SynthesisClinical psychology review2020
Measuring bonding or attachment in the parent-infant-relationship: A systematic review of parent-report assessment measures, their psychometric properties and clinical utility.
Synthesis in Clinical psychology review, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07115823 (A Longitudinal, Cohort Study Investigating the Impact of General Anaesthetic Caesarean Birth, With or Without ICU Admission, on Maternal Mental Health and Mother/Infant Bonding), which is not on this map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Longitudinal, Cohort Study Investigating the Impact of General Anaesthetic Caesarean Birth, With or Without ICU Admission, on Maternal Mental Health and Mother/Infant Bonding
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Measuring Violence Against Children: A COSMIN Systematic Review of the Psychometric and Administrative Properties of Adult Retrospective Self-report Instruments on Child Abuse and Neglect.Trauma, violence & abuse · 2024Pooled it
- Measuring Violence Against Children: A COSMIN Systematic Review of the Psychometric Properties of Child and Adolescent Self-Report Measures.Trauma, violence & abuse · 2023Pooled it
- Pre-natal Attachment and Parent-To-Infant Attachment: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- The relational dimension in mindfulness intervention effects: results of a randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based childbirth and parenting.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Trial
- Pretesting Parenting Instruments with Indigenous Fathers and Two-Spirit Parents: A Qualitative Study.The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieres · 2026Article
- Understanding parental bonding in the first two years after birth: exploring family predictors using growth mixture modeling.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Psychometric properties and validation of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) in Mexican mothers.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Development of the Parent-to-Infant Bonding Scale: Validation in Swedish Mothers and Fathers in Community and Clinical Contexts.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- Perinatal obsessive-compulsive symptoms and maternal-infant bonding: A longitudinal examination of depression and relationship quality.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Psychometric Validation of the Mother-Infant Bonding Scale in Greek Mothers up to 1 Year Postpartum.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Clinical Assessment of the Parent-Infant Relationship: A Global Survey of Clinician Attitudes and Practice.Maternal and child health journal · 2026Article
- Effect of Massage With Verbal Contact by Mothers of Premature Infants on Maternal Attachment and Infant's Motor Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Psychometric properties of the Urdu version of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ): a validation study among mothers with prenatal anxiety symptoms in Pakistan.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Trajectories of maternal bonding over the perinatal period: Associations with demographic, obstetric, psychological, and infant variables.Infant mental health journal · 2026Article
- Going beyond participation: community-led design and evaluation of the Philly Joy Bank.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Criterion validity of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire using an observer-rated measure of mother-baby bonding as a reference.Cadernos de saude publica · 2026Article
- Development of a revised and abbreviated version of the postpartum bonding questionnaire (PBQ-R): First U.S. validation and association to child outcomes.Infant mental health journal · 2026Article
- Partner military deployment during wartime is associated with maternal depression and impaired maternal-infant attachment: a matched-control study from the Israel-Hamas war.Archives of women's mental health · 2025Article
- The prospective association of prenatal anxiety symptoms in mothers and fathers with general child development 14 months postpartum and the mediating role of parent-child bonding: a mediation analysis within the longitudinal cohort study DREAM.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Social reward responsiveness as a moderator of the association between perceived bonding with infants and depressive symptoms in postpartum women.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMeaningful, valid and reliable self-report measures can facilitate the identification of important parent-infant-relationship factors, relevant intervention development and subsequent evaluation in community and clinical contexts. We aimed at identifying all available parent-report measures of the parent-infant-relationship or bond and to appraise their psychometric and clinimetric properties.
methodA systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42017078512) was conducted using the, 2018 COSMIN criteria. Eight electronic databases were searched. Papers describing the development of self-report measures of the parent-infant-bond, attachment or relationship from pregnancy until two years postpartum or the assessment of their psychometric properties were included.
resultsSixty-five articles evaluating 17 original measures and 13 modified versions were identified and reviewed. The studies' methodological quality (risk of bias) varied between 'very good' and 'inadequate' depending on the measurement property assessed; however, scale development studies were mostly of 'inadequate' quality. Although most measures had good clinical utility, the psychometric evaluation of their properties was largely poor. The original or modified versions of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire collectively received the strongest psychometric evaluation ratings with high quality of evidence.
conclusionsThis novel review revealed that only a few antenatal and postnatal measures demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Further studies are needed to determine the most robust perinatal measures for researchers and clinicians.
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