The transition to parenthood following a history of childhood maltreatment: a review of the literature on prospective and new parents’ experiences

Christie, Hope; Talmon, Anat; Schäfer, Sarah; Haan, Anke de; Vang, Maria Louison; Haag, Katharina; Gilbar, Ora; Alisic, Eva; Brown, E. K.

doi:10.1080/20008198.2018.1492834

Cited by 36 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Several parents spontaneously discussed their own upbringing and described mental health problems among their family members, while others talked openly about other negative experiences like childhood sexual abuse they had experienced, growing up in foster care, or growing up with parents who abused alcohol. These worrying experiences from their own childhood, their family history, and how emotions were expressed in their family of origin, all affected how they interacted with their own children, which is in line with Christie et al, [ 24 ]. It seemed as though a pattern of mental ill-being was reproduced through the generations as participants described their parents’ mental health problems, their own, and their children’s.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“Since his birth, I’ve always been old” the experience of being parents to children displaying disruptive behavior problems: a qualitative study

Ljungström¹,

Sarenmalm²,

Axberg³

2020

BMC Psychol

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Background Being parents of children who display disruptive behavior problems (DBP) can pose several challenges. Interventions for children with DBP are primarily outpatient group parent training (PT) programs. The purpose of this study was to explore how parents of children with disruptive behavior problems, diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), describe the difficulties they face in their family and parenting situations. Methods Nineteen parents of children aged 3 to 8 years who had searched for help and signed up for a parent training program provided by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service participated in the study. Semi-structured diagnostic interviews and a modified background interview adapted for the purpose of the study were conducted before parents entered the program. All children included in the study met the DSM criteria for ODD. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to examine, identify, and report patterns of meaning in the data. The analysis was conducted inductively using a contextual approach. Results Parents described their own vulnerability, how they were affected by the parent-child interaction, and the challenges they perceived in their parenting practices. The study contributes to an understanding of the complexity that parents of children with ODD perceive in everyday life. Conclusions The parents in the study highlight the need to address parents’ own mental health problems, parental alliance, capacity for emotion regulation, perceived helplessness as parents, lack of parental strategies, sense of isolation, and absence of supportive social networks. All these factors could be important when tailoring interventions aimed to help and support parents of children who display DBP, and specifically ODD.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“Since his birth, I’ve always been old” the experience of being parents to children displaying disruptive behavior problems: a qualitative study

Ljungström¹,

Sarenmalm²,

Axberg³

2020

BMC Psychol

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“…For example, Danese and McEwen [ 43 ] describe how childhood adversity contributes to allostatic load, or wear-and-tear on the body, resulting in physiological changes to the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. These biologically embedded changes have been hypothesized to result in greater susceptibility to mental illness when faced with psychosocial stressors [ 44 ], especially during pregnancy, when mothers face substantial neuroendocrinological [ 45 ] and psychosocial [ 46 , 47 ] changes. Specifically, memories and cognitions regarding childhood abuse and household dysfunction may be particularly salient sources of stress during the pregnancy and transition to parenthood periods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adverse childhood experiences and maternal anxiety and depression: a meta-analysis

