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Measurement of mother–infant interactions and the home environment in a European setting: preliminary results from a cross-cultural study

Department of Psychology, University of Reading

Sue Conroy, MSc

Section of Perinatal Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK

Vania Valoriani, PhD

Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Italy

Barbara Figueiredo, PhD

Department of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

Martin H. Kammerer, Dr med

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Maria Muzik, MD

Department of Psychiatry Medical Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Elisabeth Glatigny-Dallay, MSc

University Department of Psychiatry, Centre Hospitalier Charles Perrens, Bordeaux, France

Lynne Murray, PhD

Department of Psychology, University of Reading, UK

TCS–PND Group^*

Correspondence: Sue Conroy, PO71, Section of Perinatal Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. E-mail: s.conroy{at}iop.kcl.ac.uk

Declaration of interest None.

^* TCS–PND Group membership and funding detailed in Acknowledgements, p. iv, this supplement.

Background Infant development is adversely affected in the context of postnatal depression. This relationship may be mediated by both the nature of early mother–infant interactions and the quality of the home environment.

Aim To establish the usefulness of the Global Ratings Scales of Mother–Infant Interaction and the Infant–Toddler version of the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (IT–HOME), and to test expected associations of the measures with characteristics of the social context and with major or minor depression.

Method Both assessments were administered postnatally in four European centres; 144 mothers were assessed with the Global Ratings Scales and 114 with the IT–HOME. Affective disorder was assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–IV Disorders.

Results Analyses of mother–infant interaction indicated no main effect for depression but maternal sensitivity to infant behaviour was associated with better infant communication, especially for women who were not depressed. Poor overall emotional support also reduced sensitivity scores. Poor support was also related to poorer IT–HOME scores, but there was no effect of depression.

Conclusions The Global Ratings Scales were effectively applied but there was less evidence of the usefulness of the IT–HOME.