Pregnant women’s emotional responses to infant cry stimulus predict later parenting behaviors

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Infant crying is a common occurrence in households with a neonate, and it is thought to serve the function of eliciting proximity and care from parents (Bowlby, 1969/1982). However, adults display a wide range of affective responses to infant cries, including aversion, amusement, and empathy (Leerkes & Siepak, 2006; Vecchio, Walter, & O’Leary, 2009). Little is known about whether parents’ emotional responses to infant cries are associated with their parenting behaviors when interacting with their infants. One study reported that mothers who experienced anger after hearing an infant cry were more likely to display putative behaviors when interacting with their own infant at age 16 months (Leerkes, Parade, & Gudmundson, 2011). However, it is not presently known whether other types of emotional responses to infant cry sounds predict parenting behavior. Therefore, the goal of the current study is to examine whether maternal emotional responses to an infant cry stimulus predict observed parenting behaviors during a parent-child interaction task when the child is aged seven months.

This longitudinal study included 97 women and their infants. Women’s ages ranged from 19 to 41 years (M = 30 years). Women were first invited to participate in a lab visit when they were in their third trimester of pregnancy. At the lab visit, the women rated the degree they were feeling 17 emotions on a four-point scale that ranged from “not at all” to “very strongly.” Immediately afterward, the women watched a video of an infant in distress. The women then rated their current emotions again using the same scale. Exploratory factor analyses of mothers’ pre- and post-cry ratings identified three factors: anger, anxiety, and concern. Composite scores were created by averaging the items that loaded on each factor, and change scores were created by subtracting the pre-cry scores from the post-cry scores.

The women were invited to participate in a second lab visit with their infants when the infants were seven months old. Mothers’ sensitivity, positive regard, detachment, and intrusiveness were rated based on a 15-minute observed mother-infant play interaction.

Results indicated that mothers who experienced increases in concern in response to the infant cry stimulus exhibited low levels of detachment during interactions with their own infant (β = -.25, SE = .07, p = .02; see Figure 1). In addition, mothers who experienced increases in anger in response to the infant cry stimulus exhibited high levels of intrusive behavior during interactions with their own infant (β = .28, SE = .09, p = .01; see Figure 2). Mothers’ experiences of anxiety in response to the infant cry stimuli did not significantly predict later parenting behavior, and mothers’ emotional responses to the cry sound did not significantly predict later maternal sensitivity or positive regard.

Altogether, these results indicate that expectant mother’s emotional responses to an infant cry stimulus predict later behaviors during play interactions with their own infants. The findings also suggest that the origin of variation in parents’ caregiving behaviors may be partially due to parents’ emotional responses to their infant’s cues.

Authors

• Bailey Speck, University of Utah
  Presenting Author

• Liz Conradt, Duke University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sheila E Crowell, University of Utah
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lee Raby, University of Utah
  Non-Presenting Author