Different patterns of association between maternal mental health and infant negative affect subdomains: Findings from the Germina cohort

Negative affect (NA) is a central dimension of infant temperament and an early marker of risk for later psychopathology. While maternal mental health has been associated with increased infant NA, few studies have explored how maternal mental health symptoms relate to the specific subdomains of NA throughout infancy. This study examined longitudinal associations between maternal mental health and infant NA, comparing the general domain with its specific subdomains. We analyzed data from 557 mother-infant dyads enrolled in the Germina cohort in São Paulo, Brazil. Maternal symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, along with infant NA and its subdomains-sadness, fear, distress to limitations, and falling reactivity-were assessed at 3, 5-9, and 10-16 months postpartum. Longitudinal associations were examined using linear mixed-effects models with successive-differences contrasts, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Maternal stress consistently predicted higher NA and its subdomains-sadness, fear, and distress-across infancy, and was linked to reduced falling reactivity. Depression was associated with increased NA, distress, and decreased reactivity throughout infancy. Anxiety exhibited a time-varying association with distress, increasing from 3 to 9 months before declining, but showed no link with overall NA. Subdomain-specific analyses uncovered maternal mental health associations not evident in general NA models. Examining NA subdomains provides a more detailed understanding of their evolving, dynamic relationships with maternal mental health across infancy. These insights highlight the importance of integrating NA subdomains into screening and intervention strategies to more effectively support at-risk children.