Vibeke Moe | University of Oslo (original) (raw)

Papers by Vibeke Moe

International Journal of Social Welfare, Aug 15, 2022

Children

How expectant fathers think and feel about the unborn child (prenatal representations), has shown... more How expectant fathers think and feel about the unborn child (prenatal representations), has shown associations with fathers’ postnatal parenting behaviors, observed father–infant interactional quality and child cognitive development. There is limited knowledge about fathers’ prenatal representations. The present study examined if fathers’ partner-related attachment styles were related to their prenatal representations of the unborn child. In the “Little in Norway Study”, an ongoing prospective, longitudinal population-based study, 396 expectant fathers completed the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale at enrollment (mean gestational week = 23.76, SD = 4.93), and in gestational weeks 27–35 completed three questions assessing prenatal representations. Correlations of attachment style and prenatal representations were reported using logistic regression analyses. We found that an avoidant attachment style by fathers were predicted to have absent or negative representations on all t...

Frontiers in Psychology

Parental bonding to their infant is important for healthy parent-infant interaction and infant de... more Parental bonding to their infant is important for healthy parent-infant interaction and infant development. Characteristics in the parents affect how they bond to their newborn. Parental cognitions such as repetitive negative thinking, a thinking style associated with mental health issues, and cognitive dispositions, e.g., mood-congruent attentional bias or negative implicit attitudes to infants, might affect bonding.To assess the influence of cognitive factors on bonding, 350 participants (220 pregnant women and their partners) were recruited over two years by midwives at the hospital and in the communal health care services. Participants were followed throughout the pregnancy and until the infant was seven months old as a part of the Northern Babies Longitudinal Study. Both mothers and fathers took part. First, we measured demographics, repetitive negative thinking, attentional bias, and implicit attitudes to infants during pregnancy, as predictors of bonding two months postnatall...

Infant Mental Health Journal

Additional file 3. Correlations between PCERA subscales and symptom load in BD sample (nâ =â 26).

Current Psychology, 2022

The purpose of the present study was to examine vulnerability factors in expecting parents that m... more The purpose of the present study was to examine vulnerability factors in expecting parents that might lead to mental illness in the perinatal period. Specifically, we studied how parental early adversity, attentional bias to infant faces, repetitive negative thinking, and demographic factors, were associated with pre- and postnatal depressive symptoms and parenting stress. Participants were expecting parents taking part in the Northern Babies Longitudinal Study, where assessments were made both pre- and postnatally. Assessments included both questionnaires and cognitive tasks. About half of the participants received the Newborn Behavior Observation (NBO)-intervention after birth, between pre- and postnatal assessments. Results show that repetitive negative thinking was a significant predictor of both depressive symptoms and parenting stress, while education, social support, and parity came out as protective factors, especially in mothers. Parental early adversity had an indirect eff...

Children and Youth Services Review, 2020

Foster children are at risk for becoming less well-adjusted in their social-emotional functioning... more Foster children are at risk for becoming less well-adjusted in their social-emotional functioning due to possible abuse and neglect prior to placement. There is no consistent evidence that foster children's social-emotional functioning improves in foster care, and externalizing behavior has specifically been linked to placement disruption. Investigations of foster children's functioning over time and with multiple informants are scarce. Our first aim was to investigate foster children's social-emotional functioning (externalizing, internalizing and total problem behavior) reported by female and male caregivers, as well as by teachers, at 8 years (T3) of age, as compared with a non-foster group. Our second aim was to investigate the predictive power of internalizing and externalizing behavior from age 2 (T1) and 3 years (T2). Results showed that foster children were reported to show more problem behavior at age 8 years compared to the comparison children, although their scores were within the normal range. Externalizing behavior reported by foster mothers at age 2 and 3 years, and by foster fathers at age 3, strongly predicted externalizing behavior at age 8 years. The results suggest that social-emotional functioning in early childhood predicts externalizing and internalizing behavior in middle childhood. This study highlights the clinical importance of investigating such behavior among young foster children in order to help them move towards a healthy developmental pathway in early school years.

