Am J Psychiatry 1978; 135:1168-1173
Copyright © 1978 by American Psychiatric Association
Some determinants of maternal attachment
GH Peterson and LE Mehl
The authors conducted prenatal interviews and behavior observation sessions
with 46 families in which the woman was pregnant. These families were again
interviewed and observed 7 days, 1 month, 2 months, and 6 months after the
child was born. The authors found that the most significant variable
predicting the variance of maternal attachment was the length of separation
of mother and infant: less separation was associated with greater
attachment. The next most significant variable was birth experience,
followed in importance by the length of labor and prenatal attitudes and
expectations.
