Postnatal depressive symptoms mediate the relation between prenatal role overload and responsiveness among first-time mothers

BACKGROUND

This study examined the association between prenatal role overload and maternal responsiveness, with postnatal depressive symptoms as a mediator.

METHODS

Participants were 127 first-time mothers in Hong Kong (M = 32.8, SD = 4.0). Participants completed data collection for self-report on prenatal role overload (Time 1) in the third trimester of pregnancy, postnatal depressive symptoms (Time 2) at 4-month postpartum and maternal responsiveness (Time 3) at 9-month postpartum. The hypothesised mediation model was tested with the Hayes PROCESS macro (model 4).

RESULTS

Time 1 prenatal role overload was not directly predictive of later responsiveness (B = -0.06, p = .270). However, the indirect effect of Time 2 postnatal depressive symptoms in the association between Time 1 prenatal role overload and Time 3 responsiveness was significant (unstandardised effect = -0.03, 95% Bootstrapping CI = [-0.081, -0.001]; standardised effect = -0.06, 95% Bootstrapping CI = [-0.152, -0.002]).

CONCLUSION

Findings highlighted that more attention is required to the support provided to first-time expectant mothers to prevent role overload, and that intervention for postnatal depressive symptoms may focus on role overload. The findings also highlighted that postnatal depressive symptoms could be a promising way to increase maternal responsiveness.

Experiences of Mothers Participating in a Mother-Child Video Therapy Program

INTRODUCTION

Responsive and sensitive parenting promotes the development of self-regulation and lowers stress in children, which in turn is associated with greater educational and economic achievement and better physical and emotional health later in life. Dyadic parent-child video-feedback programs can help parents learn effective parenting skills, yet these programs are estimated to retain only about half of eligible participants. Programs vary widely, and little is known about what is valued by parents who do complete these programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the goals, experiences, and outcomes important to mothers who completed a video-feedback program.

METHODS

Transcripts of exit interviews of participants in a video-feedback program (N = 31) were analyzed using qualitative description methodology. Trustworthiness was achieved through deep engagement with the material, following an iterative process in analyzing transcripts, and member checks to confirm results.

RESULTS

Mothers enrolled in the program to better understand their child, help their child learn, and to develop closer connections with their child. Elements of the program that helped mothers achieve these goals were (1) positive feedback and support by the therapist, (2) dedicated one-on-one time spent with their infant, (3) help with concrete needs, and (4) learning from watching videotaped play sessions. As a result, mothers reported greater confidence as caregivers, use of more responsive and sensitive parenting strategies, and improvements in their children's behaviors and their own mental health.

DISCUSSION

Incorporating elements of the program found to be most useful in this study into video-feedback programs may make video-feedback programs more attractive to parents and increase retention. Midwives and women's health care providers may incorporate elements of the program into their clinical practice and advocacy, with special attention to elements most valued by parents themselves.

Use of a head camera to examine maternal input and its relation to 10- to 26-month-olds' acquisition of mental and non-mental state vocabulary

We examined the relation between maternal responsiveness and children's acquisition of mental and non-mental state vocabulary in 59 pairs of mothers and children aged 10 to 26 months as they engaged in a free-play episode. Children wore a head camera and responsiveness was defined as maternal talk that commented on the child's actions (e.g., when the child reached for or manipulated an object visible in the head camera). As hypothesized, maternal responsiveness correlated with both mental and non-mental state vocabulary acquisition in younger children (approximately 18 months and younger) but not older children. We posit a diminishing role for maternal responsiveness in language acquisition as children grow older.

