title: Maternal mind-mindedness during infancy, general parenting sensitivity and observed child feeding behavior: a longitudinal study.
abstract: Maternal mind-mindedness, or the tendency to view the child as a mental agent, has been shown to predict sensitive and responsive parenting behavior. As yet the role of mind-mindedness has not been explored in the context of feeding interactions. This study evaluates the relations between maternal mind-mindedness at 6 months of infant age and subsequently observed maternal sensitivity and feeding behaviors with children at age 1 year. Maternal mind-mindedness was greater in mothers who had breast-fed compared to formula-fed. Controlling for breast-feeding, mind-mindedness at 6 months was correlated with observations of more sensitive and positive feeding behaviors at 1 year of age. Mind-mindedness was also associated with greater general maternal sensitivity in play and this general parenting sensitivity mediated the effect of mind-mindedness on more sensitive and positive feeding behaviors. Interventions to promote maternal tendency to consider their child's mental states may encourage more adaptive parental feeding behaviors.
authors.affiliation: a Psychology, School of Life & Health Sciences , Aston University , Birmingham , UK.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farrow
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blissett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D004645:Empathy; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: breast-feeding; child feeding; feeding behavior; mind-mindedness; sensitive