The aim of this study was to assess the construct validity of the Adolescent Resilience Scale which measures the psychological features of resilient individuals. Research involving this scale, the Negative Life Events Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire was conducted with a group of 207 Japanese undergraduate students (104 men and 103 women; M age = 20.2 yr., SD =.9). A cluster analysis for the Negative Life Events Scale and General Health Questionnaire yielded three clusters: (1) mentally healthy with little experience of Negative Life Events, (2) poorer mental health with many experiences of Negative Life Events, (3) mentally healthy despite many experiences of Negative Life Events. These three groups were defined as (1) Well Adjusted, (2) Vulnerable, and (3) Resilient, respectively. Mean differences in scores on the Adolescent Resilience Scale among the three groups were subjected to one-way analysis of variance. The mean scores of both the Well Adjusted and Resilient groups were higher than that of the Vulnerable group, and therefore support the construct validity of the Adolescent Resilience Scale.

Currently, individuals tend to encounter many unavoidable, painful events and hardships in the process of growth and development. To lead one's life adapting to these social conditions, it is necessary to maintain one's mental health even while experiencing challenging events; in other words, resilience is required. This study of 130 undergraduates focused on the Adolescent Resilience Scale which assesses capacity for successful adaptation despite challenging or threatening circumstances and examined correlations with scores on the Big Five Personality Inventory. A significant negative correlation of –.59 ( p <.001) was noted for scores on the Adolescent Resilience Scale and the Neuroticism dimension of the Big Five Personality Inventory, accounting for 35% of the variance, and positive values with the Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness dimensions ( rs = .37, .40, .48, accounting for 14, 16, and 18% of the variance, respectively. Personalities of adolescents who have psychological traits leading to resilience may be partially predicted using these results.

Impaired maternal bonding has been associated with antenatal and postnatal factors, especially postpartum depression. Only a few population-based, longitudinal studies have examined the association between maternal depression and bonding in outside western countries. In addition, little is known about the association between psychosocial factors during pregnancy and impaired maternal bonding. The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors associated with impaired maternal bonding 3 months after delivery using Japanese population-based, longitudinal study from pregnancy period to 3 months after delivery. This study was performed at the public health care center in Hekinan city, Aichi prefecture, Japan. Mothers who participated the infant’s health check-up 3 months after delivery from July 2013 to Jun 2015 completed the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) 1 month after delivery. Information was also provided from home visit at 1 month after delivery, birth registration form, and pregnancy notification form. The study included 1060 mothers with a mean age of 29.90 years, who had given birth at a mean of 38.95 weeks. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the association between antenatal and postnatal factors and impaired maternal bonding. The main findings were that maternal negative feelings about pregnancy (OR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.02–4.56) and postpartum depression at 1 month after delivery (OR = 7.85, 95% CI = 3.44–17.90) were associated with higher levels of impaired maternal bonding 1 months after delivery. Mothers who had delivered their first child had increased odds of a moderate level of impaired maternal bonding 3 months after delivery (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.22–2.81). The findings emphasize the importance of identifying mothers with depression and those with maternal negative feelings towards pregnancy to assess possible impaired maternal bonding.

Background: In recent years, attention has been turned to maternal mental health in relation to the mother-child relationship accompanying a widening in focus, i.e. taking into account not only the puerperium, but also the stage of pregnancy. This applies to studies that have revealed a connection between depression and maternal attachment in the postpartum period and late pregnancy. This study, however, was designed to evaluate the maternal-fetal relationship in the first and second trimesters, being the first one to address this issue in these early stages. Sampling and Methods: Zung’s Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS), the original Antenatal Maternal Attachment Scale (AMAS), and a questionnaire addressing peripheral factors were given to 216 pregnant women (3–6 months of gestation) who visited the Nagoya University Hospital between September 1998 and June 2001. Results: Contrary to reports on the latter stages of pregnancy, no direct association was observed between depression in mothers and maternal-fetal attachment before fetal movement was perceived. Conclusion: However, education, form of employment, planning of pregnancy, and premenstrual mood changes were found to be associated with the ZSDS score (mean: 41.9), while form of employment, feelings regarding pregnancy, and sources of support were extracted as factors associated with the AMAS, which are of interest in terms of the subsequent association between depression and maternal-fetal attachment in the peri- and postnatal periods.