L. Kaij

Offspring of women with nonorganic psychoses. Development of a longitudinal study of children at high risk.

ABSTRACT– This article describes the development of a prospective, longitudinal study of 88 “high‐risk” offspring of pregnant index women with a history of nonorganic psychoses and 104 offspring of demographically‐similar pregnant control women. The maternal psychoses represented the diagnostic categories, Schizophrenia, Cycloid Psychosis, Affective Illness, Psychogenic Psychosis, Postpartum Psychosis and Other (remaining) Psychoses. The first phase of the study began during pregnancy and continued until the offspring reached 2 years of age. Selected characteristics of the mothers, the offspring and their environments were investigated during this project phase.

Offspring of women with nonorganic psychosis: mother‐infant interaction at three days of age

ABSTRACT– Mother‐infant interaction during a feeding was studied at about 3 days of age in 51 index mother‐infant pairs in which the mother had a history of nonorganic psychosis and in. 73 demographically similar control pairs. Interaction was significantly more negative and deviant in index than control cases, index mothers establishing a significantly more negative emotional climaie and less harmony in feeding, evidencing more tension and uncertainty, and showing less social contact toward the infant. Index infants showed significantly less social contact toward the mother and index pairs less reciprocal visual contact than did controls. While the Schizophrenic, Cycloid and Nonendogenous Psychoses groups each differed from their matched controls on a number of variables, the Affective group was not in any way more negative than its controls on interaction.

Offspring of women with nonorganic psychosis: infant attachment to the mother at one year of age

ABSTRACT– Attachment to the mother at 1 year of age was studied in 46 “high‐risk” offspring of index mothers with a history of non‐organic psychosis and in 80 demographically similar control offspring. Attachment was measured in the home in a standardized manner by a modified version of Ainsworths Strange Situation procedure. Three different patterns, representing “secure attachment” (Type B), “anxiously avoidant attachment” (Type A) and “anxiously ambivalent attachment” (Type C), were defined. While no significant difference on attachment type was found between the total index versus control group, a significantly increased rate of anxious attachment (A + C) was found for offspring of schizophrenics but no other diagnostic group. Attachment type was unrelated to index mothers’ psychiatric hospitalization, psychotic status and known mental disturbance during the infants’ first year of life, as well as to the infants’ sex.

Women with nonorganic psychosis: mental disturbance during pregnancy

ABSTRACT– Rates of menial disturbance during pregnancy were studied in 88 index women with a history of nonorganic psychosis and 104 demographically similar control women. The sources of information were [he womans own report at interview during pregnancy, the interviewers assessment and, for index cases, psychiatric record notations relevant to the pregnancy period. Highly significantly increased rates of active mental disturbance were identified for index women, as compared with controls, based both on the womans own report and on the interviewers assessment. Most disturbed were women with a history of Schizophrenia, Cycloid, Posipanum and Other Psychoses, and only those index women with a history of Affective Illness did not differ from controls. Only one third of the index cases were in contact with a psychiatrist during pregnancy, and high rates of active mental disturbance were identified at interview even in those index women without psychiatric contact.

Women with nonorganic psychosis: pregnancy's effect on mental health during pregnancy

ABSTRACT– The effect of pregnancy on womens mental health during pregnancy was studied by interview with 88 pregnant index cases with a history of nonorganic psychosis and 104 demographically similar pregnant controls, and by psychiatric records for the sub‐sample of index cases with relevant information. Controls generally reported experiencing no change or only a slight worsening of mental health due to pregnancy, while index differentially reported improved or considerably worsened health. In total, worsening was more common than improvement in the index cases, and especially in those with a history of Schizophrenic, Psychogenic, Postparium and Other Psychoses. Psychiatric record information suggested predominantly more improvement in the subsample with information, but this bore little systematic relation to the same womens reports at interview dining pregnancy.

Pregnant women with nonorganic psychosis: life situation and experience of pregnancy

Eighty‐eight index women with a history of nonorganic psychosis and 104 demographically similar control women were interviewed during pregnancy after quickening concerning their experience of pregnancy and their current life situation. The index group, compared with controls, reported a significantly increased frequecy of material‐situational problems, interpersonal difficulties and a lack of support for the pregnancy among the spouse and the womans parents, an initially unplanned and undesired pregnancy, a negative attitude toward the pregnancy after quickening, moderate‐to‐heavy smoking, nervousness and anxiety, panic about the delivery, and great concern about their own mental health in the near future. No significant difference between groups was found on frequency of typical pregnancy symptoms, the experienced effect of pregnancy on physical health or concerns about the childs health or mothering.

Offspring of women with nonorganic psychosis: mother‐infant interaction at three and six weeks of age

Abstract Mother‐infant interaction during feeding and in an unstructured play situation was studied in the home at 3 weeks and 6 weeks of age in index mother‐infant pairs in which the mother had a history of non‐organic psychosis (n = 42 and 51 at 3 and 6 weeks, respectively) and in demographically similar control pairs (n ‐ 60 and 78J. At both ages, interaction was significantly more negative in index than control cases, index mothers showing increased tension and a lack of harmony, decreased social contact, and reduced sensitivity to the infants needs. Fewer significant differences were found between index and control infants. Mothers in the Schizophrenic, Cycloid and Nonendogenous groups evidenced more negative interaction characteristics than did their matched controls, but the Affective group was not in any way more negative than its controls.

Offspring of women with nonorganic psychosis: mother‐infant interaction at three‐and‐a‐half and six months of age

ABSTRACT Mother‐infant interaction during feeding and in an unstructured play situation was studied in the home at 3.5 and 6 months of age in index mother‐infant pairs in which the mother had a history of nonorganic psychosis (n= 48 and 52 at 3.5 and 6 months, respectively) and in demo‐graphically similar control pairs (n ‐ 80 and 79). Interaction was significantly more negative in index than control cases at both ages, index cases showing decreased maternal and infant social contact and reduced maternal sensitivity to the infants needs. Schizophrenic and Cycloid groups evidenced more negative interaction characteristics than did their matched controls, while the Affective group was not generally more negative than its controls.

REPRODUCTION IN FEMALE PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS: SEVERITY OF MENTAL DISTURBANCE NEAR REPRODUCTION AND RATES OF OBSTETRIC COMPLICATIONS

The relationship was studied between degree of active maternal mental disturbance near reproduction and the total number of obstetric complications during 169 reproductions for 99 female psychiatric patients. The primary source of information on active mental disturbance was the psychiatric records of the patients. Degree of disturbance was rated on a seven‐point general psychopathology scale, both for the 10 months prior to delivery and for the first 10 months postpartum. Degree of active maternal mental disturbance during pregnancy was unrelated to total number of obstetric complications. Degree of active maternal mental disturbance postpartum was slightly negatively related to total number of obstetric complications. The current data did not support the psychosomatic hypothesis of a relationship between maternal mental disturbance and somatic complications, nor did the data support the hypothesis that obstetric complications are the intermediating link between severity of psychiatric disturbance in mothers and increased risk for disturbance in their offspring.

Offspring of women with nonorganic psychosis: fear of strangers during the first year of life

ABSTRACT– Fear of strangers (FOS) during the infants first year was studied in 46 “high‐risk” offspring of index mothers with a history of nonorganic psychosis and in 80 demographically similar control offspring. FOS was measured in the home by a standardized test at 1 year of age and by repeated interviews with the mother during the first year. As compared with controls, the total index group, and the subgroups of offspring of mothers with Schizophrenia and Cycloid Psychosis, significantly more often showed a total absence of FOS in the test at 1 year, as well as during the entire first year. FOS at 1 year was unrelated both to serious active psychiatric disturbance in index mothers during the infants first year of life, and the infants sex, in index and control groups.