestational and postpartum period may be performed, seeking to prevent adverse outcomes for the child.

Keywords

Mother-Child Bond; Child Mental Health Problems; Preschoolers; Children Born from Adolescent Pregnancies

Introduction

Child development occurs from the interaction of a set of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychosocial factors. The firsts years of life are decisive since in this period there is an intense neuronal activity and the initial experiences are predictors of the acquisition of a range of skills. These skills are related not only to the sensory-motor, language, and cognition spheres, but also to the child’s behavior and affective and social capacities [1-4]. In this context, behavioral or emotional difficulties may arise early, which are considered mental health problems.
Child mental health problems can be classified as internalizing or externalizing. While internalizing problems are characterized by emotional issues, such as anxiety, withdrawal behavior, and depression, externalizing problems involve behavioral issues, such as challenging behavior, impulsivity, aggression, and hyperactivity [5]. Among the most prevalent child mental health problems, emotional, conduct, relationship, and hyperactivity problems are the most prominent. These problems trigger conflicts in the family and/or school environments, resulting in impairments for the child’s adaptation to environmental demands, and the acquisition of new skills, as well as interpersonal functioning and parental relationship [6].
Studies show that there are some risk factors for the development of child mental health problems. Some of them are the presence of maternal psychopathology [7], unfavorable socioeconomic conditions, low parental education [2,8, and 9], be male child, and mother age [10-12].
In addition, some studies suggest that the mother-child bond can also be a predictor of mental health problems in children. Lower quality of the mother-child interaction and an ambivalent attachment of the child were predictors of externalizing problems [13], while children with secure attachment to their mothers presented less difficulties regarding prosocial behavior, hyperactivity, and relationship with peers [12]. However, although there is a consensus that the weak mother child bond has a negative influence on the emotional and behavioral development of the child, there is a significant lack of studies evaluating this hypothesis [14,15].