Prenatal Reflective Functioning as a Predictor of Substance-Using Mothers' Treatment Outcome: Comparing Results From Two Different RF Measures.

Mothers with prenatal substance use disorder (SUD) often show broad deficits in their reflective functioning (RF), implying severe risk for the relationship with their baby. Two different types of prenatal maternal RF may be important for parenting: adult attachment-focused-RF (AAI-RF), regarding parent's own childhood experiences, and parenting-focused RF (PRF) regarding their own current process of becoming a parent. However, their inter-relations and potentially different roles for parenting intervention outcomes are not clear.

Attachment representations among substance-abusing women in transition to motherhood: implications for prenatal emotions and mother-infant interaction.

We studied how attachment representations contribute to central components of transition to motherhood, prenatal emotion processing (EP) and emotional availability (EA) of mother-infant interaction, and whether there are group specific differences. Participants were 51 treatment-enrolled substance-abusing (SA) mothers and their infants and 50 non-using comparison dyads with obstetric risk. Mother's attachment representations (AAI) and EP were assessed prenatally and EA when infants were four months.

Psychotherapy groups and individual support to enhance mental health and early dyadic interaction among drug-abusing mothers.

The purpose of this controlled study was to examine the outcome of psychodynamic mother-infant group psychotherapy (PGT) outpatient intervention for drug-abusing perinatal mother-infant dyads. PGT comprised 20 to 24 weekly 3-hr sessions with 3 to 5 months of follow-up. A comparison intervention group was formed of mothers participating in individually tailored psychosocial support (PSS) lasting, on average, 12 months and providing mother-infant support and practical counseling.

Intercepting the intergenerational cycle of maternal trauma and loss through mother-infant psychotherapy: a case study using attachment-derived methods.

Some mothers who have recently lost a significant attachment figure may become mentally incoherent and sporadically even enter a trancelike, dissociative state. Such states of mind have been shown to predict infant attachment disorganization. Infants born close to the time of a parental loss are at a greater risk for intergenerational trauma.

Maternal representations and emotional availability among drug-abusing and nonusing mothers and their infants.

Both negative and idealized maternal prenatal representations may constitute a risk for mother-infant interaction. This study analyzed the role of maternal prenatal representations and pre- to postnatal representational change in predicting mother-infant emotional availability (EA) among 51 drug-abusing mothers and their infants who participated in either psychodynamic group therapy (PGT) or received psychosocial support (PSS) and among 50 nonusing comparison dyads. Maternal representations of her child, the child's father, her own mother, self-as-mother, and self-as-woman were measured during pregnancy and at 4 and 12 months' postpartum with the Interview of Maternal Representations (M.