Maternal mental health is associated with variations in parenting and child wellbeing, however the mechanisms through which it affects child development are still poorly understood. Moreover, personality disorders and dysfunctional personality traits have received even less attention than other clinical disorders such as depression and anxiety, in the context of motherhood.
Thus, this project aims to fill this gap and investigate the effect of maternal dysfunctional personality traits on parenting behaviour and child outcomes.
In fact, personality disorders and dysfunctional personality traits are considered great risk factors for the well-being of the individual and for the potential negative effect on the child development. However, there is still no strong evidence about the extent and the causal pathways of how dysfunctional maternal features are affecting offspring wellbeing.
The aim of this project is to investigate the intergenerational effect of maternal mental health on the offspring using multi-generational ALSPAC data we will have the opportunity to explore the associations between different individual and social characteristics, such as geographical data, cognitive, socio-emotional, psychiatric data in mothers, partners and offspring.
Identifying components and potential causal pathways from maternal mental health to emotional infant problems is relevant to the creation of new policies of