Maternal sensitivity and infant and mother adrenocortical function across challenges

Atkinson, Leslie; González, Andrea; Kashy, Deborah A.; Basile, Vincenzo S.; Masellis, Mario; Pereira, Jessica; Chisholm, Vivienne; Levitan, Robert D.

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.08.001

Cited by 99 publications

(194 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

177

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These supportive, stable, and nurturing relationships with caregivers are essential to healthy development of the brain and biological systems (Atkinson et al, 2013;Shonkoff, 2011), and consequently, the development of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive capacities. Young children are embedded within the contextual environmental constructed by their caregivers.…”

Section: Implications For the Next Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of maternal executive function.

González¹

2015

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Childhood maltreatment is associated with increased risk of psychopathology, cognitive dysfunction, and impaired relationships, including parenting difficulties. In addition, according to recent studies, the consequences of childhood maltreatment may extend to the next generation. Difficulties with executive function have been linked to both child maltreatment and parenting, but rarely to both simultaneously. The purpose of this review is to propose a model examining executive function as a likely candidate for linking the distal factors of child maltreatment to parenting and subsequent child outcomes and to highlight relevant data for components of the model. This work may suggest new opportunities for targeting executive function as a viable target for interventions in the prevention of the transmission of risk.

show abstract

Section: Implications For the Next Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of maternal executive function.

González¹

2015

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recently there has been increased interest in this phenomenon. Studies reveal “attunement” or “coregulation” in mother–child cortisol at multiple time points across the day (Hibel, Trumbell, & Mercado, 2014; Middlemiss, Granger, Goldberg, & Nathans, 2012; Papp, Pendry, & Adam, 2009) and across childhood (Atkinson et al, 2013; Hibel, Granger, Blair, & Cox 2009; Laurent, Ablow, & Measelle, 2012; Ruttle, Serbin, Stack, Schwartzman, & Shirtcliff, 2011; Sethre-Hofstad, Stansbury, & Rice, 2002). A core component of human and nonhuman primate sociality, which is particularly characteristic of mother–child relationships, rests on the deeply emotional connection experienced by bonded individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have examined maternal receptivity to child cues as a moderator of adrenocortical attunement (Atkinson et al, 2013; Sethre-Hofstad et al, 2002; van Bakel & Riksen-Walraven, 2008). It was assumed that mothers who are able to accurately read their child’s cues may also be able to behaviorally, emotionally, and physiological match their child’s state (Feldman, 2007; Sethre-Hofstad et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was assumed that mothers who are able to accurately read their child’s cues may also be able to behaviorally, emotionally, and physiological match their child’s state (Feldman, 2007; Sethre-Hofstad et al, 2002). Studies with community samples reveal that maternal sensitivity strengthens adrenocortical attunement (Atkinson et al, 2013; Sethre-Hofstad et al, 2002; van Bakel & Riksen-Walraven, 2008). However, certain pathologies (e.g., maternal depression; Laurent, Ablow, & Measelle, 2011) and risky contexts (e.g., partner violence; Hibel et al, 2009) also appear to foster attuned mother–child cortisol reactivity during times of child stress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Maternal‐child adrenocortical attunement in early childhood: Continuity and change

Hibel

Granger

Blair

et al. 2014

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study evaluated continuity and change in maternal-child hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis attunement in early childhood. Participants were drawn from a prospective study of 1,292 mother–child dyads, which were racially diverse, predominantly low-income, and non-urban. Child focused stress tasks designed to elicit anger, fear, and frustration were administered during early infancy, later infancy, and toddlerhood. Mothers’ and children’s saliva samples (later assayed for cortisol) were collected before and after the tasks. The strength of mother–child adrenocortical attunement was conserved across infancy and toddlerhood. The magnitude of maternal-child adrenocortical attunement decreased in response to the child-focused stress tasks. Maternal sensitivity and the child’s task-related emotional reactivity moderated adrenocortical attunement across the task, with greater maternal sensitivity during a free-play, and lower levels of child emotional reactivity during the stress tasks, stabilizing attunement from pre- to post-task levels. The findings advance our understanding of individual differences in the social regulation of adrenocortical activity in early childhood.

show abstract

“…These findings suggest reversibility of HPA axis dysfunction through psychosocial interventions promoting increased attachment and caregiving sensitivity, a hypothesis with increasing support from human research (Slopen et al, 2014). Differences in maternal responsiveness and sensitivity is associated with the infant's cortisol recovery in response to a stressor (Atkinson et al, 2012). Therapeutic interventions for at-risk children focused on the maternal-child dyad and the attachment relationship have been found to normalize HPA axis reactivity (McLaughlin et al, 2015) and diurnal cortisol levels in both short and long-term studies (Bernard et al, 2014; Bernard et al, 2015; Dozier et al, 2008; Fisher et al, 2007; Fisher et al, 2011; Laurent et al, 2014).…”

Section: Cross-species Success Storiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

When mothering goes awry: Challenges and opportunities for utilizing evidence across rodent, nonhuman primate and human studies to better define the biological consequences of negative early caregiving

Drury

Sánchez

González

2016

Hormones and Behavior

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Across mammalian species, mothers shape socio-emotional development and serve as essential external regulators of infant physiology, brain development, behavior patterns, and emotional regulation. Caregiving quality, consistency and predictability shape the infant's underlying neurobiological processes. Although the requirements for “optimal” caregiving differ across species, the negative long-term consequences of the absence of needed caregiving (e.g. neglect) or the presence of harmful/aversive caregiving (e.g. physical abuse), are translatable across species. Recognizing the significant potential of cross species comparisons in terms of defining underlying mechanisms, effective translation requires consideration of the evolutionary, ecological, and fundamental biological and developmental differences between and among species. This review provides both an overview of several success stories of cross-species translations in relation to negative caregiving and a template for future studies seeking to most effectively define the underlying biological processes and advance research dedicated to mitigating the lasting negative health consequences of child maltreatment.

show abstract

Maternal sensitivity and infant and mother adrenocortical function across challenges

Cited by 99 publications

References 37 publications

The role of maternal executive function.

The role of maternal executive function.

Maternal‐child adrenocortical attunement in early childhood: Continuity and change

When mothering goes awry: Challenges and opportunities for utilizing evidence across rodent, nonhuman primate and human studies to better define the biological consequences of negative early caregiving

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About