A Conceptual Framework for a Music-Based Bonding Intervention for Fathers with Premature Infants in the NICU

Abstract

Premature birth has long-term effects on an infant’s development. Admittance to the NICU is stressful for both the infant and the parents. In this environment, parents may have barriers to bonding with their infant, making it more difficult to form a secure infant-caregiver attachment. The quality of attachment between an infant-caregiver can be predictive of future psychopathology or can act as a protective factor. Research is emerging regarding the father’s distinct role and experience of becoming a parent in the NICU, and no published music therapy literature has focused specifically on fathers and their bonding and attachment with their premature infants in the NICU. The purpose of this study is to understand the unique experience of fathers with a premature infant admitted to the NICU in order to generate a conceptual framework, grounded in theory, for how music therapy intervention can increase secure father-infant attachment relationships. An iterative review of literature, and ecological systems theory and causal modeling were used to identify the key constructs relevant to the father’s unique experience in this setting. A theory-based conceptual framework for a music-based bonding intervention for fathers with premature infants in the NICU is illustrated. Implications for further research and clinical practice were also explored.