Distress to Novelty as a Potential Moderator on the Relationship between Maternal Depressiveness and Mother-Infant...

Maternal depression impacts infant cognitive and behavioral development and is linked to reduced maternal sensitivity, negatively impacting mother-infant interaction. Infant's temperament - particularly higher difficulty or lower positive temperament - might moderate this relationship. However, no known study has examined infant temperament as a moderator between maternal psychopathology and mother-infant interaction quality. We hypothesized that greater expression of maternal depressiveness would predict lower interaction quality, moderated by infant's higher difficult temperament.

This longitudinal study examined the moderating effect of infants' distress to novelty (Infant Behavior Questionnaire) on the relationship between antepartum maternal depressiveness (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) and mother-infant interaction quality (coded from the Face-to-Face-Still-Face Paradigm, using the Revised Infant and Caregiver Engagement Phases). Data were collected across pregnancy and postpartum from N = 59 women (n = 38 clinical; n = 21 control).

Infants' distress to novelty moderated the link between maternal depressiveness at 19th - 22nd (b = -.53, p = .04) and 29th - 32nd (b = -.45, p = .02) weeks of pregnancy and interaction quality. Specifically, at high levels of distress to novelty, higher maternal depressiveness was associated with shorter repair intervals in interaction.

Contrary to expectations and existing literature, heightened infant distress may prompt more frequent maternal responses, potentially due to increased stress or efforts to soothe the infant. Early interventions should address maternal depressiveness, postpartum interactions, and infant temperament. Tailored approaches may enhance interaction quality and developmental outcomes. Future research should include larger, more diverse samples and examine paternal involvement.