Poster #144 - Maternal frightening behavior over the first two years predicts children’s later emotional and behavior problems

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

This study examined stability in frightening maternal behavior over the first two years of life and its consequences for children’s later development. Empirical evidence supports Main and Hesse’s (1990) proposal that parents who exhibit disorganized mental processes during discussions of trauma on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan & Main, 1985) and are likely to engage in frightening behavior with their infants. What is less clear, and the goal of this study, is to examine 1) whether maternal frightening (FR) maternal behaviors with 8-month-olds will continue at 24 months, and 2) whether there are enduring effects of maternal FR behavior on the child independent of disorganized attachment. Although meta-analyses have established that disorganized mother-infant predicts children’s later behavior problems (van IJzendoorn, Schuengel, Bakermans-Kranenburg, 1999), FR behavior may contribute unique variance to predicting child outcomes. Yet little if anything is known about how maternal FR behavior in the early years relates to child outcomes independent of disorganization. Mothers expecting their first child (N = 125) were followed from pregnancy until their children were 7-years-old. Mothers (mean age=29 years) were mostly white and SES ranged from lower to upper-middle class. Mothers completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) during their third trimester. When infants were 8 old, mothers were videotaped at home interacting with infants in play and caregiving tasks. Videos were rated on maternal behavior FR behavior using Main & Hesse’s (1995) scales. Infant disorganization was assessed at 12-15 months using Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure. At 24-months, mothers were videotaped in a laboratory play/clean-up task. The Main & Hess FR scales were adapted to be more developmentally appropriate for 24 month olds, including maternal frightening behaviors in the context of pretend play (e.g., mother pretending with toddler that a baby doll was sick or dying. At 7 years, teachers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991) assessing symptoms of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. Two SEM models were tested using Mplus. The first model examined continuity from maternal unresolved loss (assessed prenatally using the AAI), to maternal FR behavior at 8 months, to mother-infant attachment disorganization at 12-15 months, to maternal FR behavior at 24 months (see Figure 1). Results indicated that all of these relations were significant. Additionally, there were significant indirect effects to maternal FR behavior at 24-months from prenatal unresolved trauma and maternal FR behavior at 8-months. The second model examined the path from maternal unresolved loss to maternal FR behavior at either 8 or 24 months to child psychopathological symptoms assessed at 7-years: withdrawn depression, anxious depression, somatic symptoms, aggression, and ADHD (See Figure 2). As shown in Figure 2, FR behavior predicted all of the symptoms, even after controlling infant-mother disorganized attachment, maternal depression, and income. In sum, mothers’ frightening behavior showed stability over 16 months, taking new forms at 24-months, and had enduring negative effects on children, increasing their risk of emotional and behavior problems independent of mother-infant attachment disorganization. Implications of these findings for developing successful early intervention programs will be discussed.

Authors

• Deborah Jacobvitz, The University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Samantha Reisz, University of Cambridge
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ashleigh I. Aviles, The University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nancy Hazen, The University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author