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Maternal-Fetal Attachment: Does it predict parenting outcomes?
Title
Maternal-Fetal Attachment: Does it predict parenting outcomes?
Creator
Desai, Shivani S.
Date
2018
Description
Maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) predicts critical aspects of the caregiver-child relationship, including parental sensitivity and engagement....
Show moreMaternal-fetal attachment (MFA) predicts critical aspects of the caregiver-child relationship, including parental sensitivity and engagement. However, little is known about the relation between MFA and specific parenting beliefs and attitudes that contribute to these positive parenting behaviors, such as parenting sense of competence and parenting stress. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine if MFA predicts specific domains of parenting sense of competence and parenting stress when children are two years of age. Participants included 53 mainly Caucasian women with a mean age of 33.9 years. MFA was assessed during pregnancy (mean gestational age = 27.02 weeks) using the Maternal Fetal Attachment Questionnaire. Parenting sense of competence and stress were assessed when the children were 2 years of age with the Parenting Sense of Competence questionnaire and the Parenting Stress Index questionnaire. Results of regression analyses indicated that higher levels of MFA significantly predicted higher levels of parenting satisfaction, a domain of parenting sense of competence. They also indicated that higher levels of MFA predicted lower levels of two domains of parenting stress, including stress associated with attachment and role restriction. These findings suggest that prenatal attachment is important to assess during pregnancy, as it may predict future parenting beliefs and attitudes, including sense of competence and stress.
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SPECIFICITY OF DEFICITS IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN YOUTH WITH NONVERBAL LEARNING DISABILITY, ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER AND READING DISORDER
Title
SPECIFICITY OF DEFICITS IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN YOUTH WITH NONVERBAL LEARNING DISABILITY, ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER AND READING DISORDER
Creator
McCue, Kimberly Ann
Date
2021
Description
Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD) has been the focus of four decades of neuropsychological research. However, it has yet to be included as a...
Show moreNonverbal Learning Disability (NLD) has been the focus of four decades of neuropsychological research. However, it has yet to be included as a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e., currently in its fifth edition, DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Many of the characteristics associated with Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD) are similar to those found in other more established disorders such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Recent research in neuropsychology and other fields has contributed to a greater understanding of the cognitive profiles of NLD, ADHD, and Reading Disorder (RD). However, the neurological underpinnings of deficits in executive functioning specific to NLD versus ADHD and RD have yet to be fully elucidated. Ongoing research has failed to distinguish NLD from other childhood disorders, including ADHD, based on specific structural or functional neurological deficits. The current study examined the specificity of deficits in executive functioning in youth with nonverbal learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and reading disorder. In addition, the study examined the degree to which the Rey Complex Figure Test subscales and Processing Speed Index (PSI) and Working Memory Index (WMI) scores (WISC-IV or WISC-III) could discriminate between the NLD group from ADHD and RD groups. Data for the present study were collected from a population served by the Pediatric Neuropsychological Service at The University of Chicago Medicine. Children who had been referred for neuropsychological assessment and whose comprehensive battery included a WISC measure (WISC-III or WISC-IV) and RCFT measurements were included. All data were archival, i.e., gleaned from the Service database; data from 202 participants was retrieved, including youth who underwent neuropsychological evaluation between 2003 and 2016. The present study hypothesized differences between NLD, ADHD, and RD diagnostic groups on visuo-spatial planning/organization, visuo-spatial working memory, long-term visuo-spatial recall, visuo-spatial recognition, verbal working memory, and processing speed. In summary, of the six executive function domains examined, two domains showed significant underperformance for the NLD group, two domains showed a non-significant trend of underperformance for the NLD group and two domains did not show significant differences between diagnostic groups.
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