Stressful life events, the incidence of infertility, and the moderating effect of maternal responsiveness: a longitudinal study

Although the association between stress and poor reproductive health is well established, this association has not been examined from a life course perspective. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort (N = 1652), we fit logistic regression models to test the association between stressful life events (SLEs) (e.g., death of a close relative, victim of a violent crime) during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood and later experiences of infertility (inability to achieve pregnancy after 12 months of intercourse without contraception) reported by female respondents. Because reactions to SLEs may be moderated by different family life experiences, we stratified responses by maternal responsiveness (based on the Conger and Elder Parent-Youth Relationship scale) in adolescence. After adjusting for demographic and environmental factors, in comparison to respondents with one or zero SLEs, those with 3 SLEs and ≥ 4 SLEs had 1.68 (1.16, 2.42) and 1.88 (1.38, 2.57) times higher odds of infertility, respectively. Respondents with low maternal responsiveness had higher odds of infertility that increased in a dose-response manner. Among respondents with high maternal responsiveness, only those experiencing four or more SLEs had an elevated risk of infertility (aOR = 1.53; 1.05, 2.25). In this novel investigation, we demonstrate a temporal association between the experience of SLEs and self-reported infertility. This association varies by maternal responsiveness in adolescence, highlighting the importance of maternal behavior toward children in mitigating harms associated with stress over the life course.

The cow-calf relationship: from maternal responsiveness to the maternal bond and the possibilities for fostering

The relationship between the cow and calf develops over time after birth. The behavioural mechanisms underlying its development are important and comparisons with other species may increase our understanding. In nature the cow will separate herself from the herd to give birth and then the cow-calf relationship will develop with the ability to recognise each other. While twinning levels are low in cows, they do rear their twin calves. If the calf is lost at or after birth the cow can be responsive towards other calves and in specific circumstances the cow can develop a maternal bond with an alien calf, i.e. foster. In this Research Reflection a distinction is made between the development of, on the one hand, maternal responsiveness (the tendency of the cow to care for a calf which occurs before birth) and, on the other hand, the development of the maternal-filial bond or relationship which is reciprocal, occurs after birth and is characterised by the ability to discriminate the mother's own calf from alien calves. These processes can overlap and the relationship between cow and calf in this 'hider' species is more plastic than in some other mammals. For example, a cow might form an attachment with an alien calf before she gives birth. After the cow has given birth the loss of her own calf may result in the state of maternal responsiveness being maintained, such that developing a maternal bond with one or several appropriate alien calves is possible. Viable fostering techniques are possible. If a maternal relationship to the mother's own calf has developed then fostering will be more difficult. If the cow's relationship with her own calf is not exclusive, and she is in a state of maternal responsiveness then fostering of calves of an appropriate age and status can be achieved.

Turkish validation of the maternal responsiveness global rating scale in slow-to-talk toddlers

BACKGROUND

The relation between maternal responsiveness and language development has been shown in previous literature however it is difficult to evaluate responsiveness because of the difficulties involved when coding the specific patterns of parent-child interactions. The maternal responsiveness global rating scale is important because it requires less time and expertise from professionals and predicts the language outcome of children. The aim of the study was to adapt the Maternal Responsiveness Global Rating Scale into Turkish, thereby making it accessible to a variety of professionals, and creating a way to use this useful scale.

METHODS

Twenty-seven 18- to 42-month old children who had been admitted to the Developmental Pediatrics outpatient clinic with concerns of speech delay and had received a diagnosis of language disorder with the standardized language test were included in the study. The general development and language development of each participant was evaluated using Denver II, Bayley-third edition and Pre-school Language Scale-5. After the translation study of the Maternal Responsiveness Global Rating Scale, video collecting and rating procedures and finally reliability and validity analyses were implemented.

RESULTS

The results of this study demonstrated that the Turkish translation of the Maternal Responsiveness Global Rating Scale shows strong evidence of adequate reliability and validity and is a feasible tool to measure responsiveness in routine child health care practice for children with language delay.

CONCLUSIONS

This in expensive, easy-to-use and reliable tool may be recommended in order to identify which slow-to-talk toddlers and their mothers need early intervention and may be used by community-based practitioners and researchers in Turkey to support language development during early intervention stages.

