Volume 31, Issue 1 (3-2024)
RJMS 2024, 31(1): 1-15 |
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Research code: 01
Ethics code: IR.IAU.M.REC.1402.008
Clinical trials code: 01
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Manzari Tavakoli F, Barzegar M, Baghooli H. Prediction of Attachment Safety and Maternal Self-Concept Based on Maternal Representations before Birth in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Shiraz City. RJMS 2024; 31 (1) :1-15
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8651-en.html
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8651-en.html
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Morovdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Morovdasht, Iran , Mbarzegar55@gmail.com
Abstract: (116 Views)
Background & Aims: Parents of children with autism suffer more problems than parents of normal children and even than parents of children with other developmental disorders. Perhaps the most important problem for mothers with autism is the disruption of maternal imaginations and dreams or maternal representations during pregnancy. Maternal representations refer to a process in which the mother has emotional, emotional experiences and a mutual relationship with her fetus and expands the maternal identity for herself. Attachment between mother and fetus is the first and most important relationship that is related to the way and quality of mother-child communication. There is evidence of the development of attachment between mother and fetus during pregnancy, which is reflected in mothers' behaviors. A mother who becomes attached to her fetus during pregnancy is ready to establish a pleasant relationship with the baby after delivery and allow him to develop a safe and healthy attachment. Some evidence shows that the emergence of the mother's attachment to the fetus is a predictor of the mother's attitude and performance after childbirth, the mother's interaction with the infant, and attachment patterns after the birth of the child. Considering the effect of the child's characteristics and the context of care in each stage of development of children with autism disorder, to achieve a specific path, it is necessary to explain the changes in the representation of mothers with autism disorder. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to develop a structural model of attachment safety and maternal self-concept based on maternal representations before birth in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder in Shiraz city in 2022.
Methods: The descriptive study method was based on the structural equation modeling method, and its statistical population included all mothers with children on the autism spectrum who enrolled their children in exceptional schools and also had a case in the Autism Association of Shiraz. Their number was 987 in 1401. Using available sampling method, 360 mothers of affected children were selected who were willing to participate in the research. The research tools included the Middle Attachment Relationships Questionnaire (KCAQ) - Children's Attachment in the Middle Period by Halpern and Kapenberg (2006), Self-Concept Questionnaire (1983), and Carnelly's Mother-Fetus Attachment Behavior Questionnaire (1981). Data were analyzed using structural equation method and AMOS software.
Results: The results showed that there is a significant and increasing (direct) relationship between acceptance of the mother's role, accessibility, differentiation between self and fetus, and self-sacrifice with attachment safety. In other words, it can be said that the improvement and increase in the mentioned variables lead to an increase in attachment safety in mothers of children with autism disorder. There is a meaningful and increasing (direct) relationship between accepting the role of the mother, attributing characteristics to the fetus, distinguishing between self and fetus, and self-sacrifice with maternal self-concept. The results of the structural model in Table 6 indicate that acceptance of the maternal, accessibility, differentiation between self and fetus and selflessness have a significant and incremental (direct) relationship with attachment security. In other words, it can be said that the improvement and increase in the mentioned variables lead to an increase in attachment safety in mothers of children with autism. According to the path coefficients and based on the coefficient of determination index (R2), 3, 7, 2, and 9 percent of the changes in attachment safety are explained by acceptance of the maternal role, interaction with the fetus, differentiation between self and fetus, and self-sacrifice. Also, the intensity of the relationship between self-sacrifice and the safety of attachment was higher than in other relationships investigated. The results of the model in Figure 4 showed that there was no statistically significant relationship between attributing characteristics to the fetus and safety of attachment in the studied population (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The structural model of attachment safety and maternal self-concept based on maternal representations before birth in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder had a favorable level of adaptation. This breakthrough may be very challenging. The formation and consolidation of new skills such as expressing emotions, mutual interactions, regulating behaviors, and internalizing the mental representation of the caregiver's availability requires a new level of flexibility in the mother; Especially the mother of autistic children. A noteworthy point in the mothers investigated in this research, who had an autistic child, this caused a change in the mother's feedback about the relationship with the child, increased anxiety in coping with his needs, and created challenges in the daily interaction between the child and the caregiver; A problem that may lead to a change in the behavior based on the mother's sensitivity and consequently to the transformation of the child's internal working model. In fact, in this example, it is not the unsafe working models of the mother herself that is the main factor affecting the representation and sensitivity of the child, but rather the inconsistency and stability in the care system and, as a result, the desire for insecurity in children due to the inability of the caregiver. Accompanying the developmental characteristics of the child, accepting them, and aligning the current representations and caring behavior with these characteristics.
Methods: The descriptive study method was based on the structural equation modeling method, and its statistical population included all mothers with children on the autism spectrum who enrolled their children in exceptional schools and also had a case in the Autism Association of Shiraz. Their number was 987 in 1401. Using available sampling method, 360 mothers of affected children were selected who were willing to participate in the research. The research tools included the Middle Attachment Relationships Questionnaire (KCAQ) - Children's Attachment in the Middle Period by Halpern and Kapenberg (2006), Self-Concept Questionnaire (1983), and Carnelly's Mother-Fetus Attachment Behavior Questionnaire (1981). Data were analyzed using structural equation method and AMOS software.
Results: The results showed that there is a significant and increasing (direct) relationship between acceptance of the mother's role, accessibility, differentiation between self and fetus, and self-sacrifice with attachment safety. In other words, it can be said that the improvement and increase in the mentioned variables lead to an increase in attachment safety in mothers of children with autism disorder. There is a meaningful and increasing (direct) relationship between accepting the role of the mother, attributing characteristics to the fetus, distinguishing between self and fetus, and self-sacrifice with maternal self-concept. The results of the structural model in Table 6 indicate that acceptance of the maternal, accessibility, differentiation between self and fetus and selflessness have a significant and incremental (direct) relationship with attachment security. In other words, it can be said that the improvement and increase in the mentioned variables lead to an increase in attachment safety in mothers of children with autism. According to the path coefficients and based on the coefficient of determination index (R2), 3, 7, 2, and 9 percent of the changes in attachment safety are explained by acceptance of the maternal role, interaction with the fetus, differentiation between self and fetus, and self-sacrifice. Also, the intensity of the relationship between self-sacrifice and the safety of attachment was higher than in other relationships investigated. The results of the model in Figure 4 showed that there was no statistically significant relationship between attributing characteristics to the fetus and safety of attachment in the studied population (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The structural model of attachment safety and maternal self-concept based on maternal representations before birth in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder had a favorable level of adaptation. This breakthrough may be very challenging. The formation and consolidation of new skills such as expressing emotions, mutual interactions, regulating behaviors, and internalizing the mental representation of the caregiver's availability requires a new level of flexibility in the mother; Especially the mother of autistic children. A noteworthy point in the mothers investigated in this research, who had an autistic child, this caused a change in the mother's feedback about the relationship with the child, increased anxiety in coping with his needs, and created challenges in the daily interaction between the child and the caregiver; A problem that may lead to a change in the behavior based on the mother's sensitivity and consequently to the transformation of the child's internal working model. In fact, in this example, it is not the unsafe working models of the mother herself that is the main factor affecting the representation and sensitivity of the child, but rather the inconsistency and stability in the care system and, as a result, the desire for insecurity in children due to the inability of the caregiver. Accompanying the developmental characteristics of the child, accepting them, and aligning the current representations and caring behavior with these characteristics.
Keywords: Attachment Safety, Maternal Self-Concept, Prenatal Maternal Representations, Autism Spectrum
Disorder
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Clinical Psychiatry
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