What Dyadic Reparation Is Meant to Do: An Association with Infant Cortisol Reactivity

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Mitho Müller - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Anna Lena Zietlow - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Ed Tronick - , University of Massachusetts Boston, Harvard University (Author)
  • Corinna Reck - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Heidelberg University  (Author)

Abstract

Background: The latency to reparation of interactive mismatches (interactive repair) is argued to regulate infant distress on a psychobiological level, and maternal anxiety disorders might impair infant regulation. Sampling and Methods: A total of 46 dyads (19 mothers with an anxiety disorder, 27 controls) were analyzed for associations between interactive repair and infant cortisol reactivity during the Face-to-Face-Still-Face paradigm 3-4 months postpartum. Missing cortisol values (n = 16) were imputed. Analyses were conducted on both the original and the pooled imputed data. Results: Interactive repair during the reunion episode was associated with infant cortisol reactivity (original data: p < 0.01; pooled data: p < 0.01) but not maternal anxiety disorder (p > 0.23). Additional stepwise regression analyses found that latency to repair during play (p < 0.01), an interaction between distress during the first trimester of pregnancy and latency to repair during reunion (p < 0.01) and infant self-comforting behaviors during the reunion episode (p = 0.04) made independent contributions to cortisol reactivity in the final regression model. Conclusions: This is the first study demonstrating that interactive repair is related to infant psychobiological stress reactivity. The lack of a relation to maternal anxiety disorder may be due to the small sample size. However, this result emphasizes that infants respond to what they experience and not to the maternal diagnostic category.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)386-399
Number of pages14
JournalPsychopathology
Volume48
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2015
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 26550998
ORCID /0000-0002-7278-5711/work/142233564

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Distress during pregnancy, Infant cortisol reactivity, Interactive repair, Maternal anxiety disorder, Self-comforting behaviors, Still-Face paradigm

Library keywords