title: MATERNAL ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AND MOTHER-INFANT SELF- AND INTERACTIVE CONTINGENCY.
abstract: Associations of maternal self-report anxiety-related symptoms with mother-infant 4-month face-to-face play were investigated in 119 pairs. Attention, affect, spatial orientation, and touch were coded from split-screen videotape on a 1-s time base. Self- and interactive contingency were assessed by time-series methods. Because anxiety symptoms signal emotional dysregulation, we expected to find atypical patterns of mother-infant interactive contingencies, and of degree of stability/lability within an individual's own rhythms of behavior (self-contingencies). Consistent with our optimum midrange model, maternal anxiety-related symptoms biased the interaction towardinteractive contingenciesthat were both heightened (vigilant) in some modalities and lowered (withdrawn) in others; both may be efforts to adapt to stress. Infantself-contingencywas lowered ("destabilized") with maternal anxiety symptoms; however, maternalself-contingencywas both lowered in some modalities and heightened (overly stable) in others.Interactive contingencypatterns were characterized by intermodal discrepancies, confusing forms of communication. For example, mothers vigilantly monitored infants visually, but withdrew from contingently coordinating with infants emotionally, as if mothers were "looking through" them. This picture fits descriptions of mothers with anxiety symptoms as overaroused/fearful, leading to vigilance, but dealing with their fear through emotional distancing. Infants heightened facial affect coordination (vigilance), but dampened vocal affect coordination (withdrawal), with mother's face-a pattern of conflict. The maternal and infant patterns together generated a mutual ambivalence.
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beebe
authors.affiliation: New School for Social Research.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaffe
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Buck
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Henian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Hebrew University.
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaitz
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Markese
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Margolis
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feldstein