Infant Mental Health Journal

This study investigates differences in dyadic mother-infant and father-infant interaction pattern... more This study investigates differences in dyadic mother-infant and father-infant interaction patterns at infant age 12 months, and the relation between different parent-infant gender compositions and the dyadic interaction. Data were drawn from a large-scale, population-based Norwegian community sample comprising 671 mother-infant and 337 father-infant interactions. The Early Relational Health Screen (ERHS), a screening method for observing dyadic parent-infant interactions, was used to assess the parent-infant interactions. Scores on the ERHS were employed to investigate dyadic differences in the overall interaction scores, and dyadic interaction on seven sub-dimensions between mother-infant and father-infant pairs. The relation between different parent-infant gender compositions and the dyadic interaction scores was also examined. As expected in a normative sample, most parent-infant interactions received scores in the upper rating levels. Differences between mother-infant and father-infant patterns were generally small, but mother-infant dyads tended to obtain slightly higher scores. The mother-infant dyads received higher scores on the dimensions of engagement and enjoyment, but no other significant differences between the parent-infant pairs were found for the remaining dimensions. We did not find evidence for a moderation effect of child gender. However, parent-daughter dyads received somewhat higher scores than the parent-son dyads. K E Y W O R D S parent-infant interaction, parent-infant gender composition, child development, early childhood, parenting This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Additional file 2. Tables on mean values of dyadic variables for the BD sample at 3 and 12 months.

Additional file 1. Description of PCERA subscales used for analyses.

The Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) is a clinical instrument developed for detecting non-optimal... more The Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) is a clinical instrument developed for detecting non-optimal withdrawal reactions in infantsbelow 2 years of age. An infant's reluctance to partake in social en ...

Additional file 3. Tables on mean values of infant variables for the BD sample at 3 and 12 months.

Additional file 2. Interaction score comparisons (mean) between groups (maternal high vs. low sym... more Additional file 2. Interaction score comparisons (mean) between groups (maternal high vs. low symptom load) in BD sample (nâ =â 26) on PCERA subscales.

Additional file 1. Interaction score comparisons (mean) between groups (infants exposed vs. not e... more Additional file 1. Interaction score comparisons (mean) between groups (infants exposed vs. not exposed to BD medication) in BD sample (nâ =â 26) on PCERA subscales.

Children and Youth Services Review, 2018

Foster parents' emotional investment and their young foster children's socio-emotional functioning

Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 2018

Background: In most maternity wards in Norway, early discharge (<48h) is the norm. To monitor new... more Background: In most maternity wards in Norway, early discharge (<48h) is the norm. To monitor newborns' and women's health during the first week after delivery, most maternity wards offer early checkups , were families return to the hospital (standard care). However, a few municipalities offer home-visits by midwives (domiciliary care), to ensure seamless services for the family. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to explore if different follow-up strategies were differently associated with maternal depression and breastfeeding habits, six weeks and six months postpartum. The secondary aim was to investigate if families at risk for postpartum depression were included in the home visiting program in the municipality that offered both follow-up strategies. Method: This study draws on data from the "Little in Norway" (LIN) study, which followed families from pregnancy until the child was 18 months. The present study used data from two different municipalities, where one offered standard care (n=95) and the other domiciliary (n=64) and standard care (n=17). The Edinburg postnatal depression scale (EPDS) was used to measure maternal depression. Breastfeeding habits were measured using a self-reported questionnaire. The Life Stress subscale of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) was used to identify women at risk for postpartum depression. Results: There were no differences in maternal depressive symptoms or breastfeeding habits at neither six weeks nor six months postpartum between women that received standard or domiciliary care in the two municipalities. Within the municipality that offered both followup strategies a higher number of women scoring high on prenatal Life Stress were included in domiciliary-compared to standard care. Conclusion: Differential follow-up strategies in the first week after birth did not impact on maternal depression or breastfeeding habits. However, domiciliary care seems to be regarded as supportive and non-stigmatizing for women at risk for postpartum depression.