Do Helpful Mothers Help? Effects of Maternal Scaffolding and Infant Engagement on Cognitive Performance

Infants are highly social and much early learning takes place in a social context during interactions with caregivers. Previous research shows that social scaffolding - responsive parenting and joint attention - can confer benefits for infants' long-term development and learning. However, little previous research has examined whether dynamic (moment-to-moment) adaptations in adults' social scaffolding are able to produce immediate effects on infants' performance. Here we ask whether infants' success on an object search task is more strongly influenced by maternal behavior, including dynamic changes in response behavior, or by fluctuations in infants' own engagement levels. Thirty-five mother-infant dyads (infants aged 10.8 months, on average) participated in an object search task that was delivered in a naturalistic manner by the child's mother. Measures of maternal responsiveness (teaching duration; sensitivity) and infant engagement (engagement score; visual attention) were assessed. Mothers varied their task delivery trial by trial, but neither measure of maternal responsiveness significantly predicted infants' success in performing the search task. Rather, infants' own level of engagement was the sole significant predictor of accuracy. These results indicate that while parental scaffolding is offered spontaneously (and is undoubtedly crucial for development), in this context children's endogenous engagement proved to be a more powerful determinant of task success. Future work should explore this interplay between parental and child-internal factors in other learning and social contexts.

The link between maternal and child verbal abilities: An indirect effect through maternal responsiveness

Language abilities in early childhood show stability over time and play an important role in the development of other cognitive processes. Identifying modifiable environmental risk factors is important to informing prevention and early intervention efforts. Maternal verbal ability has been previously linked to child verbal ability. The current study examined whether maternal and child verbal abilities were linked indirectly through early childhood maternal responsiveness. Data come from a longitudinal birth cohort study. Participants included 133 mothers and their children recruited from maternity wards shortly after birth. Maternal verbal ability was measured using the Vocabulary subtest from the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Second Edition (child age 8 months). Child verbal ability was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (36 months). A latent maternal responsiveness variable was estimated using three developmentally sensitive indicators; one during infancy (child age 8 months) and two when children were 36 months. Results of a structural equation model indicated a significant indirect effect from maternal verbal abilities to child verbal abilities through maternal responsiveness. This indirect path was significant even after inclusion of another indirect path from maternal executive functioning to child verbal ability through maternal responsiveness (which was not significant). Future studies will benefit from experimental, genetically sensitive and/or cross-lagged designs to allow for conclusions related to directionality and causality. This body of research has implications for the study of the intergenerational transmission of verbal abilities and associated skills, behaviours and adaptive outcomes.

Relative effects of breastfeeding intention and practice on maternal responsiveness

Our objective was to examine the differential effects of antenatal breastfeeding intention (BI) and breastfeeding practice (BP) on maternal postnatal responsiveness. We conducted a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from a subsample of 962 mother-infant dyads from a U.K.-based birth cohort study the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Exposures were BI and BPs measured at 32 weeks of gestation and 18 months' postpartum. The outcome was maternal responsiveness assessed at 12 months' postpartum. We used logistic regression analyses unadjusted and adjusted for confounders. Intention to breastfeed was associated with increased odds of postnatal maternal responsiveness independent of BP, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.34, 95% CI [1.42, 3.86]. There was no evidence that BP was an independent predictor of maternal responsiveness, OR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.55, 1.57]. Life-course epidemiology analyses demonstrated that maternal responsiveness is most positive when both BI and BP are present. This is the first population-based study to provide evidence that BI during pregnancy is more strongly associated with maternal postnatal responsiveness than is BP. Further research is needed to understand the determinants of BI in pregnancy and its relationships with maternal responsiveness.

