Childhood trauma, postpartum depression and maternal attachment in an adolescent and non-adolescent mothers

Purpose: This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the differences between childhood trauma, postpartum depression and maternal attachment variables in an adolescent and non-adolescent mothers. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on mothers who gave birth in a university hospital in Aydin between 2014-2016 and who came for control after birth, both adolescent and non-adolescent. The forms were administered to mothers between the 4th and 6th weeks after birth. The research data were collected using a questionnaire form including socio-demographic characteristics, Childhood Trauma Scale (CTQ), Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and Maternal Attachment Scale (MAS). Results: 27.6% of the mothers in our study were adolescents mothers. While the mean CTQ total score of adolescent mothers was 45.75 +/- 16.08, this rate was 35.78 +/- 10.66 for non-adolescent mothers and the difference was statistically significant. Total DRD scores of adolescent mothers were lower than non-adolescent mothers and this difference was statistically significant. When the EPDS scores of the mothers were compared, it was observed that the total scores of adolescent mothers were higher than non-adolescent mothers and this difference was significant. Conclusion: Emotional and physical abuse and physical and emotional neglect are more common in mothers who are adolescents. Maternal attachment of adolescent mothers to their babies is less and the risk of postpartum depression is higher..