Food & Nutrition Research, 2018

Background: Inadequate iodine intake has been identified in several population groups in the Nord... more Background: Inadequate iodine intake has been identified in several population groups in the Nordic countries over the past years; however, studies of iodine status in infants and toddlers are scarce. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the iodine status and dietary iodine sources among 18-monthold toddlers from Norway. Methods: Cross-sectional and country representative data from the Little in Norway study were used. All children who had given a spot urine sample at 18 months age were included (n = 416). Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry. Dietary habits and supplement use were measured by a food frequency questionnaire. Results: Median (25th-75th percentiles [p25-p75]) UIC was 129 (81-190) µg/L while estimated median (p25-p75) habitual iodine intake was 109 (101-117) µg/day. None of the children were below the estimated average requirement (EAR) of 65 µg/day or above the upper intake level of 180 µg/day. There were no differences in either UIC or estimated habitual iodine intake between different geographic areas in Norway. Milk was the most important iodine source, contributing an estimated 70% to the total iodine intake, while other foods rich in iodine such as seafood and enriched baby porridge contributed about 30%. Conclusions: The iodine status among 18-month-old toddlers from different geographic areas in Norway was sufficient, indicated by a median UIC above the WHO cutoff of 100 µg/L. This was further supported by the estimated habitual iodine intake, where none of the participants were below the EAR. Milk was an important iodine source in this age group; thus children with a low intake might be at risk of insufficient iodine intake.

Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2019

How depressive symptoms unfold within a couple during the perinatal events of pregnancy, childbir... more How depressive symptoms unfold within a couple during the perinatal events of pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood is poorly understood. In this prospective study, we aim to investigate the reciprocal relation between maternal and paternal depressive symptomatology, specifically how symptoms in one partner relate to subsequent symptom level changes in the other partner throughout the perinatal period. Further, we aim to identify parents that are particularly vulnerable to the development of disruptive processes of negative mood states. Data were collected from 1,036 mothers and 878 fathers participating in the Little in Norway study from mid-pregnancy until 12 months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed at seven time points (four prenatally) in both parents. Partner-related attachment was measured early in pregnancy. By utilizing an autoregressive latent trajectory modeling approach, accounting for time invariant confounding, we found mothers' depressive symptoms late in pregnancy to predict elevated symptom levels in fathers 6 weeks after birth, with a small effect size. No other time-adjacent effects were observed among partners at other time points or with the opposite directionality. However, moderation analyses revealed that among parents characterized by insecure partner-attachment styles, additional crosslagged pathways were evident during pregnancy and throughout the first year of parenthood. Clinicians need to be aware of fathers' vulnerability to symptom development in instances of maternal perinatal depressive states at the time around childbirth, and tailor preventive and treatment efforts to address both parents' needs. Further, particular attention should be directed to parents with heightened susceptibility to prolonged depression contagion processes.

Nutrients, 2018

Inadequate iodine status affects the synthesis of the thyroid hormones and may impair brain devel... more Inadequate iodine status affects the synthesis of the thyroid hormones and may impair brain development in fetal life. The aim of this study was to explore the association between maternal iodine status in pregnancy measured by urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and child neurodevelopment at age 6, 12 and 18 months in a population-based cohort. In total, 1036 families from nine locations in Norway were enrolled in the little in Norway cohort. The present study includes n = 851 mother-child pairs with singleton pregnancies, no use of thyroid medication in pregnancy, no severe genetic disorder, data on exposure (UIC) in pregnancy and developmental outcomes (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition). Data collection also included general information from questionnaires. We examined associations between UIC (and use of iodine-containing supplements) and repeated measures of developmental outcomes using multivariable mixed models. The median UIC in pregnancy was 78 ...

