Evidence for cultural differences in affect during mother-infant interactions

Early mother-infant interactions within the context of childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms

BACKGROUND

Childbirth may lead to perinatal mental health issues, such as childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (CB-PTSS), depression, and anxiety. Despite well explored mother-infant interactions in the context of maternal depression and anxiety, only limited studies investigated mother-infant interactions in the context of CB-PTSS, which is the aim of the present study.

METHODS

One-hundred mother-infant dyads in the French speaking part of Switzerland were classified into three groups: birth-related symptoms (BRS, i.e., symptoms of re-experiencing and avoidance) (n = 20), general symptoms (GS, i.e., symptoms of negative cognition and mood and hyperarousal) (n = 46), and non-symptomatic (NS) (n = 34) based on maternal report on PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). At six months postpartum, mother-infant interactions were video-recorded and their quality was assessed using the Global Rating Scale. Data was analyzed using ordinal logistic and negative binomial regressions.

RESULTS

In the adjusted model, mothers in BRS group engaged in more frequent coercions compared to the NS group (B = -1.46, p = 0.01, 95%CI = -2.63, -0.36) and showed lower reciprocity in their interactions with their infants compared to the GS group (B = 1.21, p = 0.03, 95%CI = 0.05, 2.37).

LIMITATIONS

The use of a cross-sectional design limited the exploration of how consistent these findings are regarding mother-infant interactions between groups over time.

CONCLUSIONS

Mothers with higher BRS may need support to improve interactions with their infants. Future studies should consider longitudinal design to observe mother-infant interaction changes between CB-PTSS groups over time.

Social and nonsocial synchrony are interrelated and romantically attractive

The mechanisms of romantic bonding in humans are largely unknown. Recent research suggests that physiological synchrony between partners is associated with bonding. This study combines an experimental approach with a naturalistic dating setup to test whether the individual differences in social and nonsocial synchrony are interdependent, and linked to romantic attractiveness. In a preregistered online experiment with 144 participants, we discover that inducing physiological synchrony between an actor and an actress determines their attractiveness ratings by participants, indicating that synchrony can increase perceived attraction. In a lab-based naturalistic speed-dating experiment, we quantify in 48 participants the individual tendency for social physiological synchrony, nonsocial sensorimotor synchrony, and romantic attractiveness. We discover that the individual propensity to synchronize in social and nonsocial tasks is correlated. Some individuals synchronize better regardless of partners or tasks, and such Super Synchronizers are rated as more attractive. Altogether, this demonstrates that humans prefer romantic partners who can synchronize.

Childhood unpredictability research within the developmental psychopathology framework: Advances, implications, and future directions

Greater unpredictability in childhood from the level of the caregiver-child dyad to broader family, home, or environmental instability is consistently associated with disruptions in cognitive, socioemotional, behavioral, and biological development in humans. These findings are bolstered by experimental research in non-human animal models suggesting that early life unpredictability is an important environmental signal to the developing organism that shapes neurodevelopment and behavior. Research on childhood unpredictability has surged in the past several years, guided in part by theoretical grounding from the developmental psychopathology framework (shaped largely by Dr. Dante Cicchetti's innovative work). The current review focuses on future directions for unpredictability research, including probing intergenerational effects, the role of predictability in resilience, cultural and contextual considerations, and novel developmental outcomes that should be tested in relation to childhood unpredictability. We urge the integration of multidisciplinary perspectives and collaborations into future research on unpredictability. We also provide ideas for translating this research to real-world practice and policy and encourage high-quality research testing whether incorporating predictability into interventions and policy improves developmental outcomes, which would support further dissemination of these findings.

Breastfeeding at Any Cost? Adverse Effects of Breastfeeding Pain on Mother-Infant Behavior

Breast milk is considered the ideal infant nutrition, and medical organizations encourage breastfeeding worldwide. Moreover, breastfeeding is often perceived as a natural and spontaneous socio-biological process and one of the fundamental roles of new mothers. While breastfeeding is beneficial, little scientific consideration has been given to its potential psychological challenges. Here, we investigate the phenomenon of breastfeeding pain in mothers and its association with maternal and infant behavioral regulation. During the postpartum weeks, the mother-infant dyad can be considered one allostatic unit directed at infant regulation and development. We hypothesize that pain comprises an allostatic challenge for mothers and will thus impair the capacity for dyadic regulation. To test this, we recruited 71 mothers with varying levels of breastfeeding pain and videotaped them with their infants (2-35 weeks old) during spontaneous face-to-face interactions. We quantified the individual differences in dyadic regulation by behaviorally coding the second-by-second affective expressions for each mother and infant throughout their interactions. We tested the extent to which breastfeeding pain alters affect regulation during mother-infant interactions. We discovered that mothers with severe breastfeeding pain express less affective expressions and less infant-directed gaze during interactive moments of engagement and play than mothers with no or moderate pain. Moreover, infants of mothers experiencing pain during breastfeeding express less affective expressions and more mother-directed gaze while interacting with their mothers than infants of mothers who are not in pain. This demonstrates that the allostatic challenge of maternal pain interferes with the behavioral regulation of both mothers and infants. Since the mother-infant dyad is a codependent allostatic unit, the allostatic challenges of one partner can impact the dyad and thus potentially impact child development, bonding, and mother and infant well-being. The challenges of breastfeeding should be considered in addition to the nutritional advances.