Wilma J. Lutz

Maternal Separation Anxiety: Relations to Adult Attachment Representations in Mothers of Infants

Guided primarily by attachment theory, this longitudinal study explored how adult mental representations of attachment relationships and memories of childhood experiences with parents contributed to a mothers anxiety about separation from her own infant. The Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale, the Adult Attachment Interview, and the Mother-Father-Peer Scale were administered to a sample of 49 first-time mothers. The mothers with insecure attachment representations, when asked to remember details of their own childhood, reported more negative recollections of early parental caregiving, particularly rejection and discouragement of independence. When their own infants were 2 months old, these mothers experienced heightened levels of maternal separation anxiety. The findings provide theoretical and empirical support for the view that very high levels of maternal separation anxiety may indicate dysfunction.

Predicting children's reactions to terrorist attacks: The importance of self-reports and preexisting characteristics

Forty-eight mothers and their 11-year-old children, who were participants in a longitudinal study, were interviewed in their home after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Childrens verbatim statements were analyzed for fear, separation anxiety, denial, rationalization, anger, and empathy. In the final model, preexisting child anxiety and maternal worry significantly explained 33% of the variance in childrens self-reported fearful feelings.

Dimensions of Family Relationships Associated with Depressive Symptomatology in Mothers of Young Children

Although mothers of young children have a higher incidence of depressive symptomatology than do either women who are not mothers or men, very little is known about the psychological nature of this phenomenon. This study examines the way in which psychological dimensions of family relationships are associated with or contribute to this increased risk in married Caucasian mothers raising first-born children. The relationships between maternal depressive symptomatology and recollections of parental relationships during childhood, marital satisfaction, and maternal separation anxiety were examined. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that these three factors explained 35.5% of the variance in maternal depressive symptomatology. These results, in addition to significant zero-order correlations, are discussed in light of the existing psychological literature.

Parental emotions following the birth of the first child: gender differences in depressive symptoms.

This study addresses psychological issues that put first-time parents at risk for depressive disorders. In a community sample of 107 men and their wives, employment variables, marital quality, and personality attributes (fear of abandonment and loneliness) significantly explained 43% of the variance in mens, and almost 25% in womens, depressive symptoms. Men reported more symptoms than women. Men with heightened fear of loneliness were particularly at risk for depressive symptoms after birth of the first child.

Symptomatology and Medication Monitoring for Public Mental Health Consumers: A Cultural Perspective

BACKGROUND: With the increased focus and impetus on pharmacological interventions, psychiatric mental health nurses have become concerned about consumers’ ability to understand and monitor their symptoms and medications. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among cultural factors, stressors, moderators, medication monitoring, and psychiatric symptoms in consumers with severe mental disorders. STUDY DESIGN: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of data from a longitudinal research project conducted in Ohio. The sample was comprised of 199 consumers receiving community-based services within the public mental health system. RESULTS: Age, gender, and race were associated with indicators of medication monitoring. The model explained 51% of the variance in depression, 35% in anxiety, and 43% in psychoticism. CONCLUSION: Consumers’ culture is an important facet in the manifestation of psychiatric symptoms and the ability to monitor medications.

Factors That Influence Depressive Symptoms in Mothers of Infants An Interpersonal Perspective

This study explored the association between interpersonal factors and depressive symptoms in first-time mothers over the first two years of parenthood. An interpersonal style characterized by dependency, recollections of rejection in childhood, and current relationship characteristics was assessed in a nonclinical sample of 133 women. The final model explained 52% of the variance in depressive symptoms at 24 months. Controlling for initial symptom levels, interpersonal variables explained 24% of the outcome variance. The findings suggest that two interpersonal attributes, peer rejection in childhood and a dependent interpersonal style, are particularly important to our understanding of depressive symptomatology.