Poster #37 - Mood Unpredictability Links Maternal Maltreatment History and Prenatal Substance Exposure to Parenting at Toddler Age

• In Event: Poster Session 16

Abstract

Although there is robust evidence that maternal history of childhood maltreatment increases risk for nonoptimal parenting, less is understood about the mechanisms through which maltreatment impacts parenting. One potential mechanism may be maternal psychological distress (Schuetze & Eiden, 2005; Belsky et al., 2009) and unpredictability in maternal mood states (MU). Maternal MU predicts child outcomes from infancy to adolescence (Glynn et al., 2019; Howland et al., 2021), but little is known about associations with parenting. Experience of maternal maltreatment may also be associated with prenatal substance use, with independent effects on MU. MU may be especially impactful at toddler age, when parenting may be more challenging due to high levels of toddler reactivity (Belsky, 1984). We tested a conceptual model linking higher maternal maltreatment history and prenatal substance use with high, stable levels of MU across the pre-to-postnatal period, and that higher MU would be associated with less sensitive/more harsh parenting at toddler age.

Mother-child dyads (N = 247) participating in an ongoing longitudinal study were recruited during the first trimester of pregnancy into two groups: mothers who used tobacco or tobacco and cannabis prenatally (n = 178) and demographically similar non-substance-using mothers (n = 69). Maternal depressive symptoms and anger/hostility (BDI; Beck & Steer, 1984; BPAQ; Buss & Perry, 1992) were measured in pregnancy, 2, 9, and 16 months of child ages. We applied Shannon’s entropy to the item distribution of the BDI and BPAQ at each timepoint and averaged measurements to create prenatal and postnatal MU scores for each measure. At 24-months of child age, maternal harshness and sensitivity were coded during a mother-toddler free-play interactions using the Parent Child Early Relational Assessment (Clark, 1999). Maternal history of childhood maltreatment was measured at a later time point (CTQ; Bernstein et al., 1994).

We used two path analysis models, controlling for sociodemographic risk, mean levels of depressive and anger/hostility symptoms for each timepoint, and toddler regulation/reactivity. Both models had adequate fit (results are depicted in Figures 1 and 2). Higher maternal experience of childhood maltreatment and substance use were associated with higher unpredictability in prenatal depressive symptoms. Higher prenatal substance use was also associated with higher unpredictability in prenatal anger/hostility. There was stability in MU from pregnancy to the postnatal period in both models. As expected, higher postnatal unpredictability in depressive symptoms was associated with more harsh parenting at toddler age. Unexpectedly, higher postnatal unpredictability in anger/hostility was associated with more sensitive parenting at toddler age. One reason for this may be that mothers with high sociodemographic risk may have more consistent, higher levels of anger hostility.

These findings provide support for the hypothesis that mood unpredictability, a transdiagnostic marker of psychological distress, may have utility as a predictor of parenting outcomes. Results highlight the importance of continuity in prenatal-to-postnatal maternal MU in depressive symptoms and anger/hostility as predictors of parenting during toddlerhood. Finally, results provide important evidence of the intergenerational transmission of parenting from mother to child via MU during the transition from pregnancy to postpartum.

Authors

• Madison Rachel Kelm, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Presenting Author

• Rina Das Eiden, The Pennsylvania State Univeristy

• Pamela Schuetze, State University of New York Buffalo State University

• Nora Anne Tucker, Pennsylvania State University, University Park