Maternal PTSD symptoms and sensitivity during caregiving in early postpartum: The moderating role of resting and...

Impaired maternal sensitivity may be a risk pathway linking maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) to adverse child outcomes. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a psychophysiological marker of emotion dysregulation, may be a key factor in how PTSS influence maternal sensitivity. Yet, these associations remain untested in early infancy. The current study tested maternal resting RSA and RSA reactivity to caregiving as moderators of the association between maternal PTSS and maternal sensitivity in trauma-exposed mothers.

Seventy-seven mother-infant dyads (maternal M_age = 30.06 years, infant M_age = 9.53 weeks) were recruited from the community and an urban public hospital setting. Mothers reported on PTSS and engaged in a caregiving task; maternal sensitivity was coded. RSA was measured at rest and in response to the task. Generalized linear models for ordinal outcomes analyses examined the moderating effect of resting RSA and RSA reactivity (decrease in RSA) on the association between PTSS and maternal sensitivity.

The association between maternal PTSS and sensitivity was significantly moderated by resting RSA (B(SE) = 0.03(0.01), p = .033, and RSA reactivity, B(SE) = 0.03(0.01), p = .022.Maternal PTSS was negatively associated with maternal sensitivity only among mothers with higher resting RSA (+1SD above mean), B(SE) = -0.05(0.02), p = .030, and with greater RSA reactivity (-1SD below mean RSA reactivity scores), B(SE) = -0.06 (0.02), p = 0.021.

A tendency toward autonomic overregulation and heightened physiological reactivity may serve as relevant factors influencing how PTSS leads to maladaptive parenting behavior in early postpartum.