Mother-Infant Interaction and Maternal Postnatal Psychological Distress Associate with Child's Social-Emotional Development During Early Childhood : A FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study
: Lahtela Hetti, Flykt Marjo, Nolvi Saara, Kataja Eeva-Leena, Eskola Eeva, Tervahartiala Katja, Pelto Juho, Carter Alice S., Karlsson Hasse, Karlsson Linnea, Korja Riikka
Publisher: Springer Nature
: 2024
: Child Psychiatry and Human Development
: Child psychiatry and human development
: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev
: 0009-398X
: 1573-3327
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01694-2(external)
: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10578-024-01694-2(external)
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/387739784(external)
We studied the effects of mother-infant interaction and maternal pre- and postnatal psychological distress on children's social-emotional problems and competences, as well as whether interaction quality moderates the association between distress and children's outcomes. Maternal pre- and postnatal psychological distress were measured using the SCL and EPDS questionnaires, whereas mother-infant interaction was measured when the child was 8 months old using the EA Scales. Children's social-emotional development was measured using the BITSEA questionnaire at 2 years old and using the SDQ questionnaire at 4 years old, where higher maternal structuring was associated with fewer social-emotional problems in children and higher maternal sensitivity was associated with greater social-emotional competence in children at 2 years old. Further, higher postnatal distress was found associated with greater social-emotional problems at 2 years old, though neither these effects nor moderating effects at 4 years old were observed after multiple-comparison corrections. Our findings support direct associations of both mother-infant interaction and maternal postnatal psychological distress with children's social-emotional development during toddlerhood.
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