Loredana Lucarelli

Bio: Loredana Lucarelli is an academic researcher from University of Cagliari. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mental health & Psychology. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 56 publications receiving 1958 citations. Previous affiliations of Loredana Lucarelli include Sapienza University of Rome.

Parenting Stress, Mental Health, Dyadic Adjustment: A Structural Equation Model

Abstract: Objective: In the first year of the postpartum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic adjustment are important for the wellbeing of both parents and the child. However, there are few studies that analyze the relationship among these three dimensions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between parenting stress, mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms), and dyadic adjustment among first-time parents. Method: We studied 268 parents (134 couples) of healthy babies. At 12 months postpartum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the potential mediating effects of mental health on the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. Results: Results showed the full mediation effect of mental health between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. A multi-group analysis further found that the paths did not differ across mothers and fathers. Discussion: The results suggest that mental health is an important dimension that mediates the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment in the transition to parenthood.

Perinatal Parenting Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Outcomes in First-Time Mothers and Fathers: A 3- to 6-Months Postpartum Follow-Up Study.

Abstract: Objective: Although the proven link between parenting stress, postnatal depression and anxiety, no study has investigated such relationship among fathers and mothers. The specific aims of this study were: 1) to investigate whether there were any differences between first-time fathers’ and mothers’ postnatal parenting stress, anxiety and depression symptoms and to see their evolution between 3 and 6 months after the child’s birth; 2) to explore how one’s own parenting stress and anxiety levels and the anxiety-depressive symptoms of the partner contribute to parental postnatal depression. Method: The sample was composed by 362 parents – 181 couples - (mothers’ MAge = 35.03, SD = 4.7; fathers’ MAge = 37.9, SD = 5.6) of a healthy baby. At three (T1) and six months (T2) postpartum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results: Analyses showed that, compared to fathers, mothers reported higher scores on postpartum anxiety, depression and parenting stress. Scores on all measures for both mothers and fathers decreased from T1 to T2. However, path analyses suggested that the persistence of both maternal and paternal postnatal depression were influenced directly by one’s own levels of anxiety and parenting stress as well as by the presence of partner’s depression. Discussion: The study pointed out the relevant impact and effects of both maternal and paternal stress, anxiety and depression symptoms during the transition to parenthood. Therefore, in order to provide efficacious, targeted, early interventions, perinatal screening should always be directed to both parents.

Prevalence and correlates of mental disorders among adolescents in Italy: the PrISMA study

Abstract: While in the last 5 years several studies have been conducted in Italy on the prevalence of mental disorders in adults, to date no epidemiological study has been targeted on mental disorders in adolescents. A two-phase study was conducted on 3,418 participants using the child behavior checklist/6–18 (CBCL) and the development and well-being assessment (DAWBA), a structured interview with verbatim reports reviewed by clinicians. The prevalence of CBCL caseness and DSM-IV disorders was 9.8% (CI 8.8–10.8%) and 8.2% (CI 4.2–12.3%), respectively. DSM-IV Emotional disorders were more frequently observed (6.5% CI 2.2–10.8%) than externalizing disorders (1.2% CI 0.2–2.3%). In girls, prevalence estimates increased significantly with age; furthermore, living with a single parent, low level of maternal education, and low family income were associated with a higher likelihood of suffering from emotional or behavioral problems. Approximately one in ten adolescents has psychological problems. Teachers and clinicians should focus on boys and girls living with a single parent and/or in disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions.

Malnutrition and Dysfunctional Mother-Child Feeding Interactions: Clinical Assessment and Research Implications

Abstract: Objectives: To evaluate the effects of age and the presence of feeding pathologies on the relational modes during meals in a sample of mother-child pairs (n = 333), comparing groups of children in the first three years of life with normal development (ND-group, n = 211) and clinical groups of children who presented a diagnosis of feeding disorder and failure to thrive (FD-group, n = 122), and to show an association between specific symptomatic characteristics of the mother, of the child and the dysfunctional modes of their relationship during meals in a subgroup of mother-child pairs (n = 50), selected at random from the total clinical sample and paired with a control group chosen for this study.Methods: All mother-child pairs in the sample were observed in twenty-minute video-recordings during a meal, using the procedure of the Feeding Scale in the Italian version. A subgroup of mothers, selected at random from the total clinical sample, and paired with a control group, were given two self-reporting inst...