DNA methylation of NR3c1 in infancy: Associations between maternal caregiving and infant sex

Caregivers play a critical role in scaffolding infant stress reactivity and regulation, but the mechanisms by which this scaffolding occurs is unclear. Animal models strongly suggest that epigenetic processes, such as DNA methylation, are sensitive to caregiving behaviors and, in turn, offspring stress reactivity. We examined the direct effects of caregiving behaviors on DNA methylation in infants and infant stress reactivity. Infants and mothers (N = 128) were assessed during a free play when infants were 5 months old. Maternal responsiveness and appropriate touch were coded. and infant buccal epithelial cells were sampled to assess for DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene, NR3c1 exon 1F. Infant cortisol reactivity was assessed in response to the still-face paradigm. Greater levels of maternal responsiveness and appropriate touch were related to less DNA methylation of specific regions in NR3c1 exon 1F, but only for females. There was no association with maternal responsiveness and appropriate touch or DNA methylation of NR3c1 exon 1F on prestress cortisol or cortisol reactivity. Our results are discussed in relation to programming models that implicate maternal care as an important factor in programing infant stress reactivity.

Mother⁻Infant Physical Contact Predicts Responsive Feeding among U.S. Breastfeeding Mothers

Responsive feeding—initiating feeding in response to early hunger cues—supports the physiology of lactation and the development of infant feeding abilities, yet there is a dearth of research examining what predicts responsive feeding. In non-Western proximal care cultures, there is an association between responsive feeding and mother–infant physical contact, but this has not been investigated within Western populations. In two studies, we tested whether mother–infant physical contact predicted feeding in response to early hunger cues versus feeding on a schedule or after signs of distress among U.S. breastfeeding mothers. With an online questionnaire in Study 1 (n = 626), physical contact with infants (via co-sleeping and babywearing) predicted increased likelihood of self-reported responsive feeding. Mothers who reported responsive feeding were more likely to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months, breastfeed more frequently throughout the day, and had a longer planned breastfeeding duration than mothers who reported feeding on a schedule or after signs of infant distress. In Study 2 (n = 96), a three-day feeding log showed that mother–infant physical contact predicted feeding in response to early hunger cues but mother–infant proximity (without physical contact) did not. In sum, our results demonstrate that physical contact with infants may shape breastfeeding behavior among U.S. mothers, highlighting a connection between social interaction and infant nutrition that warrants further investigation.

Associations between maternal responsive linguistic input and child language performance at age 4 in a community-based sample of slow-to-talk toddlers

BACKGROUND

In a community sample of slow-to-talk toddlers, we aimed to (a) quantify how well maternal responsive behaviors at age 2 years predict language ability at age 4 and (b) examine whether maternal responsive behaviors more accurately predict low language status at age 4 than does expressive vocabulary measured at age 2 years.

DESIGN OR METHODS

Prospective community-based longitudinal study. At child age 18 months, 1,138 parents completed a 100-word expressive vocabulary checklist within a population survey; 251 (22.1%) children scored ≤20th percentile and were eligible for the current study. Potential predictors at 2 years were (a) responsive language behaviors derived from videotaped parent-child free-play samples and (b) late-talker status. Outcomes were (a) Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool Second Edition receptive and expressive language standard score at 4 years and (b) low language status (standard score > 1.25 standard deviations below the mean on expressive or receptive language).

RESULTS

Two hundred eight (82.9% of 251) participants were retained to age 4. In adjusted linear regression analyses, maternal expansions predicted higher receptive (p < 0.001, partial R²  = 6.5%) and expressive (p < 0.001, partial R²  = 7.7%), whereas labels predicted lower receptive (p = 0.01, partial R²  = 2.8%) and expressive (p = 0.007, partial R²  = 3.5%) language scores at 4. The logistic regression model containing only responsive behaviors achieved "fair" predictive ability of low language status at age 4 (area under curve [AUC] = 0.79), slightly better than the model containing only late-talker status (AUC = 0.74). This improved to "good" predictive ability with inclusion of other known risk factors (AUC = 0.82).

