Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Mother-Infant Bonding Scale: Factor Structure and Psychosocial Correlates of Parental Bonding Disorders in Japan

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Child and Family Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bonding disorders towards their child has been recognized as a serious problem, which might lead to give adverse effects on the relationship with child or maltreatment towards their child. The aim of this study was to identify the factor structure of the Mother-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) as well as the determinants of parental bonding disorders in Japan. In this cross-sectional observational study, the MIBS and other psychosocial questionnaires were distributed to 396 fathers and 733 mothers of children aged between 0 and 10, at 20 clinics of Kumamoto prefecture, in Japan. An exploratory factor analysis of the MIBS revealed a two-factor structure: lack of affection (LA) and anger and rejection (AR). A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated its cross-validity, with no statistical differences between fathers and mothers. A multi-group analysis using structural equation modelling demonstrated that LA and AR were predicted by parental dysphoric mood while only AR was predicted by parental anger. To be concluded, the current study suggests that the MIBS has two subscales that can be predicted by intrapersonal and interpersonal variables, and may provide information applicable to the design of therapeutic or preventive approaches to parents with bonding disorders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arbuckle, J. L., & Wothke, W. (1955–1999). Amos 4.0 user’s guide. Chicago: SmallWaters.

  • Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bienfait, M., Maury, M., Haquet, A., Faillie, J. L., Franc, N., Combes, C., et al. (2011). Pertinence of the self-report mother-to-infant bonding scale in the neonatal unit of a maternity ward. Early Human Development, 87, 281–287.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bland, J. M., & Altman, D. G. (1997). Statistics notes: Cronbach’s alpha. British Medical Journal, 314, 314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Attachment (Vol. 1). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockington, I. F. (1996). Motherhood and mental health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockington, I. (2011). Maternal rejection of the young child: Present status of the clinical syndrome. Psychopathology, 44, 329–336.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brockington, I. F., Aucamp, H. M., & Fraser, C. (2006). Severe disorders of the mother-infant relationship: Definition and frequency. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 9, 243–251.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brockington, I. F., Fraser, C., & Wilson, D. (2009). The postpartum bonding questionnaire: A validation. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 9, 233–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56(2), 81–105.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cattel, R. B. (1966). The scree test of the number of factors. Multivariate Behavior Research, 1, 245–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caughy, M. O., Huang, K.-Y., & Lima, J. (2009). Patterns of conflict interaction in mother-toddler dyads: Differences between depressed and non-depressed mothers. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 10–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52, 281–302.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Downey, G., & Coyne, J. C. (1990). Children of depressed parents: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 50–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edhborg, M., Nasreen, H.-E., & Kabir, Z. N. (2011). Impact of postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms on mothers’ emotional tie to their infants 2–3 months postpartum: A population-based study from rural Bangladesh. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 14, 307–316.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, D. W., & Bartholomew, K. (1994). The metaphysics of measurement: The case of adult attachment. In K. Bartholomew & D. Perlman (Eds.), Advances in personality relationship: Attachment processes in adulthood (Vol. 5, pp. 17–52). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitamura, T. (1993). Hospital anxiety and depression scale. Archives of Psychiatric Diagnostics and Clinical Evaluation, 4, 371–372. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitamura, T., Takauma, F., Tada, K., Yoshida, K., & Nakano, H. (2004). Postnatal depression, social sup-port, and child abuse. World Psychiatry, 3, 100–101.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kokubu, M., Okano, T., & Sugiyama, T. (2012). Postnatal depression, maternal bonding failure, and negative attitudes towards pregnancy: A longitudinal study of pregnant women in Japan. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 15, 211–216.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, R. C. (1997). “Anybody’s child”: Severe disorders of mother-to-infant bonding. British Journal of Psychiatry, 171, 175–181.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lengua, L. J., & Kovacs, E. A. (2005). Bidirectional associations between temperament and parenting and the prediction of adjustment problems in middle childhood. Applied Developmental Psychology, 26, 21–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, X., Uji, M., & Kitamura, T. (2008). Effects of intimate marital relationships upon self-reported rearing styles among Japanese parents of young children. Open Family Studies Journal, 1, 17–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsudaira, T., Igarashi, H., Kikuchi, H., Kano, R., Mitoma, H., Ohuchi, K., et al. (2009). Factor structure of the hospital anxiety and depression scale in Japanese psychiatric outpatient and student populations. