Mothers' alexithymia, depression and anxiety levels and their association with the quality of mother-infant relationship: a preliminary study

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between mothers and their developmentally normal infants in terms of maternal alexithymia, depression and anxiety, and marital satisfaction.

Methods: Fifty children between 18 and 48 months of age, and their mothers, were referred consecutively to the Infant Mental Health Unit of Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The sociodemographic features of the families and the depressive symptoms, anxiety, marital satisfaction and alexithymia levels of the mothers were assessed. The relationships between children in normal developmental stages and their mothers were evaluated and rated using a structured clinical procedure.

Results: There was a negative correlation between the mothers' alexithymia scores and the quality of the mother-infant relationship (p < 0.05). Mothers with high alexithymia showed higher depression and lower relationship qualities than mothers with low alexithymia, according to the correlation analysis. When depression and anxiety were controlled, high alexithymia levels were predictive of a low, impaired mother-infant relationship.

Conclusion: Since alexithymia is a trait-like variable which has a negative correlation with impairment in a mother-infant relationship, it must be investigated in the assessment of mothers' interactions with their babies.

Keywords: Alexithymia; mother-child relationship; mother-infant interaction; mothers’ depression and anxiety.