CONCLUSION

A combination of short measures of different dimensions, such as parent responsive behaviors, in addition to a child's earlier language skills increases the ability to predict language outcomes at age 4 to a precision that is approaching clinical value. Research to further enhance predictive values should be a priority, enabling health professionals to identify which slow-to-talk toddlers most likely will or will not experience later poorer language.

Neurobiology of culturally common maternal responses to infant cry

This report coordinates assessments of five types of behavioral responses in new mothers to their own infants' cries with neurobiological responses in new mothers to their own infants' cries and in experienced mothers and inexperienced nonmothers to infant cries and other emotional and control sounds. We found that 684 new primipara mothers in 11 countries (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, France, Kenya, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the United States) preferentially responded to their infants' vocalizing distress by picking up and holding and by talking to their infants, as opposed to displaying affection, distracting, or nurturing. Complementary functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analyses of brain responses to their own infants' cries in 43 new primipara US mothers revealed enhanced activity in concordant brain territories linked to the intention to move and to speak, to process auditory stimulation, and to caregive [supplementary motor area (SMA), inferior frontal regions, superior temporal regions, midbrain, and striatum]. Further, fMRI brain responses to infant cries in 50 Chinese and Italian mothers replicated, extended, and, through parcellation, refined the results. Brains of inexperienced nonmothers activated differently. Culturally common responses to own infant cry coupled with corresponding fMRI findings to own infant and to generic infant cries identified specific, common, and automatic caregiving reactions in mothers to infant vocal expressions of distress and point to their putative neurobiological bases. Candidate behaviors embedded in the nervous systems of human caregivers lie at the intersection of evolutionary biology and developmental cultural psychology.

THE IMPACT OF DEPRESSION ON MATERNAL RESPONSES TO INFANT FACES IN PREGNANCY

Research has suggested that prenatal depression may be associated with disrupted maternal responses to infant stimuli, with depressed pregnant women not showing the bias toward distressed infants as that observed in nondepressed pregnant women. The current study examined the effects of depression on self‐ reported responses to infant stimuli, in early pregnancy. Women with clinical depression (n = 38), and nondepressed women (n = 67) were recruited from a wider cognitive behavioral therapy trial. They completed Maternal Response Scales in which they were presented with images of distressed, neutral, and happy infant faces, with no time limit. The women rated their responses to these images along three dimensions—wanting to comfort, wanting to turn away, and feelings of anxiety—using Likert scales via a computerized task. There was evidence that women with depression in pregnancy showed different responses than did women without depression. Women with depression were substantially more likely to be in the highest quartile for ratings of wanting to turn away, odds (OR) ratio = 4.15, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.63–10.5, p = .003, and also were substantially less likely to be in the highest quartile for wanting to comfort a distressed infant face, OR = 0.22, 95% CIs = 0.09–0.54, p < .001. Findings are consistent with there being both a heightened avoidant and a reduced comforting response toward distressed infants in depressed pregnant women, providing some support that depression disrupts maternal preparations at a conscious level.

Asthma-Related Immune Responses in Youth With Asthma: Associations With Maternal Responsiveness and Expressions of Positive and Negative Affect in Daily Life

OBJECTIVES

Stressful family environments early in life have negative effects on physical health. However, less is known about the health effects of positive aspects of families. We examined the associations between maternal responsiveness and immune markers among youth with asthma and identified youth expressions of positive affect as a potential mechanism of these associations.

METHODS

Forty-three youths with asthma (26 boys; aged 10-17 years) wore the Electronically Activated Recorder for 4 days to assess maternal responsiveness and youth expressions of affect from audio-recordings of daily life. Trained coders rated Electronically Activated Recorder sound files for expressions of maternal responsiveness and affect displayed by the youth. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated, cultured, and assayed to determine stimulated levels of interleukin (IL)-5, IL-13, and interferon-γ.

