Father-Infant Attachment Related Psychosocial Factors in Father with Preterm Infant
Date Issued
2012
Date
2012
Author(s)
Chien, Su-Hui
Abstract
Background and Purposes:
The survival of preterm infants increased remarkably with the advancement of medical science and technology. Fathers played the key role for those preterm infants who lived in neonatal intensive care unit during the first month after birth. This study aimed to explore the correlation between father’s personality characteristic, psychosocial factors and father- infant attachment while facing this stressful event, and to analyze the factors that affect father-infant attachment.
Methods:
A longitudinal design was conducted, and data were collected by a structured- questionnaire repeated measurement in two times when the preterm infant admitted to neonatal intensive care unit after delivery in the first week and first month. A total of 50 eligible subjects, fathers, was selected by the purposive sampling from the neonatal intensive care unit of two medical canters in north Taiwan during June 2010 to July 2011. The total valid sample size was 37 with a response rate of 74%.
Measurement:
The data were collected by the structured questionnaires and chart review. The questionnaires include (1). the demographic information, Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ-12) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ); (2). the psychological status including Parent’s Perception of Uncertainty in Illness (PPUS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CED-S); and (3). the Father-Infant Attachment Inventory. The data were analysed by the Software SPSS 17.0.
Results:
The subjects aged from 21 to 52 (M = 35.06, SD = 5.24), the majority educational level in college (42%) and nearly 80% personality characteristic are introversion-extroversion. Most of preterm infants were female and the average gestation age were 29 weeks more 6 days, the average birth weight were 1238.3 gm, the average of Neonatal Therapeutic Intervention Scoring were 16.44.
There were significant differences between the religion of father and uncertainty of illness and status of anxiety in the first month (F=3.54, p<0.05; F=4.95, p<0.05). The personality characteristics of father were significantly different to the uncertainty of illness and status of anxiety in the first week (t=2.10, p<0.05; t=3.29, p<0.05), and there were also significant differences between the status of anxiety and depression in the first month (t=2.55, p<0.05; t=2.25, p<0.05). Moreover the birth weight of preterm infant was significantly different to the uncertainty of illness and status of anxiety in the first week (F=3.55, p<0.05; F=3.24, p<0.05). Father’s educational background were significantly different to the father-infant attachment in the first month (F=3.85, p<0.05), and the gestational age and Neonatal Therapeutic Intervention Scoring Scale were the significant factors related to the father-infant attachment in the first week (t=2.42, p<0.05; F=3.45, p<0.05) and in the first month (t=2.08, p<0.05; F=2.66, p<0.05).
The score of uncertainty of illness and anxiety of preterm fathers were decreased, the uncertainty of illness were significantly changed (t=4.09, p<0.001) and attachment were significantly increased during the first month (t=-8.30, p<0.001). The uncertainty of illness significantly negative correlated to the father-infant attachment (γ= -0.39, p<0.05). The fathers’ extroversion of personality characteristic were significantly positive correlated to the father-infant attachment in different times during one month (γ=0.28, p<0.05; γ=0.38,p<0.05). Participants who had more extroversion of personality characteristic were provided a better father-infant attachment. There was significantly positive correlation between anxiety and uncertainty of illness in both the first week (γ=0.51, p<0.01) and the first month (γ=0.33, p<0.05); and the score of anxiety also was significantly positive correlated to the depression in the different two times (γ=0.67, p<0.01; γ=0.70, p<0.01).
The predictors of father-infant attachment in both the first week and the first month were the extroversion of personality characteristic and the level of Neonatal Therapeutic Intervention Scoring (F=0.51, p<0.001; F=0.33, p<0.001).
Conclusions and applications in nursing:
The findings indicate that the condition of preterm infant and the uncertainty of illness deeply influence these preterm fathers, even to determine the father-infant attachment in the first month. Clinical health providers should involve the preterm fathers into the “Family centered care” and provide related information to help them have better adaptation and attachment during the first month of their pretem infants staying in the NICU.
Subjects
preterm infant father
father- infant attachment
psychosocial factors
personality characteristic.
Type
thesis
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