Poster #53 - An Experimental Test of the Effects of Acute and Chronic Stress on Maternal Sensitivity

• In Event: Poster Session 07

Abstract

Introduction: Maternal sensitivity is integral to healthy child development (Leerkes, Blankson, & O’Brien, 2009; van den Boom, 1994); therefore, it is advantageous to identify its predictors and correlates. Caregiver sensitivity may be hampered by concurrent life stress (Belsky & Fearon, 2002). Indeed, most studies find associations between maternal sensitivity and various aspects of stress, such as family stress (e.g., financial strain, job loss, illness, and death; (Belsky & Fearon, 2002). Yet these studies do not reveal whether maternal stress causes maternal insensitivity. In this study, we used experimental manipulations of stress to evaluate whether maternal stress could lead to maternal insensitivity, furthering our understanding of how stress may impair maternal sensitivity and on which mothers stress exposure may have more of an impact.

Method: One hundred sixty-two women took part in this study during their third trimester of pregnancy, where chronic stress was assessed via the UCLA Life Stress Interview. When their infants were 7 months old, mothers attended a lab visit, where they were randomly assigned to a “worry” group (an acute stress exposure writing task) or a control group (a neutral writing task). Mothers then completed the Still-Face Paradigm with their infant., during which maternal sensitivity was assessed.

Results: We tested firstly whether mothers who were exposed to a parenting-related stressor would demonstrate lower levels of maternal sensitivity following this stressor, and secondly, whether higher maternal chronic stress levels in the past would interact with the worry condition to predict lower maternal sensitivity. First, using regression, we found no significant main effects of the stress condition on maternal sensitivity (B = -.01, p = .64). Secondly, using a hierarchal regression to test for moderation, we found a significant main effect of chronic stress (B = -.093, p = .005) and a significant interaction between the acute stress condition and chronic stress (B = -.18, p = .024), on maternal sensitivity. Simple slopes revealed that this interaction was only significant for women who had a history of high chronic stress (B = -.09, t = -1.97, p = .05; see Figure 1). For these women, being exposed to an acute stressor before completing the still-face paradigm with their infant predicted lower maternal sensitivity than women who had a history of lower chronic stress or women who were not exposed to the acute stressor.

Discussion: Maternal stress may influence the sensitivity that she is able to show toward her child. To our knowledge, no study has involved an experimental manipulation of a parenting-related acute stressor immediately prior to the interaction in which maternal sensitivity was assessed. Using a rich stress measurement interview and a novel experimental design, our study aimed to address these issues. Our results showed that a mother’s history of chronic stress seemed to influence her future ability to manage acute stress and nurture her infant. These results can help us identify specific parenting factors that are amenable to intervention.

Authors

• Mindy A. Brown, Brigham Young University
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Lauren Isenhour, University of Utah

• Sheila E Crowell, University of Utah

• Lee Raby, University of Utah

• Liz Conradt, Duke University