Marital adjustment, mother-infant relationship and psychofunctional symptoms in the first year of life

Abstract

Considering the importance of the first parent-baby relationships, this study aims to understand the interaction between marital adjustment, the mother-infant relationship and the expression of psychofunctional symptoms in early. Four mother-infant dyads were participants and two of these rated their marital relationship as maladjusted and two as adjusted (Dyadic Adjustment Scale - R-DAS) and all infants had psychofunctional symptoms (Symptom Check-List Questionnaire). Mothers also responded interviews about pregnancy and childbirth, about the experience of motherhood and were videotaped interacting with their babies, using the Interaction Assessment Procedure protocol (IAP). Results show that it is plausible to assume that the marital adjustment can affect the quality of the mother-infant relationship, contributing to the manifestation of psychofunctional symptoms in children. In this sense, we see the relevance of the analysis of marital and parental relationships in order to prevent the onset and / or worsening of symptoms in childhood.