Trajectories of Maternal Anxiety as a Function of Infant Negative Reactivity and Perceived Daily Stress

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Individual differences in behavioral reactivity—a precursor to temperamental behavioral inhibition—can be captured in early infancy via affective and motor reactions to novel stimuli. Reactivity is marked by elevated levels of motor activity and negative affect (Fox, Snidman, Haas, Degnan, & Kagan, 2015). The literature has focused on factors that impact socioemotional trajectories emerging from early reactivity. Variations in stability and trajectory may be in part due to the infant’s experience of parenting behaviors, and parental traits, such as anxiety. For example, infants receiving lower quality of maternal care display more negative affect during reactivity assessments, compared to infants experiencing high quality care (Hane & Fox, 2006). Although several have focused on maternal impact on the infant, infant characteristics may shape maternal functioning. Infant negativity, for example, could hamper the quality of mother-infant interactions, shaping trajectories for both the mother and the infant. This may be particularly true for infants high in negativity, who can be difficult to soothe and regulate. Broader environmental factors may also play a role in impacting parental traits and infant reactivity. In particular, daily stressors faced by parents and families may potentiate negative trajectories. In this study, we examine stability and change in parental anxiety from infant ages 4 to 24 months, as a function of infant negative reactivity and perceived household stress. The need to engage with and scaffold an infant high in negative reactivity may influence patterns of maternal anxiety, particularly if she also is under high levels of perceived daily stress.
Families were recruited from a larger multi-site longitudinal study. Reactivity was assessed through laboratory observation at 4-months of age (N=272; 135 males, 137 females; Mage= 4.74 months; SDage= .79, Rangeage= 3.22—7.49 months). The infant was seated in car seat with a primary caregiver seated nearby out of the infant’s line of sight. The experimenter then played the infant two audio tracks, one consisting of a series of sentences with overlapping voices and a second containing three groups of ten repeated syllables. Interwoven with the audio tracks, the experimenter presented the infant with a series of mobiles. Behavioral coding of reactivity focused on the infants’ affective and motoric responses to the auditory and visual stimuli. Videos were coded with 20% overlap, with a current interrater reliability of 93%. Parental anxiety was assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory at 4-, 8-, 12-, 18-, and 24-months. Household stress was measured using the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS).
Initial analyses will examine descriptives and correlations to assess the data parameters, missing data, and test for skew. Repeated measures of BAI will be used in a latent growth curve model to estimate change in observed BAI from 4 to 24 months. Infant reactivity will be added to this model as a predictor of BAI intercept and slope. Finally, CHAOS will be added as a potential moderator of these relations. The analyses will examine the extent to which patterns of maternal anxiety over time are potentiated by infant characteristics and daily perceived stress.

Authors

• Caitlin Smith, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Presenting Author

• Berenice Anaya, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kristin A. Buss, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Vanessa Lobue, Rutgers University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Koraly Elisa Perez-Edgar, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Non-Presenting Author