Still‐face and separation effects on depressed mother‐infant interactions

Abstract

Maternal emotional and physical unavailability have differential effects on infant interaction behavior as noted in a study by Field, Vega-Lahr, Scafidi, and Goldstein ͑1986͒. In that study, fourmonth-old infants experienced their mother's still face and a brief separation from the mother. Spontaneous interactions preceded and followed these to serve as baseline and reunion episodes. Although the infants became more negative and agitated during both conditions, the still face elicited more stressful behaviors. The present study replicated the Field et al. ͑1986͒ study but also compared infants of depressed and infants of nondepressed mothers. The infants of depressed versus those of nondepressed mothers were less interactive during the spontaneous interactions, as were their mothers, and they showed less distress behaviors during the still-face condition. During the "return to spontaneous interaction" following the still-face condition, they were also less interactive, as evidenced by fewer positive as well as fewer negative behaviors. Their mothers were also less active. The nondepressed mothers and infants were extremely active, as if trying to reinstate the initial spontaneous interaction. Minimal change occurred during the separation condition except that both groups of infants vocalized less than they had during the spontaneous interaction. During the reunion following the separation period, the infants of depressed versus nondepressed mothers were paradoxically more active, although their mothers continued to be less interactive.RESUMEN: Tal como fue presentado en un estudio por Field et al. ͑1986͒, la falta de disponibilidad maternal, tanto emocional como física, tiene efectos diferenciales sobre la conducta interactiva del infante. En dicho estudio, infantes de cuatro meses de nacidos experimentaron las duras caras de sus madres y una breve separación de ellas. Estas experiencias fueron precedidas y seguidas de interacciones espontáneas que servían como línea de base y episodios de reunión. A pesar de que los infantes fueron más negativos y se agitaban más en ambas situaciones, las caras duras de las madres produjeron más conductas estresantes. El presente estudio replicó el anterior estudio de Field et al. ͑1986͒, pero también comparó a infantes de madres depresivas con infantes de madres no depresivas. Los infantes de madres depresivas, en comparación con aquéllos de madres no depresivas, se mostraron menos interactivosWe would like to thank the mothers and infants who participated in this study. 314durante las interacciones espontáneas, lo cual ocurrió con sus madres también, y mostraron menos conductas de aflicción en los momentos de la condición de la cara dura. Durante el "retorno a la interacción espontánea" después de la condición de la cara dura, ellos también fueron menos interactivos, tal como lo demuestran sus menos conductas positivas y menos conductas negativas. Sus madres fueron también menos activas. Las madres no depresivas y sus infantes fueron extremadamente activas, como si ...

Reward Responsivity in Parenting: Development of a Novel Measure in Mothers

“…These results thus support the hypothesis that low levels of reward responsivity in parenting would be associated with higher levels of parental stress, parental dissatisfaction in interactions with their child, and the degree to which parents find their child difficult. These results are consistent with past research that depressed mothers show fewer positive behaviors (Field et al, 1988;Field et al, 2007) and more impatience and hostility during interactions with their infants (Lovejoy et al, 2000) compared to non-depressed mothers. The correlation between the MIRE savoring subscale and the parent-child interaction subscale was not significant; however, the MIRE savoring subscale was significantly associated with the other subscales of parenting stress.…”

“…These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that lower levels of reward responsivity in parenting would be associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. These findings are also consistent with the findings from study 1 and with literature indicating depressed mothers experience difficulties in motivation to engage with their infants and display low levels of positive emotions during interactions with their infants (Lovejoy et al, 2000;Field et al, 2007). Due to the correlational and cross-sectional study design, no conclusions can be drawn with regard to the directionality of the associations between reward responsivity in parenting and maternal depressive symptoms.…”

“…To my knowledge, reward responsivity has not been evaluated among depressed mothers; however, depressed mothers experience difficulties in motivation to engage with their infant and low levels of positive emotions during interactions with their infant, which are consistent with the possibility of a deficit in maternal reward responsivity (Lovejoy et al, 2000;Field et al, 2007). Deficits in reward responsivity, to the extent they are present, may influence the behaviors displayed by depressed mothers during interactions with their infants, including low attentiveness to their infants, inconsistent responsiveness to their infants' signals of distress, and lower rates of smiling at and touching their infants (Forman et al, 2007;O'Hara, 2009).…”

“…Depressed mothers relative to non-depressed mothers show lower responsivity to their infant's needs (Field et al, 1988) and more impatience and hostility during interactions with their infants (Lovejoy, Graczyk, O'Hare, & Neuman, 2000). Depressed mothers relative to non-depressed mothers also show fewer positive behaviors during interactions with their infants, including less time smiling, less imitative behaviors, less touching, and less moving of their infant's limbs (Field et al, 1988;Field, Hernandez-Reif, & Diego, 2007). In turn,…”

Kindliches Temperament und mütterliche Affektivität

“…Eine mögliche Erklärung hierfür wäre, dass die Kinder die mangelnde Responsivität ihrer Mütter während der Still-Face-Phase bereits gewohnt sind und dies infolgedessen keinen Stressfaktor mehr für die Kinder darstellt. Die Ergebnisse der Studie von Field et al (2007) unterstützen diese Annahme. Es hat sich auch dort gezeigt, dass die Kinder depressiver Mütter weniger unter dem ausdruckslosen Gesicht während der Still-Face-Situation litten als die Kinder der nicht depressiven Mütter.…”