Maternal Anxiety Symptoms and Self-Regulation Capacity Are Associated With the Unpredictability of Maternal Sensory Signals in Caregiving Behavior

Frontiers in Psychology

Elysia Poggi Davis¹  Eija Sinervä²  Hasse Karlsson³  Saara Nolvi⁴  Marjukka Pajulo⁵  Linnea Karlsson⁶  Riikka Korja⁷  Taija Teppola⁷  Eeva-Leena Kataja⁷  Eeva Holmberg⁷ 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States;Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States;FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Turku, Finland;Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland;FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Turku, Finland;Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, a Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt – Univeristät zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany;FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland;FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland;Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Turku, Finland;FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;

关键词: maternal care;    unpredictability;    anxiety symptoms;    depressive symptoms;    self-regulation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.564158

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The unpredictability of maternal sensory signals in caregiving behavior has been recently found to be linked with infant neurodevelopment. The research area is new, and very little is yet known, how maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms and specific parental characteristics relate to the unpredictable maternal care. The aims of the current study were to explore how pre- and postnatal maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms and self-regulation capacity associate with the unpredictability of maternal sensory signals. The study population consisted of 177 mother-infant dyads. The unpredictability of the maternal sensory signals was explored from the video-recorded mother-infant free play situation when the infant was 8 months of age. Pre- and postnatal anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured by questionnaires prenatally at gwks 14, 24, 34, and 3 and 6 months postpartum. Maternal self-regulation capacity, a trait considered to be stable in adulthood, was assessed using adult temperament questionnaire when the infant was 12 months of age. We found that elevated prenatal maternal anxiety symptoms associated with higher unpredictability in the maternal care while depressive symptoms were unrelated to the unpredictability of maternal care. Moreover, the association was moderated by maternal self-regulation capacity, as higher anxiety symptoms during pre-and postnatal period were associated more unpredictability among the mothers with low self-regulation capacity. The combination of higher amount of maternal anxiety symptoms and lower self-regulation capacity seems to constitute specific risk for the unpredictable maternal care.

【 授权许可】

CC BY