# NIH grant: Stability in disrupted maternal representations over the perinatal period: Contributors and consequences (1R03HD118241-01A1) — retained record

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[original source ↗](https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/1R03HD118241-01A1)

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NIH grant 1R03HD118241-01A1: Stability in disrupted maternal representations over the perinatal period: Contributors and consequences
Institute: {'code': 'HD', 'abbreviation': 'NICHD', 'name': 'Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development', 'admin_org_id': '12500030', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: JULIE  WARGO AIKINS. Award: $154000.
Start: 2026-06-18T00:00:00.
Abstract
High-quality mother-infant relationships promote social, emotional, and cognitive development while
protecting against poor child behavioral, health, and psychological adaptation that create risk for long-
term negative outcomes. As mothers transition to parenthood, their own experiences of being cared for
influence their emerging views of parenting and representations of their developing child. Evidence
suggests that ‘disrupted’ maternal representations of the child, i.e., representations characterized by mixed
communication, role merging, extreme withdrawal, and other unusual psychological processes, are tied to
both poor child socioemotional adjustment and both insecure and disorganized attachment. However, it is
unclear whether disrupted representations that emerge during pregnancy remain stable across the first
several years of the child’s life. In addition, to date, research has not examined how change/stability in
these representations may affect maternal caregiving and subsequent child adaptation. Using data from a
longitudinal, multi-method study, this proposed project will examine the stability of maternal
representations of the child for 99 women living in high risk contexts using the Working Model of the
Child Interview during the third trimester and again when the child is two years of age. Mothers’
demographic characteristics (i.e. SES and relationship status), interpersonal violence experiences (i.e.
child maltreatment or intimate violence exposure), psychological health (i.e. depressive, anxious, and
PTSD symptoms), and parenting stress (i.e. perceptions of the child as difficult and parent-child
interactions as dysfunctional) are measured as well to examine influences on representation stability.
Finally, the observed quality of maternal caregiving and child adaptation are measured and examined in
relation to stability in maternal representations of the child. Findings from this study have the potential to
identify which mother-child dyads are at greatest risk for poor adaptation across the perinatal period and
to delineate the contributors and consequences of maternal representational stability. These findings will
serve as an important step towards informing the development or modification of existing
prevention/intervention approaches that are targeted specifically towards mother-child dyads who are
most at need.
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