Do mothers enjoy playing sensitively with their infants?
Samantha Goldwater-Adler1, Lori Wozney2, Patrick J McGrath3
1a Department of Psychology , Dalhousie University , Halifax , Canada.
Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
|March 9, 2018
Summary
Mothers feel more vigorous after sensitive interactions with their infants, irrespective of infant engagement. This suggests sensitivity is inherently rewarding for mothers, promoting repeated positive caregiver-infant interactions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Maternal Well-being
- Infant Social-Emotional Development
Background:
- Early caregiver-infant interactions are crucial for infant development.
- Maternal enjoyment of sensitive parenting is not empirically established.
- Previous research focused on negative maternal emotions, neglecting sensitivity variability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate what makes maternal sensitivity reinforcing for mothers.
- To understand factors promoting the repetition of sensitive behaviors.
- To test if infant engagement mediates the link between maternal sensitivity and maternal mood changes.
Main Methods:
- Naturalistic, repeated-measures design with 49 mother-infant dyads.
- 390 interactions rated using Global Rating Scales of Mother-Infant Interaction.
- Maternal mood assessed pre- and post-interaction using Profile of Mood States - 15.
Main Results:
- Mothers reported reduced negative emotions and increased vigour post-interaction.
- Higher maternal sensitivity correlated with greater infant engagement.
- Mothers felt more vigorous after sensitive behaviors, independent of infant engagement.
Conclusions:
- Maternal sensitivity appears intrinsically rewarding, leading to increased maternal vigour.
- This finding suggests a mechanism for the continuation of sensitive parenting.
- Infant engagement did not mediate the observed mood changes in mothers.
Keywords:
Mother–infant interactionemotioninfant behaviourinfant engagementmaternal behaviourmaternal sensitivityMore Related Videos
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