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Great expectations? Do mothers’ and fathers’ prenatal thoughts and feelings about the infant predict parent-infant interaction quality? A meta-analytic review

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Type

Article

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Abstract

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Drawing on data gathered from 14 studies involving a total of 1862 mothers and fathers, this meta-analysis reviews the measures that are used to tap into thoughts and feelings about the unborn infant during pregnancy and examines links between these prenatal measures and parent-child interaction quality. Questionnaire scores for parental-fetal attachment and interview ratings of expectant parents’ representations of their infant showed modest but robust associations with observed parent-child interaction quality. Moderator analyses showed that these associations were significantly stronger for mothers than for fathers. Key lessons for future research include the need for greater consistency in study measures, sample diversity and the examination of associations with child outcomes.

Description

Keywords

5203 Clinical and Health Psychology, 52 Psychology, Pediatric, Behavioral and Social Science, Rare Diseases, Reproductive health and childbirth

Journal Title

Developmental Review

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0273-2297

Volume Title

48

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
ESRC (1503899)
Economic and Social Research Council (ES/L016648/1)
ESRC