International Journal of Social Welfare, Aug 15, 2022

Children

How expectant fathers think and feel about the unborn child (prenatal representations), has shown... more How expectant fathers think and feel about the unborn child (prenatal representations), has shown associations with fathers’ postnatal parenting behaviors, observed father–infant interactional quality and child cognitive development. There is limited knowledge about fathers’ prenatal representations. The present study examined if fathers’ partner-related attachment styles were related to their prenatal representations of the unborn child. In the “Little in Norway Study”, an ongoing prospective, longitudinal population-based study, 396 expectant fathers completed the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale at enrollment (mean gestational week = 23.76, SD = 4.93), and in gestational weeks 27–35 completed three questions assessing prenatal representations. Correlations of attachment style and prenatal representations were reported using logistic regression analyses. We found that an avoidant attachment style by fathers were predicted to have absent or negative representations on all t...

Frontiers in Psychology

Parental bonding to their infant is important for healthy parent-infant interaction and infant de... more Parental bonding to their infant is important for healthy parent-infant interaction and infant development. Characteristics in the parents affect how they bond to their newborn. Parental cognitions such as repetitive negative thinking, a thinking style associated with mental health issues, and cognitive dispositions, e.g., mood-congruent attentional bias or negative implicit attitudes to infants, might affect bonding.To assess the influence of cognitive factors on bonding, 350 participants (220 pregnant women and their partners) were recruited over two years by midwives at the hospital and in the communal health care services. Participants were followed throughout the pregnancy and until the infant was seven months old as a part of the Northern Babies Longitudinal Study. Both mothers and fathers took part. First, we measured demographics, repetitive negative thinking, attentional bias, and implicit attitudes to infants during pregnancy, as predictors of bonding two months postnatall...

Infant Mental Health Journal

Additional file 3. Correlations between PCERA subscales and symptom load in BD sample (nâ =â 26).

Current Psychology, 2022

The purpose of the present study was to examine vulnerability factors in expecting parents that m... more The purpose of the present study was to examine vulnerability factors in expecting parents that might lead to mental illness in the perinatal period. Specifically, we studied how parental early adversity, attentional bias to infant faces, repetitive negative thinking, and demographic factors, were associated with pre- and postnatal depressive symptoms and parenting stress. Participants were expecting parents taking part in the Northern Babies Longitudinal Study, where assessments were made both pre- and postnatally. Assessments included both questionnaires and cognitive tasks. About half of the participants received the Newborn Behavior Observation (NBO)-intervention after birth, between pre- and postnatal assessments. Results show that repetitive negative thinking was a significant predictor of both depressive symptoms and parenting stress, while education, social support, and parity came out as protective factors, especially in mothers. Parental early adversity had an indirect eff...

Children and Youth Services Review, 2020

Foster children are at risk for becoming less well-adjusted in their social-emotional functioning... more Foster children are at risk for becoming less well-adjusted in their social-emotional functioning due to possible abuse and neglect prior to placement. There is no consistent evidence that foster children's social-emotional functioning improves in foster care, and externalizing behavior has specifically been linked to placement disruption. Investigations of foster children's functioning over time and with multiple informants are scarce. Our first aim was to investigate foster children's social-emotional functioning (externalizing, internalizing and total problem behavior) reported by female and male caregivers, as well as by teachers, at 8 years (T3) of age, as compared with a non-foster group. Our second aim was to investigate the predictive power of internalizing and externalizing behavior from age 2 (T1) and 3 years (T2). Results showed that foster children were reported to show more problem behavior at age 8 years compared to the comparison children, although their scores were within the normal range. Externalizing behavior reported by foster mothers at age 2 and 3 years, and by foster fathers at age 3, strongly predicted externalizing behavior at age 8 years. The results suggest that social-emotional functioning in early childhood predicts externalizing and internalizing behavior in middle childhood. This study highlights the clinical importance of investigating such behavior among young foster children in order to help them move towards a healthy developmental pathway in early school years.

