Coparenting Alleviated the Effect of Psychological Distress on Parental Psychological Flexibility

Coparenting: Associations with parents' psychological distress and children's food approach behavior

Parents' psychological distress has been associated with their children's obesogenic eating yet less is known about how coparenting moderates this relationship. The aim of the current research was 1) to examine how coparenting (general and feeding) moderates the associations between parents' psychological distress and children's food approach behavior after accounting for parents' coercive control food parenting and 2) to examine whether feeding coparenting interacted with psychological distress to predict children's food approach behavior above and beyond general coparenting. Parents (n = 216; Mage = 36.28 years, SD = 6.12) of 3- to 5- year old children completed an online survey. Analyses revealed that undermining coparenting and feeding coparenting (but not supportive coparenting) moderated the association between parents' psychological distress and children's food approach behavior. Additionally, analyses revealed that feeding coparenting interacted with psychological distress to predict children's food approach behavior above and beyond general coparenting. These findings suggest that less optimal coparenting relationships, particularly feeding coparenting, may exacerbate the influence of parents' psychological distress on obesogenic eating behaviors in children.

Mother-infant bonding in the first nine months postpartum: the role of mother's attachment style and psychological flexibility

INTRODUCTION

Mother's bond to the infant in the postpartum period plays an important role in the subsequent mother-infant relationship and the infant's socio-emotional functioning. Several maternal characteristics, such as attachment style and psychological flexibility, may contribute to the quality of mother-infant bonding, though literature examining these variables is still scarce. The present study aimed to examine the impact of mother's attachment on mother-infant bonding in the first month postpartum and the mediating role of psychological flexibility on that association.

METHODS

Participants were 226 mothers of an infant up to 9 months old, who reported on their own attachment style (in terms of anxiety, comfort with proximity, trust in others), psychological flexibility (in terms of openness to experience, behavioural awareness, valued action) and mother-infant bonding.

RESULTS

Results showed that mother's attachment anxiety predicted a bond with the infant directly and indirectly via mother's psychological flexibility, specifically through behavioural awareness and valued action. Trust in others had an impact on mother-infant bonding through behavioural awareness, whereas comfort with proximity influenced mother-infant bond indirectly, via valued action. Finally, mothers' civil status, schooling and number of children were relevant to better understand the variance of our mediating and dependent variables.

DISCUSSION

Our findings highlight the importance of mother's attachment and psychological flexibility in promoting the quality of mother-infant bonding, which can inform future intervention programmes targeting modifiable factors, such as psychological flexibility, to promote early positive parent-infant relationships, particularly for single, first-time mothers, with higher levels of education.

Stigma and Quality of Life in Women With Breast Cancer: Mediation and Moderation Model of Social Support, Sense of Coherence, and Coping Strategies

Objectives

The breast cancer stigma affects Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), while general resilience resources (GRRs), namely, sense of coherence (SOC), social support, and coping skills, are thought to alleviate this effect. The study aimed to explore the mediating/moderation role of GRRs in the relationship between stigma and HRQoL and its dimensions in Iranian patients with breast cancer.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness 8-item version (SSCI-8), SOC-13, Medical Outcome Survey- Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS), Brief COPE, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) were investigated in a convenience sample of Iranian women with confirmed non-metastatic breast cancer. Following the establishment of correlations using Pearson's correlation, single and parallel mediation analysis and moderation analysis were conducted to determine the extent to which each GRR might be impacted by stigma or decrease the adverse impact of stigma on HRQoL.

Results

An analysis of 221 women (response rate of 87.5%) with the mean age of 47.14 (9.13) showed that stigma was negatively correlated to all HRQoL's dimensions (r = -0.27∼0.51, p < 0.05), SOC (r = -0.26∼0.35, p < 0.01), social support (r = -0.23∼0.30, p < 0.01), and the bulk of coping skills. In the single mediation analysis, stigma affected all facets of SOC, all subscales of social support, and positive reframing, which partially reduced breast cancer HRQoL. Stigma affects general HRQoL through damaging meaningfulness, social support (except for tangible), and positive reframing. Meaningfulness was marked as the most impacted GRR in terms of all domains of HRQoL. In parallel mediation, reduced meaningfulness, total social support, and positive reframing were highlighted as the pathways of diminished breast cancer HRQoL. Moderation analysis indicated the higher levels of humor, behavioral disengagement, and use of instrumental support behaviors to be functional in protecting different dimensions of HRQoL, while the results were mixed for venting, especially in patients with mastectomy surgery.

Conclusion

While GRRs may be impacted by stigma, they exert a relatively small protective effect against the impact of stigma on HRQoL. This study provides some novel findings, but longitudinal studies are needed to further verify these before any causal conclusion or recommendations for health policy can be drawn.

Thwarted Belongingness Hindered Successful Aging in Chinese Older Adults: Roles of Positive Mental Health and Meaning in Life

Aging of population has brought great challenges to many regions throughout the world. It has been demonstrated that interpersonal relationship is closely related to the experiences of aging for older adults. However, it still remains unknown how and under what conditions thwarted belongingness links to successful aging. This study examined the relationship between thwarted belongingness and successful aging and tested the mediating role of positive mental health and the moderating role of meaning in life. Community-dwelling older adults (n = 339) aged 60-75 years recruited in Chongqing, China completed self-measures of thwarted belongingness, successful aging, meaning in life, and positive mental health. Correlation analyses showed that successful aging was associated with less thwarted belongingness, better positive mental health, and higher levels of meaning in life. Positive mental health was found to totally mediate the negative effect of thwarted belongingness on successful aging. Moderated mediation analyses further revealed that two components of meaning in life (present of meaning and search for meaning) attenuated the indirect effect of thwarted belongingness on successful aging via positive mental health. This study highlights the protective roles of positive mental health and meaning in life and addressed cultural aspects in the process of successful aging among Chinese older adults.