et al. 2021

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Background It has been proposed that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can put women at risk for mental illness in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. While some studies have found strong support for this proposition, others have found weak or no support. This study is a meta-analysis of the association between ACEs and maternal mental health to resolve between-study discrepancies, and to examine potential moderators of associations. Methods Three electronic databases (i.e., MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO) were searched up to November 2018 by a health sciences librarian. A hand search was conducted in January 2020 and relevant studies were added. Included studies reported on associations between ACEs and maternal depression and/or anxiety in the perinatal period (pregnancy to 1-year postpartum). Pregnancy and postpartum outcomes were examined separately for both depression and anxiety. Random-effect meta-analyses were conducted. Moderator analyses were conducted using meta-regression. Study quality was evaluated using a 15-point scale. Results The initial search yielded 4646 non-duplicate records and full text review occurred for 196 articles. A total of 15 studies (N = 7788) were included in the meta-analyses, of which 2 were also described narratively. Publication year ranged from 1998 to 2019. Mothers were approximately 28.93 years of age when they retrospectively reported on their ACEs. All studies had maternal self-report questionnaires for the mental health outcomes. Study quality ranged from 7 to 12. The pooled effect sizes between ACEs and prenatal (N = 12; r = .19; 95% CI= .13, .24) and postpartum (N = 7; r = .23; 95% CI = .06 to .39) depressive symptoms were significant. The pooled effect size between ACEs and prenatal anxiety was also significant (N = 5; r = .14; 95% CI= .07, .21). Moderator analyses indicated that timing of depressive and anxiety symptoms may be important for understanding associations. Conclusions ACEs confer risk to maternal mental health, albeit effect sizes are small to moderate in magnitude. Trauma-informed approaches, as well as increased mental health support during and after pregnancy, may help to offset the relative risk of ACEs on maternal mental health.

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“…Parents' widely expressed desire to "be a better parent" (Hartwig et al 2017, p. 506) should be acknowledged by professionals to support the maintenance of a non-judgemental approach, whereby parents' commitment to doing the best they can, in often tremendously difficult circumstances, is continually recognised (Allen 2011). The transition to parenthood can be particularly challenging for individuals with a history of maltreatment and the complexity of attempting to break intergenerational cycles is highlighted (Christie et al 2017;Madden et al 2015). The value of supporting parents in the often difficult process of reflecting on their own experience of being parented is emphasised; the potential benefits of creating the opportunity for this within the delivery of parenting programmes should be considered (Levac et al 2008;Wolfe and Haddy 2001).…”

Section: Clinical and Research Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parents’ Perceptions and Experiences of Parenting Programmes: A Systematic Review and Metasynthesis of the Qualitative Literature

Butler

Gregg

Calam

et al. 2019

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

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Supporting parents to meet the challenges of their caregiving role is identified as a public health concern and a priority in policies internationally. Quantitative research has established the efficacy of parenting programmes but less is understood about the key aspects that make interventions meaningful and helpful to families. We aimed to explore parents' experiences and perceptions of parenting programmes in order to highlight the parent voice and identify key factors that parents perceive to be meaningful and improve our understanding of the acceptability and perceived benefits of parenting programmes. Six key electronic databases were searched systematically for qualitative research and eligibility for inclusion was established. A thematic synthesis was undertaken. Twenty-six studies were included, spanning 17 years of parenting research and involving 822 parents. Three main themes and nine subthemes were identified: (1) a family's journey (prior to the parenting programme, outcomes (including changes in the parent, child and wider family) and post-intervention), (2) aspects perceived to be important or valuable (group leader or facilitator, programme content and delivery and value of the group) and (3) challenges or difficulties (barriers to engagement or attendance, programme content and suggestions for improvement). Reported outcomes of parenting programmes included changes in the parent alongside changes in the child and family more widely. Key recommendations to improve provision of accessible, clinically and cost-effective interventions for parents include ensuring high-quality training and supervision of facilitators, balancing flexibility and fidelity to ensure tailored content to meet individual needs, a sensitivity to parental adversity, the need for wider familial support and the availability of ongoing support following the end of a parenting programme.

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The transition to parenthood following a history of childhood maltreatment: a review of the literature on prospective and new parents’ experiences

Cited by 36 publications

References 35 publications

“Since his birth, I’ve always been old” the experience of being parents to children displaying disruptive behavior problems: a qualitative study

“Since his birth, I’ve always been old” the experience of being parents to children displaying disruptive behavior problems: a qualitative study

Adverse childhood experiences and maternal anxiety and depression: a meta-analysis

Parents’ Perceptions and Experiences of Parenting Programmes: A Systematic Review and Metasynthesis of the Qualitative Literature

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