A prevention and promotion intervention program in the field of mother–infant relationship

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to analyze the efficacy of early home-visiting intervention in enhancing the quality of mother–infant interaction in psychosocial risk and depressive risk mother–infant dyads. Thirty depressive risk, 28 psychosocial risk, and 33 low-depressed and low-risk mothers were randomly distributed between the Home Visiting Program and control groups. Attachment (Adult Attachment Interview; Main & Goldwyn, 1997) and maternal representations during pregnancy (Interview of Maternal Representations During Pregnancy; Ammaniti, Candelori, Pola, & Tambelli, 1999) and after the birth of the infant (Interview of Maternal Representations After the Birth; Ammaniti et al., 1999) were evaluated as well as depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale; Radloff, 1977) during the first year. Ratings of sensitivity, interference, affective state of the mother, cooperation, and infant self-regulation during mother–infant interactions were assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months. Results showed the efficacy of the home-visiting program in improving sensitive maternal behaviors toward the child after 6 months of intervention.

Annual Research Review: A meta-analysis of the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents

Abstract: Background The literature on the prevalence of mental disorders affecting children and adolescents has expanded significantly over the last three decades around the world. Despite the field having matured significantly, there has been no meta-analysis to calculate a worldwide-pooled prevalence and to empirically assess the sources of heterogeneity of estimates. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the literature searching in PubMed, PsycINFO, and EMBASE for prevalence studies of mental disorders investigating probabilistic community samples of children and adolescents with standardized assessments methods that derive diagnoses according to the DSM or ICD. Meta-analytical techniques were used to estimate the prevalence rates of any mental disorder and individual diagnostic groups. A meta-regression analysis was performed to estimate the effect of population and sample characteristics, study methods, assessment procedures, and case definition in determining the heterogeneity of estimates. Results We included 41 studies conducted in 27 countries from every world region. The worldwide-pooled prevalence of mental disorders was 13.4% (CI 95% 11.3–15.9). The worldwide prevalence of any anxiety disorder was 6.5% (CI 95% 4.7–9.1), any depressive disorder was 2.6% (CI 95% 1.7–3.9), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder was 3.4% (CI 95% 2.6–4.5), and any disruptive disorder was 5.7% (CI 95% 4.0–8.1). Significant heterogeneity was detected for all pooled estimates. The multivariate metaregression analyses indicated that sample representativeness, sample frame, and diagnostic interview were significant moderators of prevalence estimates. Estimates did not vary as a function of geographic location of studies and year of data collection. The multivariate model explained 88.89% of prevalence heterogeneity, but residual heterogeneity was still significant. Additional meta-analysis detected significant pooled difference in prevalence rates according to requirement of funcional impairment for the diagnosis of mental disorders. Conclusions Our findings suggest that mental disorders affect a significant number of children and adolescents worldwide. The pooled prevalence estimates and the identification of sources of heterogeneity have important implications to service, training, and research planning around the world.

Parenting Stress, Mental Health, Dyadic Adjustment: A Structural Equation Model

Abstract: Objective: In the first year of the postpartum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic adjustment are important for the wellbeing of both parents and the child. However, there are few studies that analyze the relationship among these three dimensions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between parenting stress, mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms), and dyadic adjustment among first-time parents. Method: We studied 268 parents (134 couples) of healthy babies. At 12 months postpartum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the potential mediating effects of mental health on the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. Results: Results showed the full mediation effect of mental health between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. A multi-group analysis further found that the paths did not differ across mothers and fathers. Discussion: The results suggest that mental health is an important dimension that mediates the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment in the transition to parenthood.

Parent-infant synchrony and the construction of shared timing; physiological precursors, developmental outcomes, and risk conditions.

Abstract: Synchrony, a construct used across multiple fields to denote the temporal relationship between events, is applied to the study of parent-infant interactions and suggested as a model for intersubjectivity. Three types of timed relationships between the parent and child's affective behavior are assessed: concurrent, sequential, and organized in an ongoing patterned format, and the development of each is charted across the first year. Viewed as a formative experience for the maturation of the social brain, synchrony impacts the development of self-regulation, symbol use, and empathy across childhood and adolescence. Different patterns of synchrony with mother, father, and the family and across cultures describe relationship-specific modes of coordination. The capacity to engage in temporally-matched interactions is based on physiological mechanisms, in particular oscillator systems, such as the biological clock and cardiac pacemaker, and attachment-related hormones, such as oxytocin. Specific patterns of synchrony are described in a range of child-, parent- and context-related risk conditions, pointing to its ecological relevance and usefulness for the study of developmental psychopathology. A perspective that underscores the organization of discrete relational behaviors into emergent patterns and considers time a central parameter of emotion and communication systems may be useful to the study of interpersonal intimacy and its potential for personal transformation across the lifespan.

The Adult Attachment Interview

Abstract: Without exception, sadomasochistic subjects (n =48), unlike controls (n =35), are found to have developed insecure internal models of personal attachment, as a result of childhoods which were all problematic in one way or another. Their capacity for metacognition and their coherence of mind are found to be, on average, less than that of controls.