Poster #97 - Infant Emotional Reactivity Moderates Pre- to Postpartum Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Mothers

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

Internalizing problems in mothers predict atypical emotional development in offspring (Brooker et al., 2013). Less is known about how infant characteristics impact internalizing symptoms in mothers, although parents of more negative infants show increases in internalizing symptoms across the child’s first years of life (Brooker et al., 2015). Child-to-parent influences may be particularly critical as mothers navigate bringing a new infant into the family. Indeed, postpartum depression and anxiety are highly prevalent (Reck et al., 2008) and rates are elevated for mothers of more difficult infants. To better understand how infant characteristics may impact maternal internalizing symptoms, we tested the influence of infant emotional reactivity on trajectories of maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression from pre- to postpartum. We tested parent perceptions, biological assessments and infant negative reactivity to novelty.

Ninety-two mothers-to-be were enrolled in a study of maternal mental health. Participation included two prenatal laboratory visits: one each during the second (M = 21.15 weeks; SD = 3.79) and third trimester (M = 35.92 weeks; SD = 1.47), and a final postnatal visit at infant age 4 months (M = 4.27, SD = 0.62). Rolling recruitment procedures resulted in 81 participants at the second trimester visit, 85 mothers at the third trimester visit, and 75 participants at infant age 4 months. Mothers reported current symptoms of anxiety (Penn State Worry Questionnaire; Meyer et al., 1990) and depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; Cox et al., 1987) at each visit. At infant age 4 months, mothers reported on levels of infant negative affect using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire – Revised version (Garstein & Rothbart, 2003). Infants’ negative reactivity to a series of moderately stressful laboratory procedures (Goldsmith & Rothbart, 1999; Kagan, 1996) was assessed via change in salivary cortisol (reactivity = post visit cortisol – pre-visit cortisol).

Greater maternal-rated negativity in infants was associated with less negative quadratic change in anxiety symptoms (B = 0.56, SE(B) = 0.29, p = 0.05) suggesting that maternal anxiety symptoms declined during the postnatal period more for mothers of infants rated as less negative. In contrast, mothers of infants who showed greater cortisol reactivity had higher variability in anxiety symptoms (intercept: B = 8.41, SE(B) = 2.95, p = 0.00; quadratic change: B = -0.80, SE(B) = 0.40, p = 0.04) from pre- to post-partum.

Maternal-rated negativity in infants was unrelated to changes in maternal depressive symptoms from pre- to postpartum. In contrast, infant cortisol reactivity was related to changes in depressive symptoms (linear: B = 2.11, SE(B) = 1.19, p = 0.03; quadratic change: B = -0.50, SE(B) = 0.23, p = 0.00) such that mothers of more negative infants showed greater increases and less decline in depressive symptoms over time. Together, these findings both expand on the previous work suggesting the importance of considering infant-based effects on maternal mental health in studies of parents and young children.

Authors

• Sejal Mistry, Texas A&M University
  Presenting Author

• Rebecca Brooker, Texas A&M
  Non-Presenting Author