Psychometric Validation of the Mother-Infant Bonding Scale in Greek Mothers up to 1 Year Postpartum

Chrysoula Ekizoglou1, Antigoni Sarantaki2, Nikos Makrygiorgos3

  • 1First Department of Psychiatry, Aιginiteion University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece.

Research suggests that the quality of mother-infant bonding (MIB) is a critical factor for long-term infant development. This study aimed to culturally adapt and psychometrically validate the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) for use among Greek mothers. Methods: A total of 750 mothers (Mage = 33.6 ± 4.6) with infants aged 0-12 months completed the MIBS and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The sample was randomly split to conduct exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA/CFA). Results: Analyses supported a unidimensional structure after removal of the 'protective' item. The MIBS demonstrated good reliability and convergent validity against the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Discussion: MIBS is a reliable and valid tool to assess bonding in a general population of Greek mothers up to one year postpartum. Future studies should examine the structure of MIBS in different timepoints during the postpartum period. The MIBS appears to be a reliable screening instrument for early identification of bonding difficulties.

Related Concept Videos

Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...
707
Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
344