RESULTS

Greater maternal responsiveness was associated with decreased stimulated production of IL-5 (r = -0.38, p = .012) and IL-13 (r = -0.33, p = .031). Greater total positive affect in youth was linked to decreased stimulated production of IL-5 (r = -0.46, p = .002) and IL-13 (r = -0.37, p = .014). Total negative affect among youth was unrelated to immune responses. There was a significant indirect effect of maternal responsiveness via positive affect in youth on lower levels of IL-5 (95% confidence interval = -3.41 to -0.03) and IL-13 (95% confidence interval = -2.34 to -0.01) when adjusting for caregiver-youth conflict and negative affect among youth.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate the importance of positive family interactions for youth and provide preliminary evidence for a mechanism through which parenting can influence immune responses in youth with asthma.

Effects of socioeconomic status on maternal and child positive behaviors in daily life among youth with asthma

OBJECTIVE

Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with poorer behavioral and emotional outcomes in children with asthma. This study investigated the associations between maternal income and education and naturalistically observed behaviors and affect during everyday parent-child interactions.

METHODS

53 predominantly low-income youth with asthma, aged 10-17 years, wore a naturalistic event-sampling device, the Electronically Activated Recorder, for 4 days to assess mother and child positive behaviors and affect in daily life.

RESULTS

Maternal education, but not income, was positively associated with child positive behaviors, displays of mother and child positive affect, and increased maternal responsiveness. Maternal positive affect and maternal responsiveness mediated the effect of maternal education on child positive affect.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that maternal education has an important influence on the socioemotional adjustment of youth with asthma and point to the importance of investigating the independent influence of socioeconomic status components on everyday parent-child interactions.

Adolescent Reactions to Maternal Responsiveness and Internalizing Symptomatology: A Daily Diary Investigation

A daily diary methodology was employed to gather teens' perceptions of maternal responsiveness to daily stressful events and teens' reactions to maternal responsiveness in a diverse sample (792 entries from 104 teens; 81% African American, mean age 13.7 years). Additionally, parents and teens completed baseline reports of internalizing symptoms. Diary findings were congruent with prior studies employing self-report measures of global maternal responses to emotion (e.g., higher probability of Accepting reactions to supportive responses, higher probabilities of Attack, Avoid-Withdraw reactions to non-supportive responses). Elevated baseline internalizing symptoms were related to perception of elevated Punish and Magnify responses during the week, and more Avoidant (Avoid-Withdraw and Avoid-Protect) reactions to responsiveness. Results are discussed in the context of reciprocal emotion socialization processes.

Association between maternal depressive symptoms in the early post-natal period and responsiveness in feeding at child age 2 years

Maternal depression is a known risk factor for poor outcomes for children. Pathways to these poor outcomes relate to reduced maternal responsiveness or sensitivity to the child. Impaired responsiveness potentially impacts the feeding relationship and thus may be a risk factor for inappropriate feeding practices. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationships between self-reported maternal post-natal depressive symptoms at child age 4 months and feeding practices at child age 2 years in a community sample. Participants were Australian first-time mothers allocated to the control group of the NOURISH randomized controlled trial when infants were 4 months old. Complete data from 211 mothers (of 346 allocated) followed up when their children were 2 years of age (51% girls) were available for analysis. The relationship between Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score (child age 4 months) and child feeding practices (child age 2 years) was tested using hierarchical linear regression analysis adjusted for maternal and child characteristics. Higher EPDS score was associated with less responsive feeding practices at child age 2 years: greater pressure [β = 0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04-0.32, P = 0.01], restriction (β = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.001-0.28, P = 0.05), instrumental (β = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.005-0.27, P = 0.04) and emotional (β = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.01-0.29, P = 0.03) feeding practices (ΔR(2) values: 0.02-0.03, P < 0.05). This study provides evidence for the proposed link between maternal post-natal depressive symptoms and lower responsiveness in child feeding. These findings suggest that the provision of support to mothers experiencing some levels of depressive symptomatology in the early post-natal period may improve responsiveness in the child feeding relationship.

