Maternal representations of the infant: associations with infant response to the still face.
Mothers' representations of their infants may influence early development of emotional self-regulation. This study examined the associations between characteristics of mothers' (N = 100) narratives about their 7-month-old infants, maternal depression, and their infants' affect regulation during the Still Face procedure. Findings showed that (1) mothers' representations were linked with individual differences in their infants' behavior across the Still Face procedure, (2) the association between mothers' representations and their infants' behavior was mediated by parenting behavior, and (3) mothers' representations explained unique variance in their infants' affect regulation beyond the contribution of maternal depression. Although infants' displays of positive affect diminished while mothers held a still face, only infants of mothers in the balanced representation category returned to high levels of positive affect upon resuming interaction. These findings highlight the role of maternal representations in the process by which dyads repair temporary disruptions in interaction, as well as individual differences in infants' and mothers' responses to the Still Face.
Rosenblum
Katherine L
KL
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109, USA. katier@umich.edu
McDonough
Susan
S
Muzik
Maria
M
Miller
Alison
A
Sameroff
Arnold
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010553:Personality Development; D002666:Psychology, Child