title: Mother-Infant Emotion Regulation at Three Months: The Role of Maternal Anxiety, Depression and Parenting Stress.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While the association between anxiety and postpartum depression is well known, few studies have investigated the relationship between these two states and parenting stress. Furthermore, a number of studies have found that postpartum depression affects mother-infant emotion regulation, but there has been only one study on anxiety and emotion regulation and no studies at all on parenting stress and emotion regulation. Therefore, the primary aim of our study is to identify, in a community sample of 71 mothers, the relationship between maternal depression, anxiety, and parenting stress. The second aim is to examine the relationship between anxiety, postpartum depression, and parenting stress and mother-infant emotion regulation assessed at 3 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mother-infant interaction was coded with a modified version of the Infant Caregiver and Engagement Phases (ICEP) using a microanalytic approach. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) were administered to the mothers to assess depression, anxiety, and parenting stress, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis revealed correlations between anxiety and depression, showing that parenting stress is associated with both states. In a laboratory observation, depression was correlated with both negative maternal states and negative dyadic matches as well as infant positive/mother negative mismatches; anxiety was correlated with both negative maternal states and infant negative states as well as mismatches involving one of the partners having a negative state. Multiple regression analysis showed that anxiety is a greater predictor than depression of less adequate styles of mother-infant emotion regulation. Parenting stress was not shown to predict such regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Riva Crugnola
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ierardi
authors.forename: Valentino
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ferro
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gallucci
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Parodi
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Astengo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires