Gordon-Hacker Avigail, Egotubov Alisa, Sheiner Eyal, Uzefovsky Florina, Gueron-Sela Noa
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Dev Psychopathol. 2025 Aug;37(3):1431-1443. doi: 10.1017/S0954579424001238. Epub 2024 Sep 19.
Exposure to maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) may have a pertinent role in shaping children's emotional development. However, little is known about how these processes emerge in the early postpartum period. The current study examined the direct and interactive associations between MDS and cry-processing cognitions in the prediction of infant negative emotionality and affective concern. Participants were 130 mother-child dyads (50% female) assessed at three time points. During the second trimester of pregnancy, expectant mothers completed a procedure to assess responses to video clips of distressed infants and reported about MDS. Mothers also reported about MDS at 1- and 3-months postpartum. At age 3 months, infants' negative emotionality and affective concern responses were observed and rated. We found no direct associations between MDS and both measures of infant emotional reactivity. However, MDS interacted with cry-processing cognitions to predict affective concern and negative emotionality. Overall, MDS were related to increased affective concern and decreased negative emotionality when mothers held cognitions that were more focused on their own emotions in the face of the infant's cry rather than the infant's emotional state and needs. Clinical implications for early screening and intervention are discussed.
暴露于母亲抑郁症状（MDS）可能在塑造儿童情绪发展方面具有重要作用。然而，对于这些过程在产后早期如何出现，我们知之甚少。当前研究考察了MDS与哭声处理认知之间的直接和交互关联，以预测婴儿的负面情绪和情感关注。研究对象为130对母婴二元组（50%为女性），在三个时间点进行评估。在妊娠中期，准妈妈们完成了一项程序，以评估对痛苦婴儿视频片段的反应，并报告MDS情况。母亲们在产后1个月和3个月时也报告了MDS情况。在婴儿3个月大时，观察并评定其负面情绪和情感关注反应。我们发现MDS与婴儿情绪反应的两项指标之间均无直接关联。然而，MDS与哭声处理认知相互作用，以预测情感关注和负面情绪。总体而言，当母亲面对婴儿哭声时，其认知更关注自身情绪而非婴儿的情绪状态和需求时，MDS与情感关注增加和负面情绪减少有关。讨论了早期筛查和干预的临床意义。
