Transactional associations between infant negative emotionality and maternal sensitivity: Maternal emotion dysregulation as a moderator

The relations between maternal sensitivity and infant negative emotionality have been tested extensively in the previous literature. However, the extent to which these associations reflect unidirectional or bidirectional effects over time remains somewhat uncertain. Further, the possibility that maternal characteristics moderate the extent to which infant negative emotionality predicts maternal sensitivity over time has yet to be tested in cross-lag models. The goal of the present study is to address these gaps. First time mothers (N = 259; 50% White; 50% Black) and their infants participated when infants were 6, 14, and 26 months of age. Infant negative emotionality was assessed via maternal report and direct observation during standardized laboratory tasks, which were subsequently combined to yield a multimethod measure at each wave. Maternal sensitivity was observationally coded at each wave and mothers self-reported emotion dysregulation at 6 and 14 months. A random intercepts cross-lagged model with maternal emotion dysregulation specified as a moderator revealed that infant negative emotionality at 6 months was negatively associated with maternal sensitivity at 14 months, but only among mothers higher in emotion dysregulation. Higher maternal sensitivity was in turn associated with lower infant negative emotionality when infants were 26 months of age. The indirect pathway was significant, lending support for the transactional model. Implications for future research and prevention/intervention are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Family Context, Parenting and Child Development: An Epigenetic Approach

This paper presents an essay that uses an epigenetic approach to attain an inclusive and in-depth understanding of the influence of family context and quality of parenting on children’s psychological development. Based on the identification of a key developmental process in which interactions are continuously internalised, the approach draws attention to the bidirectional and systemic nature of intrafamily and parenting interactions and highlights the multiple factors that influence them, which are linked to the developmental history of the species, the individual characteristics of both the child and their parents, and contextual variables. In response to these internalised interactions, the body activates epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, which may affect the phenotypic expression of the genome. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed in light of the current process of identifying the biological profiles underlying negative and positive parenting practices. Some insights are offered regarding the challenges and opportunities that parents and policymakers should address in the 21st century in connection with the promotion of positive parenting, taking into account the epigenetic processes triggered by adverse environments for children and their families.

The Best and Worst of Times: Predictors of New Fathers' Parenting Satisfaction and Stress

This study examined predictors of new fathers' parenting satisfaction and stress using data from 182 fathers in dual-earner couples who were followed across their transition to parenthood. Expectant fathers completed surveys about their personal characteristics (anxiety, belief in maternal essentialism, parenting self-efficacy expectations) and family relationships (confidence in the couple relationship) during the third trimester of pregnancy. At three months postpartum, fathers completed surveys about their family relationships (maternal gatekeeping) and child characteristics (infant negative emotionality, infant gender), as well as their parenting satisfaction and stress. Results of regression analyses indicated that expectant fathers with greater parenting self-efficacy expectations reported less parenting stress and greater satisfaction at three months postpartum. More anxious expectant fathers were at risk of experiencing elevated levels of parenting stress postpartum, as were fathers with lower endorsement of maternal essentialism and infants highly negative in mood. Fathers were more satisfied in their roles as parents when mothers engaged in greater gate-opening behavior, particularly when those fathers expressed less confidence in their couple relationships prior to their child's birth. Results indicate the importance of screening expectant and new fathers for anxiety, strengthening expectant fathers' parenting self-efficacy, and encouraging greater maternal support for engaged fathering.

A Transactional Model of Infant Still-Face Response and Maternal Behavior During the First Year

The present study takes a transactional approach to extend understanding of temporal relations between parenting behaviors and infant response to the face‐to‐face still‐face, a widely used method assessing infants’ affective and behavioral response to a violation of social expectations. A low‐income, urban sample of 180 mothers and infants participated when infants were 4 and 6 months old. Directional relations between infants’ still‐face response (i.e., change in affect and gaze from interaction to still face) and three parenting dimensions were examined using cross‐lagged structural equation models. Infant still‐face response predicted later parenting behavior, while the reverse association was not significant. Specifically, infants with a greater reduction in positive affect from interaction to still face had parents with more positive parenting and less negative parenting behaviors 2 months later, controlling for prior parenting and concurrent infant behavior. Furthermore, infants who increased gaze to mother from interaction to still face had mothers who used more mental state talk 2 months later. Findings underscore the importance of examining transactional relations between infant and parent behaviors, and in particular highlight the influence of infants on parents. Acknowledging these infant‐effects is critical to the development and implementation of interventions targeting parent‐infant interactions.