Parental Representation of Children during the First Year of Life: A Longitudinal Comparison of Mothers' and Fathers' Responses on Semantic Differential Scales

The aim of this paper was to investigate parental representation over time using a specially devised Semantic Differential Scale, developed in the context of longitudinal research, carried out during children's first two years of life. 42 parent-couples, during their first experience of parenthood were asked separately to rate the concept of “my child” in specific periods of their child's first year of life. The analysis highlighted the complexity of parental representation of babies.

Parental Representation in Suicidal Adolescents: A Controlled Study

One hundred and eighty-seven adolescents referred to outpatient and residential services in three Canadian cities were assessed for lifetime suicidal ideation and attempt, and administered the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Suicidal adolescents of both genders reported lower care and higher overprotection in relation to their mothers than non-suicidal subjects, and female subjects reported this pattern for their fathers as well. Male subjects did not show clear differentiation between groups on PBI ratings for their fathers. Mean PBI scores for female subjects indicated subjects with no suicidal ideation, those with suicidal ideation only, and those having made suicide attempts to be on a continuum, but findings for males did not. The findings extend previous reports of higher “affectionless control” in suicidal adults, but suggest that this pattern may be stronger in females than males, and that maternal Influences may be stronger than paternal influences.

Parental representation in twins discordant for schizophrenia

SynopsisParental representation was assessed with the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in 12 monozygotic (MZ) and 19 dizygotic (DZ) same-sexed twin pairs discordant for DSM-III-R schizophrenia. The schizophrenic twins reported less care and more overprotection from both parents than the non-schizophrenic co-twins. Multiple regression analysis disclosed that the results were independent of sex and age. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated that whether the twins were monozygotic or dizygotic had no impact on the results. A stepwise discriminant analysis showed that difference in perceived paternal protection was the most important variable distinguishing between schizophrenic probands and their non-schizophrenic co-twins.