Social Psychiatry, Vol. 48 No. 2, 2020.
Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.24869/spsih.2020.235
Application of Music Therapy in Promoting Maternal Attachment and Self-perceived Parental Competence in Mothers at Risk
Marina Hojsak
; Centre for Autism Osijek, Osijek
Ana Katušić
orcid.org/0000-0002-7648-131X
; Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Early experience of emotional communication contributes to the attachment between mother and infant and has an impact on the child’s neurological, social, and emotional development. By applying music therapy activities aimed at parent-child interaction, it is possible to create experiences in which the mother and child share the rhythm, tempo, melody, and pitch of their voices, what are all intrinsic elements of the early attachment process. The aim of this paper was to explore the possibility of applying music therapy in promoting maternal attachment and self-perceived parental competence in mothers at risk. The study was conducted on a sample of three mothers and their infants who were enrolled in a music therapy program once a week for 10 weeks. Before and after conducting music therapy, the mothers completed the Maternal Postnatal Affection Scale and the Parental Sense of Competence Scale. The obtained results indicate the positive outcomes of music therapy in enhancing maternal attachment in mothers at risk as well as the level of selfperceived competence in parental role. Music therapy intervention can be integrated as a therapeutic approach aimed at enhancing attachment in the mother infant dyad and at fostering parental competence in mothers at-risk.
Keywords
Music therapy; Maternal attachment; Selfperceived parental competence; Mothers at risk; Emotional communication
Hrčak ID:
245206
URI
Publication date:
22.10.2020.
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