https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6790-8679
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ABSTRACT
Background: Maternal experiences of childhood maltreatment (CM) constitute a risk factor for impairments in the mother–child relationship. One mechanism underlying this intergenerational transmission may be maternal hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysregulation. Yet, few studies have examined different maltreatment subtypes, including emotional neglect, considered concurrent depressive symptoms, and used long-term integrated glucocorticoid measures.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate associations between maternal CM history, postpartum glucocorticoids in hair, and mother–child bonding. In exploratory analyses, we tested whether specific subtypes of CM had differential implications for glucocorticoid secretion and bonding.
Methods: During pregnancy, N = 269 mothers from the prospective cohort study DREAMHAIR provided retrospective information on CM and current information regarding psychological and hair-related variables. Hair samples were collected 8 weeks after delivery for quantification of maternal long-term hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations in 2-cm scalp-near hair samples. Mother–child bonding was measured 8 weeks and 14 months after birth using the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire.
Results: While bivariate correlations revealed significant associations of CM with bonding and hair cortisol, regression findings showed CM was associated with impaired bonding 8 weeks (overall CM trend-level; emotional neglect p = .038) and 14 months (emotional neglect trend level p = .041) after birth, however not after controlling for depressive symptoms at the time point of the outcome. In regression analyses, CM was not associated with maternal hair glucocorticoids 8 weeks postpartum. Maternal hair glucocorticoid concentrations were not related to mother–child bonding and did not mediate associations between CM and mother–child bonding.
Conclusion: Data tentatively suggest that mothers with CM experiences, in particular emotional neglect, may be at risk for suboptimal bonding to their child, however current depressive symptoms seem to be more important. Our data provide no evidence for a crucial role of glucocorticoid secretion, yet aetiological processes of long-term glucocorticoid secretion and bonding are complex and more severely affected samples should be examined.
HIGHLIGHTS
Maternal childhood maltreatment experiences, in particular emotional neglect, were associated with impaired mother–child bonding postpartum, however not after considering current depressive symptoms.
While maternal childhood maltreatment correlated with maternal hair cortisol 8 weeks postpartum, this was not confirmed in regression analyses controlling for relevant confounders.
Maternal hair glucocorticoid concentrations were not associated with impaired mother–child bonding.
Antecedentes: Las experiencias maternas de maltrato infantil (MI) constituyen un factor de riesgo para deterioro en la relación madre-hijo. Un mecanismo subyacente a esta transmisión intergeneracional puede ser la desregulación del eje hipotálamo-hipófisis-adrenal. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han examinado los diferentes subtipos de maltrato, incluido negligencia emocional, han considerado síntomas depresivos concurrentes y han utilizado mediciones integradas de glucocorticoides a largo plazo.
Objetivo: Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar las asociaciones entre los antecedentes maternos de MI, glucocorticoides de cabello en el postparto y el vinculo madre-hijo. En el análisis exploratorio, probamos si subtipos específicos de MI tenían implicancias diferenciales para la secreción de glucocorticoides y el vínculo.
Métodos: Durante el embarazo, N = 269 madres del estudio de cohorte prospectivo DREAMHAR proporcionaron información retrospectiva en MI e información actual sobre variables psicológicas y capilares. Se recolectaron muestras de cabello 8 semanas después del parto para cuantificar las concentraciones de cortisol y cortisona de cabello a largo plazo en muestras de 2 cms de cabello cercano al cuero cabelludo. El vínculo madre-hijo se midió a las 8 semanas y 14 meses después del nacimiento utilizando el Cuestionario de Vinculo del Postparto.
Resultados: Si bien las correlaciones bivariadas revelaron asociaciones significativas del MI con el vínculo y cortisol capilar, los hallazgos de regresión mostraron que el MI se asoció con una alteración del vínculo a las 8 semanas (nivel de tendencia general del MI; negligencia emocional p = .038) y a los 14 meses (negligencia emocional p = .041) después del nacimiento, sin embargo, no después de controlar los síntomas depresivos en el momento del resultado. En los análisis de regresión, el MI no se asoció con glucocorticoides del cabello materno a las 8 semanas postparto. Las concentraciones de glucocorticoides en el cabello materno no se relacionaron con el vínculo madre-hijo y no mediaron asociaciones entre el MI y el vinculo madre-hijo.
Conclusión: Estos datos sugieren tentativamente que madres con experiencias de MI, en particular negligencia emocional, pueden estar en riesgo de tener un vínculo subóptimo con su hijo; sin embargo, los síntomas depresivos actuales parecen ser mas importantes. Nuestros datos no proporcionan evidencia de un papel crucial de la secreción de glucocorticoides, sin embargo, los procesos etiológicos de la secreción de glucocorticoides a largo plazo y el vinculo son complejos y se deben examinar en muestras más gravemente afectadas.
Acknowledgements
We want to thank all (expectant) mothers for supporting our project. Furthermore, we want to thank all cooperating clinics and midwives for providing access to potential participants as well as all students who performed the recruitment. Data were collected and managed using Research Electronic Data Capture (Harris et al., Citation2009, Citation2019). REDCap is a secure, web-based application designed to support data capture for research studies, hosted at the ‘Koordinierungszentrum für Klinische Studien’ at the Faculty of Medicine of the Technische Universität¨ at Dresden, Germany. LB, MK, MB, SSc, and SGN conceived the research question. MB performed the initial statistical analyses and drafted the initial manuscript under supervision of LB, MK, SSc, and SGN. LB and MK prepared the GC-data for statistical analyses, supported the initial statistical analyses, revised the statistical analyses, and prepared the manuscript for publication. LB, MK, IJ, VW, and JTM supported the conduction of the study. JTM and VW prepared the main study data for statistical analyses and IJ provided assistance with statistical procedures. WG and KW provided resources for the acquisition of data in the DREAMHAIR study and contributed with their expertise. SGN acquired the funding, was responsible for conception and design of the DREAM study as well as the coordination and supervision of the (ongoing) data collection, and she contributed with her expertise in the research field and the interpretation of the data. All authors critically reviewed the manuscript, approved the final version as submitted, and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
The dataset analyzed during the current study is not publicly available due to legal and ethical constraints. Public sharing of participant data was not included in the informed consent of the study. The dataset is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.