Maternal technology use during infant feeding and care and infant temperament: A longitudinal analysis

• In Event: The complex feelings and family correlates surrounding parent technology use

Abstract

---BACKGROUND: Many mothers of young infants report frequent use of smart phones and other distracting technologies (e.g., television) during infant feeding and care interactions (Ventura et al., 2020). The “present absence” created when mothers disengage from mother-infant interactions to attend to mobile devices may negatively impact infant behavior in ways that shape dimensions of infant temperament, including negative affectivity, positive affectivity/surgency, and orienting/regulatory capacity (Myruski et al., 2018; Stockdale et al., 2020). However, it is also possible that mothers who perceive their infants to be more challenging (e.g., exhibiting higher levels of negative affectivity) use distracting technologies to cope. Previous cross-sectional research suggests more frequent maternal technology use is associated with greater infant negative affectivity and lower infant orienting/regulatory capacity, and the strength of these associations may differ for younger versus infants (Alvarez Gutierrez &Ventura, 2021; Ventura et al., 2021). Further longitudinal research is needed to better understand the direction of these associations and potential bidirectional influences between maternal technology use and infant temperament over time.
---METHODS: The present study was a secondary analysis of data from a study of infant feeding and growth. Mothers (n = 76) of young infants completed self-report measures of maternal technology use during infant feeding and care [Maternal Distraction Questionnaire (Ventura et al., 2020)], infant temperament [Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Very Short Form (Putnam et al., 2014)], and family demographics at study entry and then again during a 12-week follow-up assessment. Cross-lagged panel models were used to estimate effects of maternal technology use and dimensions of infant temperament on one another over time; separate models were used to examine associations between maternal technology use and negative affectivity and orienting/regulatory capacity, respectively. Models were controlled for infant age, mothers’ education level, and whether the dyad was breast- vs formula-feeding.
---RESULTS: Average infant age at study entry was 12.7 weeks and 55% (n = 43) of mothers reported an education level of some college or a college degree. Fifty-five percent (n = 45) of mothers reported any breastfeeding. As illustrated in Figure 1, maternal technology use and infant negative affectivity were significantly and positively associated at baseline (β = .35, p = .003), but not at the 12-week follow-up (β = -.08, p = .21). In addition, maternal technology use at baseline was not associated with infant negative affectivity at the 12-week follow-up (β = -.14, p = .18), nor was infant negative affectivity at baseline with maternal technology use at the 12-week follow-up (β = .01, p = .98). As illustrated in Figure 2, cross-lagged associations between maternal technology use and infant orienting/regulation capacity were similarly non-significant.
---CONCLUSIONS: Findings from the present study did not illustrate longitudinal effects of maternal technology use on infant negative affectivity or orienting/regulatory capacity, or vice versa. Greater frequency of maternal technology use during infant feeding and care was associated with greater infant negative affectivity during early infancy, but this association was not maintained over time. Further research with larger, more diverse samples is warranted.

Authors

• Alison K. Ventura, California Polytechnic State University
  Presenting Author

• Camille M. Delfosse, California Polytechnic State University