Infant Mental Health Journal

This study investigates differences in dyadic mother-infant and father-infant interaction pattern... more This study investigates differences in dyadic mother-infant and father-infant interaction patterns at infant age 12 months, and the relation between different parent-infant gender compositions and the dyadic interaction. Data were drawn from a large-scale, population-based Norwegian community sample comprising 671 mother-infant and 337 father-infant interactions. The Early Relational Health Screen (ERHS), a screening method for observing dyadic parent-infant interactions, was used to assess the parent-infant interactions. Scores on the ERHS were employed to investigate dyadic differences in the overall interaction scores, and dyadic interaction on seven sub-dimensions between mother-infant and father-infant pairs. The relation between different parent-infant gender compositions and the dyadic interaction scores was also examined. As expected in a normative sample, most parent-infant interactions received scores in the upper rating levels. Differences between mother-infant and father-infant patterns were generally small, but mother-infant dyads tended to obtain slightly higher scores. The mother-infant dyads received higher scores on the dimensions of engagement and enjoyment, but no other significant differences between the parent-infant pairs were found for the remaining dimensions. We did not find evidence for a moderation effect of child gender. However, parent-daughter dyads received somewhat higher scores than the parent-son dyads. K E Y W O R D S parent-infant interaction, parent-infant gender composition, child development, early childhood, parenting This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Additional file 2. Tables on mean values of dyadic variables for the BD sample at 3 and 12 months.

Additional file 1. Description of PCERA subscales used for analyses.

The Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) is a clinical instrument developed for detecting non-optimal... more The Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) is a clinical instrument developed for detecting non-optimal withdrawal reactions in infantsbelow 2 years of age. An infant's reluctance to partake in social en ...

Additional file 3. Tables on mean values of infant variables for the BD sample at 3 and 12 months.

Additional file 2. Interaction score comparisons (mean) between groups (maternal high vs. low sym... more Additional file 2. Interaction score comparisons (mean) between groups (maternal high vs. low symptom load) in BD sample (nâ =â 26) on PCERA subscales.

Additional file 1. Interaction score comparisons (mean) between groups (infants exposed vs. not e... more Additional file 1. Interaction score comparisons (mean) between groups (infants exposed vs. not exposed to BD medication) in BD sample (nâ =â 26) on PCERA subscales.

Children and Youth Services Review, 2018

Foster parents' emotional investment and their young foster children's socio-emotional functioning

Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 2018

Background: In most maternity wards in Norway, early discharge (<48h) is the norm. To monitor new... more Background: In most maternity wards in Norway, early discharge (<48h) is the norm. To monitor newborns' and women's health during the first week after delivery, most maternity wards offer early checkups , were families return to the hospital (standard care). However, a few municipalities offer home-visits by midwives (domiciliary care), to ensure seamless services for the family. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to explore if different follow-up strategies were differently associated with maternal depression and breastfeeding habits, six weeks and six months postpartum. The secondary aim was to investigate if families at risk for postpartum depression were included in the home visiting program in the municipality that offered both follow-up strategies. Method: This study draws on data from the "Little in Norway" (LIN) study, which followed families from pregnancy until the child was 18 months. The present study used data from two different municipalities, where one offered standard care (n=95) and the other domiciliary (n=64) and standard care (n=17). The Edinburg postnatal depression scale (EPDS) was used to measure maternal depression. Breastfeeding habits were measured using a self-reported questionnaire. The Life Stress subscale of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) was used to identify women at risk for postpartum depression. Results: There were no differences in maternal depressive symptoms or breastfeeding habits at neither six weeks nor six months postpartum between women that received standard or domiciliary care in the two municipalities. Within the municipality that offered both followup strategies a higher number of women scoring high on prenatal Life Stress were included in domiciliary-compared to standard care. Conclusion: Differential follow-up strategies in the first week after birth did not impact on maternal depression or breastfeeding habits. However, domiciliary care seems to be regarded as supportive and non-stigmatizing for women at risk for postpartum depression.

