Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York.
Department of Psychology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
Infancy. 2020 Mar;25(2):165-189. doi: 10.1111/infa.12323. Epub 2020 Jan 31.
The potential effects of maternal trauma on mother-infant interaction remain insufficiently studied empirically. This study examined the effects of the September 11, 2001, trauma on mother-infant interaction in mothers who were pregnant and widowed on 9/11, and their infants aged 4-6 months. Split-screen videotaped interaction was coded on a one-second basis for infant gaze, facial affect, and vocal affect; and mother gaze, facial affect, and touch. We examined the temporal dynamics of communication: self-contingency and interactive contingency of behavior by time-series methods. We documented heightened maternal and infant efforts at engagement in the 9/11 (vs. control) dyads. Both partners had difficulty tolerating moments of looking away as well as moments of negative behavior patterns. Heightened efforts to maintain a positive visual engagement may be adaptive and a potential source of resilience, but these patterns may also carry risk: working too hard to make it work. A vigilant, hyper-contingent, high-arousal engagement was the central mode of the interpersonal transmission of the trauma to these infants, with implications for intervention.
母亲创伤对母婴互动的潜在影响在实证研究中仍不够充分。本研究考察了 2001 年 9 月 11 日创伤对那些在 9/11 日怀孕并丧偶的母亲及其 4-6 个月大婴儿的母婴互动的影响。采用分屏录像的方法对母婴互动进行编码，编码内容包括婴儿的注视、面部表情和声音表情，以及母亲的注视、面部表情和触摸。我们通过时间序列方法研究了沟通的时间动态：行为的自我连贯性和互动连贯性。我们记录了在 9/11 日（与对照组相比）母婴互动中，母亲和婴儿都更加努力地参与互动。双方都难以忍受目光转移的时刻和负面行为模式的时刻。为保持积极的视觉接触而付出更多努力可能是适应性的，也是恢复力的潜在来源，但这些模式也可能存在风险：过于努力地让事情变得顺利。警惕、高度连贯、高度兴奋的参与是创伤向这些婴儿人际传播的核心模式，这对干预有影响。
