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Mother's personality and infant temperament
1Institute of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal.
Infant Behavior & Development
|August 2, 2011
Summary
Mothers with higher adaptive perfectionism (SOP) reported less negative infant temperament. Maternal anxiety was linked to higher infant temperament scores, but not a significant predictor in logistic regression. These findings suggest potential interventions for maternal well-being and infant outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal Psychology
- Maternal Mental Health
- Child Development
Background:
- Maternal perfectionism and anxiety may influence infant temperament perception.
- Understanding these associations is crucial for perinatal mental health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between maternal perfectionism and anxiety and infant temperament ratings.
- To explore the predictive role of these maternal factors on infant temperament perception.
Main Methods:
- 386 pregnant women completed self-report measures of perfectionism and anxiety.
- Infant temperament was assessed postpartum using a validated questionnaire.
- Mothers with depression were excluded.
Main Results:
- Higher levels of adaptive perfectionism (SOP) correlated with less negative infant temperament ratings.
- Maternal anxiety was associated with higher infant temperament scores, though not a significant predictor in logistic regression.
- Adaptive perfectionism significantly predicted infant temperament perception.
Conclusions:
- Adaptive perfectionism is linked to a more positive perception of infant temperament.
- Antenatal interventions reducing anxiety and leveraging perfectionism's positive aspects may improve maternal-infant outcomes.
- Findings have implications for enhancing maternal self-efficacy and parental competence.
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