Lecture 5- Parental Health

Question 1

How does becoming a parent affect reltionship?

Answer 1

1) less communication = more disagreement
2) sense of strain ‘

Question 2

What did Hughes et al find about the individual differences in psychological distress between mother and father?

Answer 2

Mother
1) higher initial levels of psychological distress stable over time
2) Friendship support associated with maternal trajectories
Father
1) Less psychological distress but increases over time
2) Family support associated with paternal trajectories

Question 3

How does pregnancy affect the mothers brain?

Answer 3

1) Reduction of grey matter
2) Specialization of neural network subserving social cognition
3) Gestational adaptation- evolutionary perspective
3) mothers ability to comment on the baby’s mental state

Question 4

What is Matrescence?

Answer 4

A time when the brain and the body prepare for the transition to motherhood

Question 5

What are the benefits of living in an enriched environment?

Answer 5

1) stimulates brain processes such as synaptogenesis and complex dendritic branching
2) provides a protective effect against brain aging
3) reproductive system is similar to this suggesting that maternal experience maybe stimulating and protective for brain health

Question 6

What are the social cultural factors that affect the father’s brain?

Answer 6

1) Paid paternity leave
2) couples use more maternity leave- less 1-1 interaction with father and baby so less neural connectivity between the two

Question 7

How does the father behave during prenatal?

Answer 7

1) protection of the partner
- Couvade syndrome

Question 8

How does the father behave during Postnatal?

Answer 8

1) establishing attachment with the infant
2) higher levels of parental sensitivity predict more favourable child outcomes

Question 9

What is the term for depression experienced by fathers during the perinatal period?

Answer 9

Paternal perinatal depression

Question 10

How does having a child affect fathers hormones?

Answer 10

Prenatal
- testosterone and oestradiol decrease- lesser = more involved with child care
- enhances sensitivity to vasopressin and promotes attention to related signals

Postnatal
- oxytocin increase
- cortisol increases when baby is crying or held

Question 11

How can parental mental health affect a child?

Answer 11

1) Children can learn about their environment in a similar manner as the parent
2) can affect the epigenetic patterning of their offspring due to stress