Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Yakson therapy conducted by mother of preterm infants on the maternal attachment and attachment behavior.
Method: A quasi experimental pre-post test design was used. The data were collected from January, 2005 to October, 2005. The participants were 30 mothers of preterm infants hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (15 in the Yakson therapy group and 15 in control group). Yakson therapy consists of three phases: laying a hand, caressing by hand, and laying a hand again taking 5 minutes for each phase. Yakson therapy was provided to infants in the experimental group for 15-minutes 5 times for 15 days. Data were analyzed using the SAS program with x2-test, repeated measures ANOVA, and Fisher’’s exact test.
Result: Compared to the control group, the experimental group had significantly higher scores in maternal attachment (F=5.54, p=.0258). And the attachment behavior of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group.
Conclusion: The results suggest that Yakson therapy can be used to improve maternal attachment and attachment behavior.
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