Behavioral and Psychophysiological Responsiveness During Child Feeding in Mothers with Histories of Eating Disorders: A Pilot Study

The aim of this pilot project was to describe maternal responsiveness during child feeding in mothers with eating disorder histories through the combined use of observational, self-report, and physiologic methods. For this non-randomized cohort pilot study, 25 mothers with histories of eating disorders and 25 mothers with no history of an eating disorder with children ages 6-36 months were selected such that the groups were similar based on child age group (within 6 months) and child sex. Maternal behavioral responsiveness to child cues was assessed by video-recording and behavioral coding of both a free-play and feeding episode. Physiologic engagement was assessed through measurement of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity during free-play and feeding episodes. No differences were detected in observed behavioral responsiveness during feeding or free-play in mothers with eating disorder histories compared with controls. Mothers with eating disorder histories did report more parenting stress, increased anxiety, and exhibited a blunted physiologic stress response (less RSA reactivity) during both feeding and free-play interactions with their children. These results support future larger-scale investigations of RSA reactivity in mothers with eating disorders.

Longitudinal relations among maternal behaviors, effortful control and young children's committed compliance

In a sample (n = 235) of 30-, 42-, and 54-month-olds, the relations among parenting, effortful control (EC), impulsivity, and children's committed compliance were examined. Parenting was assessed with mothers' observed sensitivity and warmth; EC was measured by mothers' and caregivers' reports, as well as a behavioral task; impulsivity was assessed by mothers' and caregivers' reports; and committed compliance was observed during a cleanup and prohibition task, as well as measured by adults' reports. Using path modeling, there was evidence that 30-month parenting predicted high EC and low impulsivity a year later when the stability of the outcomes was controlled, and there was evidence that 30- and 42-month EC, but not impulsivity, predicted higher committed compliance a year later, controlling for earlier levels of the outcomes. Moreover, 42-month EC predicted low impulsivity a year later. Fixed effects models, which are not biased by omitted time-invariant variables, also were conducted and showed that 30-month parenting still predicted EC a year later, and 42-month EC predicted later low impulsivity. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of differentiating between effortful control and impulsivity and the potential mediating role of EC in the relations between parenting and children's committed compliance.

G x E interaction in the organization of attachment: mothers' responsiveness as a moderator of children's genotypes

BACKGROUND

Scholars acknowledge that both biologically-founded child temperament and environmental factors are influential in determining the quality of infant-mother attachment. We present evidence for gene by environment (G x E) interaction in the organization of attachment.

METHODS

Participants were 88 typically developing infants and their mothers. Molecular genetic measures of the infants focused on the polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR, ss/sl vs. ll genotype). Mothers' responsiveness to their infants at 7 months was observed in lengthy naturalistic interactions, and was conceptualized as the environmental influence.

RESULTS

For infants with a short allele (ss/sl ), variation in mothers' responsiveness was significantly associated with attachment security, assessed at 15 months in the Strange Situation. For those infants, low responsiveness predicted particularly high risk for insecure attachment, and high responsiveness offset that risk. For infants homozygous for the long allele (ll ), there was no association between responsiveness and attachment organization.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings show that the quality of early care serves to amplify or offset the risk conferred by genotype.

What's in a smile? Maternal brain responses to infant facial cues

OBJECTIVES

Our goal was to determine how a mother's brain responds to her own infant's facial expressions, comparing happy, neutral, and sad face affect.

METHODS

In an event-related functional MRI study, 28 first-time mothers were shown novel face images of their own 5- to 10-month-old infant and a matched unknown infant. Sixty unique stimuli from 6 categories (own-happy, own-neutral, own-sad, unknown-happy, unknown-neutral, and unknown-sad) were presented randomly for 2 seconds each, with a variable 2- to 6-second interstimulus interval.

