BACKGROUND: Previous research found that anxious characteristic traits might have its origin in the prenatal phase due to the infant's exposure to maternal stress hormones. Maternal prenatal stress...Show moreBACKGROUND: Previous research found that anxious characteristic traits might have its origin in the prenatal phase due to the infant's exposure to maternal stress hormones. Maternal prenatal stress symptoms as well as high cortisol levels have been found to predict negative affectivity in infant temperament. The current paper examined whether maternal prenatal cortisol decline during the day in late pregnancy mediates the relationship between maternal prenatal anxiety and negative affectivity in infant temperament at age 1. METHOD: This longitudinal correlational study included 114 mother-child pairs. Anxiety was assessed once in the last trimester of pregnancy and three months after giving birth. Salivary samples were taken five times a day for two days in the third trimester to determine cortisol concentrations. Infant temperament was assessed by a questionnaire answered by the mothers at infant's age 1. Maternal postnatal anxiety, birth weight and infant's gender were examined as possible covariates. RESULTS: Results revealed that there is a significant correlation between maternal prenatal anxiety and negative affectivity in infants (p < .05). No mediation effect of cortisol decline on the relationship between high scores in maternal prenatal anxiety and higher negative affectivity in infants was found. DISCUSSION: It was not clear whether adverse behavioural developments were dependent on maternal prenatal patterns and thus, whether infants could be prone to anxiety issues in later life. The study provided a framework for future studies to assess pathology's aetiology in a transgenerational way. Alternative explanations, limitations and future directions were discussed.Show less
The aim of the study was to examine the effects of maternal stress, oxytocin and cortisol in breast milk, and frequency of breastfeeding on infant temperamental traits (Fear Aversion, Negative...Show moreThe aim of the study was to examine the effects of maternal stress, oxytocin and cortisol in breast milk, and frequency of breastfeeding on infant temperamental traits (Fear Aversion, Negative Affectivity, Orienting/Regulation, Extraversion/Surgency). In the cross-sectional study, Polish mothers and their 4 months old infants (N-163) were tested in two different meetings. The mothers filled out EPDS, RLCQ, IBQ-R and a survey concerning their breastfeeding pattern. Furthermore, breast milk samples were collected to assess oxytocin, cortisol and energy levels in milk. The findings does not support the prediction that maternal stress influences infants’ temperamental traits. The results of the study indicated that oxytocin in mother’s milk was significantly associated with negative affectivity. However, no significant association was found between temperamental traits and cortisol. Moreover, nursing frequency was also significantly related to higher negative affectivity, however, the relationship is in the opposite direction of what is expected.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2020-12-31T00:00:00Z
The goal of the present study was to investigate whether maternal sensitivity and infant temperament were predictors of infant jealousy. The differential susceptibility hypothesis was also tested....Show moreThe goal of the present study was to investigate whether maternal sensitivity and infant temperament were predictors of infant jealousy. The differential susceptibility hypothesis was also tested. It was investigated if infant temperament could moderate the relationship between maternal sensitivity and infant jealousy. Forty-eight 10-month-olds and their mothers participated in the study. Jealousy was measured during a 10 minutes episode of free-play between mother and infant during which mothers were instructed to care for a life-like doll. The doll cried for 5 minutes of the total episode. Infants were able to play with a large variety of toys during the jealousy evoking situation. Maternal sensitivity was measured during three additional short episodes (break, free-play without toys, free-play with toys). Infant temperament was measured by the Infant Characteristic Questionnaire (ICQ). The results showed that maternal sensitivity and infant temperament were not predictors of infant jealousy within the present study. Also, no proof was found for the differential susceptibility hypothesis. Infant temperament was not a significant predictor in the relationship between maternal sensitivity and infant temperament. The results of the present study indicate that the relationships between maternal sensitivity and infant jealousy and between infant temperament and infant jealousy might not be as strong as suggested by previous studies.Show less