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 7, 42.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matsuoka, N., Uji, M., Hiramura, H., Chen, Z., Shikai, N., Kishida, Y., et al. (2006). Adolescents’ attachment style and early experiences: A gender difference. Health Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 9, 23–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moehler, E., Brunner, R., Wiebel, A., Reck, C., & Resch, F. (2006). Maternal depressive symptoms in the postnatal period are associated with long-term impairment of mother-child bonding. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 9, 273–278.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mykletun, A., Stordal, E., & Dahl, A. A. (2001). Hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) scale: Factor structure, item analyses and internal consistency in a large population. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 540–544.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nagata, M., Nagai, Y., Sobajima, H., Ando, T., & Honjo, S. (2003). Depression in the mother and maternal attachment: Results from a follow-up study at 1 year postpartum. Psychopathology, 36, 142–151.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedlar, G., & Hausen, D. J. (2001). Anger, child behavior, and family distress: Further evaluation of the parental anger inventory. Journal of Family Violence, 16, 361–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spielberger, C. D. (1988). Manual for the state-trait anger expression inventory (STAXI). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suzuki, T., & Haruki, Y. (1994). Ikari to junkankikei shikkan no kanrensei no kentou [The relationship between anger and circulatory disease]. Japanese Journal of Health Psychology, 7, 1–13. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, A., Atkins, R., Kumar, R., Adams, D., & Glover, V. (2005). A new mother-to-infant bonding scale: Links with early maternal mood. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 8, 45–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Bussel, J. C. H., Spitz, B., & Demyttenaere, K. (2010). Three self-report questionnaires of the early mother-to-infant bond: Reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the MPAS, PBQ and MIBS. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 13, 373–384.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wittkowski, A., Wiek, A., & Mann, S. (2007). An evaluation of two bonding questionnaires: A comparison of the mother-to-infant bonding scale with the postpartum bonding questionnaire in a sample of primiparous mothers. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 10, 171–175.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yalçin, S. S., Örün, E., Mutlu, B., Madendağ, Y., Sinici, İ., Dursun, A., et al. (2010). Why are they having infant colic? A nested case-control study. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 24, 584–596.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida, K., Yamashita, H., Conroy, S., Marks, M., & Kumar, C. (2012). A Japanese version of Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale: Factor structure, longitudinal changes and links with maternal mood during the early postnatal period in Japanese mothers. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 15, 343–352.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zigmond, A. S., & Snaith, R. P. (1983). The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67, 361–370.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank paediatricians who participated in this research: Tsuneyoshi Egami, M.D., Hisako Fujikawa, M.D., Akio Furuse, M.D., Yoshiko Hattori, M.D., Yogo Haraguchi, M.D., Kaneshige Iribe, M.D., Tsunehiro Kuwahara, M.D., Toshinari Maeda, M.D., Hiroshi Mitsubuchi, M.D., Toru Miyazaki, M.D., Yuji Mizumoto, M.D., Ryozaburo Seguchi, M.D., Yasushi Shimada, M.D., Shigeto Sugino, M.D., Keiichi Taku, M.D., Tekehiko Ueno, M.D., Kyoko Uramoto, M.D., Ken Watanabe, M.D.

Conflict of interest

All the authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kitamura Institute of Mental Health Tokyo, 101 Akasaka 8-5-13, Minato, Tokyo, 107-0052, Japan

    Toshinori Kitamura & Mizuki Takegata

  2. Division of Health Sciences and Nursing, Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Megumi Haruna

  3. Department of Child Psychiatry, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan

    Keiko Yoshida & Hiroshi Yamashita

  4. Kumamoto Paediatric Association, Kumamoto, Japan

    Mikihiko Murakami & Yoshitaka Goto

Authors
  1. Toshinori Kitamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mizuki Takegata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Megumi Haruna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Keiko Yoshida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hiroshi Yamashita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mikihiko Murakami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yoshitaka Goto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Toshinori Kitamura.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kitamura, T., Takegata, M., Haruna, M. et al. The Mother-Infant Bonding Scale: Factor Structure and Psychosocial Correlates of Parental Bonding Disorders in Japan. J Child Fam Stud 24, 393–401 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9849-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9849-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation