A Longitudinal Study of Social Relationships between Parents and Children from the Prenatal Period: Toward Proposals for Child Rearing Support Policies

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K03378
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 10020:Educational psychology-related
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan University
• Principal Investigator: Yato Yuko 立命館大学, 総合心理学部, 教授 (20352784)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 肥後 克己 立命館大学, 総合心理学部, 講師 (70795351)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 発達研究 / オキシトシン / コルチゾール / 縦断研究

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to investigate the social relationship between mothers and their children longitudinally from early pregnancy to early childhood. We used behavioral observation, questionnaires, and measurements of salivary cortisol and oxytocin levels in mothers to examine how maternal stress and social and economic conditions during pregnancy were related to the temperament and behavioral characteristics of their children after birth and to the social relationships between mothers and their children. The results showed that the mother's stress and SES during pregnancy and after birth were associated with the child's temperament, behavioral characteristics, and social relationships between mother and child. The results showed that maternal oxytocin and cortisol levels during pregnancy and after birth were associated with parent-child relationships and children's social development.

Free Research Field

発達心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

養育者と子どもの発達のプロセスを縦断的に追跡し定量的データを収集することは発達心理学研究において最も重要でありながら，とりわけ我が国においては国際的に見ても遅れをとっているのが現状である。本研究は行動観察や質問票，生理指標（コルチゾール・オキシトシン）など，多様な方法論を駆使した胎児期からの定量的縦断データによる発達研究として学術的意義を有するものである。また，本研究の知見をもとに茨木市をはじめとする行政機関との連携に繋げ，科学的根拠に基づく子育て支援政策のあり方を行政機関に提案し，少子高齢化社会において子育てしやすいまちづくりのモデルを構築するという点において社会的意義も大きい。