1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«[T]his research addresses 3 aims. First, [the authors] will evaluate whether men and women who experienced child abuse or neglect report, during pregnancy, significantly higher levels of depressive, dissociative, and posttraumatic symptoms, as well as manifestations of personality disorders, compared with adults without childhood maltreatment. Second, [the authors] will assess whether adults exposed to childhood maltreatment report significantly lower levels of parental competence and of prenatal attachment than parents-to-be without childhood maltreatment. As [their] third aim, [the authors] will evaluate a theoretical model in which childhood maltreatment leads to poor mental health, which in turn predicts low prenatal attachment and poor perception of parental confidence.» (p. 86-87)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Adults were recruited between September 2015 and September 2018 during prenatal classes offered to the general population by a large university hospital.» (p. 87) In total, 322 participants completed all the questionnaires (251 women and 71 men).

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Results first showed that participants who experienced childhood maltreatment were more likely to report mental health problems during pregnancy than nonexposed participants. This association held for all types of childhood maltreatment and was particularly strong for emotional abuse. The higher levels of depression, posttraumatic, and dissociative symptoms observed in adults with personal histories of childhood maltreatment is congruent with previous results in high-risk and community samples of women. Interestingly, […] the type of symptoms showing the strongest association with childhood maltreatment was the severity of personality disorders.» (p. 89) «Overall, similar results were observed for men and women. Whereas women were more likely to report depression and PTSD during pregnancy, men were as likely as women to report symptoms of dissociation and clinical features of personality disorders, suggesting that psychological distress is also frequent in expectant fathers. The association between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms held for both genders, with the exception of depression, which was only associated with maternal traumas.» (p. 89)