Maternal History of Abuse and Maternal 'Mind-Mindedness' in a Sample of Mothers with severe mental illness treated in a mother-baby inpatient unit

摘要

The objective of this paper is to systematically review the literature that has examined maternal self-reported history of abuse in relation to an observational assessment of infantmother interaction. Electronic databases were searched and studies that met pre-defined criteria were included. A total of 13 studies (representing 12 independent samples) were included and assessed for quality using the EPHPP tool. Nine of the 13 studies (69% of reviewed articles) found a relationship between self-reported abuse and observed caregiving.Due to variation in sample characteristics and measurement the ability to compare studies is limited. Studies identified as having the highest methodological quality were most consistent, reporting an indirect effect of maternal abuse history on caregiving via parenting stress ordepressive symptoms. This review would support the notion that self-reported abuse history in the mother is a risk factor for non-optimal caregiving behaviours; however there is a need for greater understanding of what pathways are responsible for this effect. The current review discusses strengths and limitations of the existing literature and offers suggestions forfuture research.