Maternal mind–mindedness and toddler behavior problems: The moderating role of maternal trauma and posttraumatic stress

Abstract

Maternal mind-mindedness (MM) reflects a caregiver's tendency to view a child as an individual with an independent mind. Research has linked higher MM with more favorable parenting and child adaptation. The aim of this study was to examine whether MM was associated with toddlers' behavior problems and competence, and the moderating role of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample (N = 212) of adolescent mothers and their toddlers. MM was coded from maternal utterances during free play; mothers completed the University of California at Los Angeles Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index and reported on children's behavior problems and competence using the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment. The majority of mothers (84%) experienced trauma; 45% of these mothers met criteria for partial or full PTSD. Trauma was related to greater behavior problems, and PTSD moderated MM-child functioning relations. When mothers experienced full PTSD, there was no relation between MM and behavior problems. With child competence, when compared to children of mothers with no trauma exposure, children of mothers experiencing partial PTSD symptoms were more likely to have delays in competence when mothers made more MM comments. Results are discussed in light of how MM, in the context of trauma and PTSD, may affect parenting.

Non‐Attuned Mind‐Mindedness, Infant Negative Affect, and Emotional Availability: Assessing Mind‐Mindedness during the Still‐Face Paradigm

“…We had speculated that non‐attuned comments might be more common in a stressful interaction context, when the attachment systems of both mother and infant were likely activated. Although the proportion of non‐attuned comments was very low (1%) and directly comparable with prior research where figures are reported (e.g., Meins et al., , ), in the current study, 25% of mothers made at least one such comment, while several studies have reported that fewer than 10% of mothers do so (Bernier et al., ; Easterbrooks et al., ). Interestingly, only one mother (from a sample of 31) in the study by Bigelow et al.…”

“…Few studies have examined associations between sensitivity and non-attuned comments, with evidence limited to this single sample. Most studies do not report on nonattuned comments at all, as they are very infrequent and most mothers do not make any (Bernier, McMahon, & Perrier, 2017;Easterbrooks, Crossman, Caruso, Raskin, & Miranda-Julian, 2017;Licata et al, 2014;McMahon, Camberis, Berry, & Gibson, 2016). Meins et al (2012) in the study cited above reported an average proportional score for non-attuned comments of just 1.58% which is consistent with other research in community samples.…”

“…Few studies have examined associations between sensitivity and non‐attuned comments, with evidence limited to this single sample. Most studies do not report on non‐attuned comments at all, as they are very infrequent and most mothers do not make any (Bernier, McMahon, & Perrier, ; Easterbrooks, Crossman, Caruso, Raskin, & Miranda‐Julian, ; Licata et al., ; McMahon, Camberis, Berry, & Gibson, ). Meins et al.…”

Exposure to a natural disaster during pregnancy and young children’s behaviour: prenatal and postnatal pathways, and the role of maternal mind-mindedness

“…For example, maternal mind-mindedness has been demonstrated to predict lower internalising and externalising problems only amongst pre-schoolers from low socio-economic status families . Conversely, Easterbrooks et al (2017) found that mind-mindedness was associated with fewer behavioural problems only in infants of trauma-exposed adolescent mothers who did not meet criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. Considering that maternal mind-mindedness is potentially modifiable (Schacht et al, 2017), further research is necessary to clarify the contexts under which this interactive quality may offer developmental benefits.…”

“…Research supports the facilitative influence of "appropriate" maternal mind-mindedness on a range of child developmental domains, including attachment security , executive function and self-regulation Bernier et al, 2017) and social cognition (Laranjo, Bernier, Meins, & Carlson, 2014;. The few studies that have investigated the relationship between maternal mind-mindedness and child behaviour problems (Easterbrooks et al, 2017;Hughes, Aldercotte, & Foley, 2016) suggest that these associations are complex and may be influenced by contextual factors . For example, maternal mind-mindedness has been demonstrated to predict lower internalising and externalising problems only amongst pre-schoolers from low socio-economic status families .…”