Abstract
Objective: The current study examined the contribution of prenatal and postnatal maternal core beliefs, self-esteem, psychopathologic symptoms, and postnatal infant temperament to the prediction of infant feeding difficulties. Method: Ninety-nine women completed questionnaires assessing their core beliefs, psychopathology, and self-esteem during pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum. At 6 months, mothers also rated their infant's temperament and feeding, and were observed feeding their infants. Results: Maternal reports of child feeding difficulties were predicted by higher levels of emotional deprivation and entitlement core beliefs and lower levels of self-sacrifice and enmeshment core beliefs during pregnancy. Postnatal social isolation core beliefs, lower maternal self-esteem, and more difficult infant temperament added significantly to the variance explained by prenatal factors. Maternal core beliefs, self-esteem, psychopathology, and infant temperament failed to significantly predict independent observations of child food refusal. Conclusion: Maternal cognitions are implicated in the development of maternal reports of feeding difficulty.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 128-134 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | International Journal of Eating Disorders |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 17 Oct 2005 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2006 |
Keywords
- Infants temperament
- maternal cognitions
- feeding difficulties
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Food Science
- Psychology(all)
- Clinical Psychology