RESULTS

Key dopamine-associated reward-processing regions of the brain were activated when mothers viewed their own infant's face compared with an unknown infant's face. These included the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra regions, the striatum, and frontal lobe regions involved in (1) emotion processing (medial prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and insula cortex), (2) cognition (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), and (3) motor/behavioral outputs (primary motor area). Happy, but not neutral or sad own-infant faces, activated nigrostriatal brain regions interconnected by dopaminergic neurons, including the substantia nigra and dorsal putamen. A region-of-interest analysis revealed that activation in these regions was related to positive infant affect (happy > neutral > sad) for each own-unknown infant-face contrast.

CONCLUSIONS

When first-time mothers see their own infant's face, an extensive brain network seems to be activated, wherein affective and cognitive information may be integrated and directed toward motor/behavioral outputs. Dopaminergic reward-related brain regions are activated specifically in response to happy, but not sad, infant faces. Understanding how a mother responds uniquely to her own infant, when smiling or crying, may be the first step in understanding the neural basis of mother-infant attachment.

Cognitive and motor development among small-for-gestational-age infants: impact of zinc supplementation, birth weight, and caregiving practices

OBJECTIVE

Infants who are born small for gestational age (SGA) are at risk for developmental delays, which may be related to deficiencies in zinc, an essential trace metal, or to deficiencies in their ability to elicit caregiver responsiveness (functional isolation hypothesis). The objective of this study was to evaluate at 6 and 10 months of age the impact of a 9-month supplementation trial of 5 mg of zinc on the development and behavior of infants who were born SGA and to evaluate infants' ability to elicit responsive caregiver behavior.

METHODS

A randomized, controlled trial of zinc supplementation was conducted among 200 infants in a low-income, urban community in Delhi, India. Infants were recruited when they were full term (>36 weeks) and SGA (birth weight <10th percentile weight-for-gestational age). Infants were randomized to receive daily supplements of a micronutrient mix (folate, iron, calcium, phosphorus, and riboflavin) with or without 5 mg of zinc sulfate. The supplement was administered by field workers daily from 30 days to 9 months of age. At 6 and 10 months, infant development and behavior were measured in a clinical setting using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II. Caregiver responsiveness, observed on an Indian version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment scale, was measured during a home visit at 10 months. During both the clinic and home visits, caregivers reported on their infant's temperament.

RESULTS

There were no direct effects of zinc supplementation on the infants' development or behavior at either 6 or 10 months. In a subgroup analysis among the zinc-supplemented infants, lower birth weight infants were perceived to be more temperamentally difficult than higher weight infants; in the control group, birth weight was not associated with temperament. Heavier birth weight infants had better scores on all measures of development and behavior at 6 months and on changes in mental and motor development from 6 to 10 months, compared with lighter birth weight infants. Boys had better weight gain and higher scores on mental development and emotional regulation than girls. Infants who were from families of higher socioeconomic status (indexed by parental education, house size, and home ownership) had higher scores on mental development and orientation/engagement (exploratory behavior) than infants who were from families of lower socioeconomic status. In keeping with the functional isolation hypothesis, caregiver responsiveness was associated with infant irritability, controlling for socioeconomic status, gender, birth weight, and weight gain. Responsive mothers were more likely to perceive their infants to be temperamentally easy than less responsive mothers.

CONCLUSION

Possible explanations for the lack of effects of zinc supplementation on infant development and behavior include 1) subtle effects of zinc supplementation that may not have been detected by the Bayley Scales, 2) interference with other nutritional deficiencies, or 3) no impact of zinc deficiency on infants' development and behavior. The link between birth weight and irritability among infants in the zinc supplementation group suggests that the response to zinc supplementation may differ by birth weight, with irritability occurring among the most vulnerable infants. Longer term follow-up studies among zinc-supplemented infants are needed to examine whether early supplementation leads to developmental or behavioral changes that have an impact on school-age performance. The relationship between infant irritability and low maternal responsiveness lends support to the functional isolation hypothesis and the importance of asking caregivers about infant temperament.