Abstract

Introduction: The “motherhood constellation” has been conceptualized by Daniel Stern as a new psychic organization emerging in the mother with or even before the birth of a baby. Despite the great clinical and theoretical importance of this construct, particularly in implementing early intervention programs on mother’s dysfunctional representations, little empirical research has been conducted on it. The lack of empirical research may be at least partially due to a lack of reliable instruments for the assessment of motherhood constellation themes. The aim of this study was to develop a self-report inventory of the motherhood constellation in pregnancy (Motherhood Constellation Inventory, MCI), and to assess its psychometric properties. Method: The MCI is a 12-item, 4-subscales self-report designed to assess the four motherhood constellation themes postulated by Stern (life/growth, primary relatedness, supporting matrix, and identity reorganization). The participants of the study were 257 pregnant women, who were administered a set of instruments including the MCI, an information form, the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y) e the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Results: The MCI showed good psychometric properties in terms of reliability and validity. The four extracted factors showed a suitable structure matching conceptually the four motherhood constellation themes. All of the scales correlated with the mater nal-fetal attachment, and, apart from primary relatedness, with state/trait anxiety and depression. Moreover, the regression analyses indicate that the MCI as a whole is more predictive of anxiety and depression than MFAS. Conclusion: This study emphasized the importance of the concept of motherhood constellation in assessing and understanding the fears and concerns that emerged during pregnancy. In this regard, the MCI represents a useful and practical instrument for screening and preventing dysfunctional representations in pregnancy and early disorders of the mother-infant relationship.

Autore Pugliese

• Bosco Andrea

Tutti gli autori

• BOSCO A.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Non Disponibile

Anno di pubblicazione

2011

ISSN

1594-5146

ISBN

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Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

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Numero di citazioni Scopus

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Settori ERC

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Codici ASJC

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