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Psychological Impact of Stress- and Trauma-Related Events in Early Years of Parenthood

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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Interests: perinatal psychopathology; prematurity; parental affective states; early dyadic interactions; infants' development; parenthood; pictorial humanization; outdoor education; process-outcome research
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, there has been increasing focus on the psychological impact of stressful and traumatic experiences in early years of parenthood (that is, neonatal period, early and second childhood). This was, for example, seen in the proliferation of empirical findings on the negative consequences for parent mental health, with implications for the quality of early relationships and child development. However, research on psychological reactions to stress- and trauma-related experiences has mainly focused on one parent, usually mothers, and within a dyadic perspective.

More recently, the investigation of the perspectives of the partner, as well as of the exploration of the wider family relationships have received increasing interest among researchers, highlighting the opportunity to learn, on the one hand, how the family context affects the psychological impact of a negative events and, on the other hand, how stress- and trauma-related experiences may affect the entire family system.

Deeping knowledge on this field within a systemic perspective might help to identify risk and protective factors within the family context useful to promote therapeutic interventions for reducing the risk of chronic and pervasive negative outcomes at individual, dyadic, as well as at family level.

Manuscripts addressing the following topics will be especially welcomed: the psychological impact of stressful and traumatic experiences on one or both parents’ and family mental health; the reciprocal influences or the associations between family members’ psychological functioning after a stressful or traumatic event; the impact of one or both parents’ mental health on other relevant outcomes, such as family relationships, and different aspects of child development, and vice versa.

Furthermore, empirical studies considering the role of risk and protective factors within the family system useful for implementing therapeutic interventions for preventing or reducing the risk of chronic and pervasive negative outcomes at individual, dyadic, and family level are of special interest for submission to this issue.

Authors are encouraged to prepare a short abstract to be sent to the Guest Editor in advance to assess the pertinence of their proposal.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Behavioral Sciences.

Dr. Federica Genova
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • stress-related events
  • trauma-related events
  • psychological adjustment
  • parenthood
  • first years of life

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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25 pages, 954 KiB  
Systematic Review
Parental Postnatal Depression in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Its Effects on the Parent–Child Relationship and the Child’s Developmental Outcomes
by Genova Federica, Tambelli Renata and Eleonora Marzilli
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2018; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032018 - 21 Jan 2023
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4437
Abstract
The international literature has shown that maternal and paternal postnatal depression (PND) is one of the most common mental illnesses in the perinatal period, with significant consequences for parent–infant relationships and infant development. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the rates of prevalence of [...] Read more.
The international literature has shown that maternal and paternal postnatal depression (PND) is one of the most common mental illnesses in the perinatal period, with significant consequences for parent–infant relationships and infant development. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the rates of prevalence of PND, exacerbating the mental health risk for new families. This systematic review aims to examine the effect of maternal and paternal PND on parent–infant relationships and children’s development in the first 36 months after childbirth during the COVID-19 outbreak. Eligible studies were identified using the following databases: Medline, CINAHL, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. Of the 1252 studies considered, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Results showed that maternal PND significantly affected the quality of the early mother–infant relationship and the infant’s motor, self-regulation, and socio-emotional development. In addition, the detrimental impact of maternal PND on the quality of early mother–infant relationships seems to become stronger as COVID-19 concerns increase. No studies included fathers. These findings strengthened the importance of planning targeted prevention and treatment strategies to prevent PND and its short- and long-term consequences, especially in the case of stressful and traumatic events. They also suggested the urgent need for further exploration of fathers. Full article
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