Maternal touch in the first three years contributes to depression and antisocial behaviors in late childhood

Touch plays an important role in our life. As an example, maternal touch has been found related to physical and social development in newborns and infants. However, data on the relation between maternal touch in children's early years and their emotional and behavioral development in later life is still scarce. The current study investigated the relation between maternal touch in children's first three years and negative emotions and antisocial behaviors in late childhood. We recruited 267 children (9-12 yrs) and their mothers to participate in our study. The mothers were asked to report their children's antisocial behaviors and maternal touch their children experienced in first three years as a whole. The children were asked to complete the measures of negative emotions (anxiety, depression, and stress) and the mother-child relationship cohesion. Results showed that early maternal touch negatively predicted children's depression and antisocial behaviors, while was not a significant predictor of anxiety or stress. Besides, the mother-child relationship cohesion fully mediated the relation between maternal touch and children's depression, while only partially mediated the relation between maternal touch and antisocial behaviors. These findings suggested that early maternal touch might exert a substantial influence on children's development, albeit with varying effects across different domains.