Exploring the Moderating Role of Infant Sleep Variability between Infant Temperament and Maternal Sensitivity

• In Event: 3-129 - Examining Novel Predictors of Maternal Sensitivity during Infancy within the context of Risk

Integrative Statement

Individual infant characteristics including temperament and sleep have been acknowledged as important influencers of maternal caregiving behavior and adjustment in the postpartum period. Maternal caregiving behavior has the potential to undermine or promote developmental outcomes in early childhood. Rapid changes in infant sleep throughout the first year of life may negatively impact maternal mental health and the ability to engage in sensitive caregiving. Yet, no studies have examined specific constellations of infant temperament and sleep as risk factors. Variations in these characteristics may pose unique challenges for caregivers and in turn have detrimental effects on later child development. Therefore, the current study aimed to 1) examine associations between observed infant temperament, infant sleep, maternal sensitivity and maternal depressive symptoms, and 2) explore infant sleep as a moderator of these constructs.
Participants included 131 mother-infant dyads from a longitudinal study of infant temperament over sampled for maternal depression. Majority of mothers reported being White, non-Hispanic (n = 104) and married (79.3%). Fifty two percent of infants were male. Most families fell in the middle to upper SES brackets (Hollingshead 4-factor SES score; n = 120). Mothers completed a battery of assessments, including clinician administered semi-structured interviews, and self-report questionnaires. At 8 months, mother-infant dyadic observations were coded using the Temperament Adjective Triad Assessment (Seifer et al., 1994) and infant sleep was assessed via actigraphy and maternal daily diary reports of infant sleep. Maternal depressive symptoms on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Miller, Bishop, Norman, & Maddever, 1985) and maternal sensitivity on the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (Pederson & Moran, 1995) were assessed at 15 months.
Multiple regression was used examine associations among infant temperament, infant sleep, maternal sensitivity, and maternal depressive symptoms. The interaction between infant temperament and variability in infant sleep efficiency significantly predicted maternal sensitivity. Simple slopes indicated that infant temperament was negatively associated with maternal sensitivity when variability in infant sleep efficiency was high (B = -.02, SE = .01, p = .015) but not low (B = .01, SE = .01, p = .245; see Figure 1). Similarly, the interaction between infant temperament and variability in sleep efficiency significantly predicted maternal depressive symptoms. Infant temperament and was positively associated with maternal depressive symptoms at 15 months when variability in infant sleep efficiency was high (B = .50, SE = .18, p = .006) but not when variability in infant sleep efficiency was low (B = -.09, SE = .17, p = .586; see Figure 2).
Our results highlight the importance of infant sleep across the first year of life as a contributor to the quality of early caregiving and maternal wellbeing in the postpartum period. Findings suggest that infant sleep may be a malleable and effective target for intervention to improve parenting and maternal mental health for at-risk mother-infant dyads.

Authors

• Kristyn Wong, Brown University
  Presenting Author

• Stephanie H. Parade, Bradley Research Center/Brown University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Renee Belair, Bradley Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Susan Dickstein, Brown University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ronald Seifer, Brown University
  Non-Presenting Author