Social Network and Behavioral Synchrony Influences On Maternal and Infant Cortisol Response
Laura A Thompson1, Bryan White2
1Clinical Psychology Program, Fielding Graduate University.
Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment
|June 27, 2022
Summary
Mothers' social support stability impacts their stress response, while strong mother-infant synchrony lowers infant stress during separation. These distinct social factors influence parental and infant neuroendocrine responses differently.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroendocrinology
- Social Neuroscience
Background:
- Maternal social network stability and mother-infant synchrony influence infant neuroendocrine responses.
- Previous research has not differentiated the effects of these social factors on infant and maternal stress responses during separation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct contributions of maternal social network stability and mother-infant behavioral synchrony on infant and maternal cortisol responses during a separation-induced stress task.
- To determine if social network stability or behavioral synchrony is a stronger predictor of neuroendocrine stress responses in mothers and infants.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 133 first-time mothers and their 3-month-old infants.
- Assessed maternal social network stability, mother-infant behavioral synchrony, and salivary cortisol levels in both mothers and infants during a separation challenge.
- Utilized statistical analyses to examine variance explained by each social factor in cortisol responses.
Main Results:
- Behavioral synchrony significantly predicted lower infant cortisol response.
- Maternal social network stability, but not synchrony, significantly predicted lower maternal cortisol response.
- After accounting for synchrony, maternal network stability did not explain infant cortisol variance.
Conclusions:
- Mother-infant behavioral synchrony is crucial for modulating infant stress responses during brief separations.
- Maternal social network stability is associated with reduced maternal stress response, independent of the mother-infant bond quality.
- These findings highlight the differential impact of social relationships on maternal and infant physiological stress regulation.
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