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Updated: Sep 13, 2025

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Longitudinal Associations between Parental Bonding and Child Preschool Social-Emotional Problems: The Unique and

Enni Hatakka1,2, Marjo Flykt3, Erja Rusanen4,5

  • 1Department of Healthcare and Social Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. enni.hatakka@helsinki.fi.

Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|July 27, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Early parental bonding problems, both maternal and paternal, are linked to a child's internalizing issues later in life. This highlights the critical role of parental support in child mental health.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Family Studies

Background:

  • Limited research exists on the connection between parental postpartum bonding and child social-emotional development.
  • Both maternal and paternal bonding are crucial for understanding child outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between maternal and paternal postpartum bonding and child social-emotional problems.
  • To examine the long-term effects of early parental bonding on child mental health.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the nationally representative CHILD-SLEEP sample (n=710 families).
  • Assessed postpartum bonding using the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) at 8 months.
  • Evaluated child social-emotional problems via the Five to Fifteen (FTF) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at 5 years.

Main Results:

  • Maternal and paternal postpartum bonding problems at 8 months were associated with child externalizing and internalizing problems at 5 years.
  • After controlling for parental depressive symptoms, the association remained significant only for internalizing problems.
  • Joint maternal and paternal bonding revealed cumulative and mother-driven effects on child internalizing problems.

Conclusions:

  • Early parental bonding significantly influences later child mental health.
  • Parental support in the postpartum period is vital for preventing child internalizing problems.
  • Addressing bonding issues in both parents is important for child social-emotional development.

Keywords:
Child social-emotional developmentExternalizing and internalizing problemsParental postpartum bonding

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