Prenatal Depressive Symptoms and Infant Cry Processing: The Moderating Roles of Cognitive Control and Emotional Arousal

• In Event: Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Topic - Family Context & Processes

Abstract

Maternal depressive symptoms (DS) have been associated with maladaptive emotional and cognitive responses to infant cry cues, and consequently less sensitive responses to infant distress (Leerkes et al., 2015). Specifically, elevated maternal DS were related to mother-oriented cry processing (i.e., self-focused concerns, reactions, emotions and negative reactions towards the infant in the context of child distress; Leerkes et al., 2015). However, little is known about factors that may reduce the risk for maladaptive cognitions and parenting behaviors among mothers with elevated DS. In line with recent studies that highlight the critical role of maternal self-regulation in mother-infant interactions (Crandall et al., 2015), the current study examined whether the link between prenatal DS and mother-orienting cry processing is moderated by emotional arousal and cognitive control (Figure 1). We specifically hypothesized that high cognitive control coupled with low emotional arousal would attenuate the link between maternal DS and mother-oriented cry processing.
Participants were 166 pregnant women between 18-26 weeks of gestation. Prenatal DS were assessed using a combined score of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; Cox et al., 1987). Emotional arousal was assessed using the personal distress scale from the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980). Cognitive control was assessed using the Attentional Network Test-I (ANT-I; Callejas et al., 2005) from which an executive attention score (i.e., the ability to detect and resolve conflict) was calculated. Maternal oriented cry processing was measured following procedures developed by Leerkes et al (2015). Participants watched 2 video clips of infants displaying negative emotions and were asked to complete questionnaires assessing their beliefs, attributions and their emotions regarding the infant. Mother oriented (MO) cry processing was calculated by averaging the mother-oriented negative emotions, negative internal attributions and minimizing attributions scales.
Main effects, two-way and three-way interactions between DS, emotional arousal and cognitive control in predicting MO cry processing were examined in an OLS regression model. First, higher DS were related to higher MO cry processing (β= .21, p = .004). No significant two-way interactions were found. However, there was a significant three-way interaction between DS emotional arousal and cognitive control (β= -.36, p = .009). A simple slopes analysis indicated that when cognitive control was high and emotional arousal was low, DS were not related to MO cry processing (Figure 2). However, when both cognitive control and emotional arousal were high, DS were positively related to MO cry processing (β=.67, p = .00). In addition, when both cognitive control and emotional arousal were low, DS were related to MO cry processing (β=.68, p = .01).
The results suggest that high cognitive control coupled with low emotional arousal to others’ distress can buffer the negative effects DS may have on emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress. Our findings can inform interventions that could be delivered during pregnancy aimed at enhancing expectant mothers’ self-regulation abilities and promoting more infant oriented cry processing (i.e., empathy towards the child, emotional-situational attributions).

Authors

• Avigail Gordon Hacker, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
  Presenting Author

• Alisa Egotubov, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
  Non-Presenting Author

• Noa Gueron-Sela, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
  Non-Presenting Author