Food & Nutrition Research, 2018

Background: Inadequate iodine intake has been identified in several population groups in the Nord... more Background: Inadequate iodine intake has been identified in several population groups in the Nordic countries over the past years; however, studies of iodine status in infants and toddlers are scarce. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the iodine status and dietary iodine sources among 18-monthold toddlers from Norway. Methods: Cross-sectional and country representative data from the Little in Norway study were used. All children who had given a spot urine sample at 18 months age were included (n = 416). Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry. Dietary habits and supplement use were measured by a food frequency questionnaire. Results: Median (25th-75th percentiles [p25-p75]) UIC was 129 (81-190) µg/L while estimated median (p25-p75) habitual iodine intake was 109 (101-117) µg/day. None of the children were below the estimated average requirement (EAR) of 65 µg/day or above the upper intake level of 180 µg/day. There were no differences in either UIC or estimated habitual iodine intake between different geographic areas in Norway. Milk was the most important iodine source, contributing an estimated 70% to the total iodine intake, while other foods rich in iodine such as seafood and enriched baby porridge contributed about 30%. Conclusions: The iodine status among 18-month-old toddlers from different geographic areas in Norway was sufficient, indicated by a median UIC above the WHO cutoff of 100 µg/L. This was further supported by the estimated habitual iodine intake, where none of the participants were below the EAR. Milk was an important iodine source in this age group; thus children with a low intake might be at risk of insufficient iodine intake.

Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2019

How depressive symptoms unfold within a couple during the perinatal events of pregnancy, childbir... more How depressive symptoms unfold within a couple during the perinatal events of pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood is poorly understood. In this prospective study, we aim to investigate the reciprocal relation between maternal and paternal depressive symptomatology, specifically how symptoms in one partner relate to subsequent symptom level changes in the other partner throughout the perinatal period. Further, we aim to identify parents that are particularly vulnerable to the development of disruptive processes of negative mood states. Data were collected from 1,036 mothers and 878 fathers participating in the Little in Norway study from mid-pregnancy until 12 months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed at seven time points (four prenatally) in both parents. Partner-related attachment was measured early in pregnancy. By utilizing an autoregressive latent trajectory modeling approach, accounting for time invariant confounding, we found mothers' depressive symptoms late in pregnancy to predict elevated symptom levels in fathers 6 weeks after birth, with a small effect size. No other time-adjacent effects were observed among partners at other time points or with the opposite directionality. However, moderation analyses revealed that among parents characterized by insecure partner-attachment styles, additional crosslagged pathways were evident during pregnancy and throughout the first year of parenthood. Clinicians need to be aware of fathers' vulnerability to symptom development in instances of maternal perinatal depressive states at the time around childbirth, and tailor preventive and treatment efforts to address both parents' needs. Further, particular attention should be directed to parents with heightened susceptibility to prolonged depression contagion processes.

Nutrients, 2018

Inadequate iodine status affects the synthesis of the thyroid hormones and may impair brain devel... more Inadequate iodine status affects the synthesis of the thyroid hormones and may impair brain development in fetal life. The aim of this study was to explore the association between maternal iodine status in pregnancy measured by urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and child neurodevelopment at age 6, 12 and 18 months in a population-based cohort. In total, 1036 families from nine locations in Norway were enrolled in the little in Norway cohort. The present study includes n = 851 mother-child pairs with singleton pregnancies, no use of thyroid medication in pregnancy, no severe genetic disorder, data on exposure (UIC) in pregnancy and developmental outcomes (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition). Data collection also included general information from questionnaires. We examined associations between UIC (and use of iodine-containing supplements) and repeated measures of developmental outcomes using multivariable mixed models. The median UIC in pregnancy was 78 ...