Abstract
ObjectiveMost studies investigating the role of parenting behaviors on a child’s development are directed to mothers. However, recent analyses show that mothers and fathers have a different influence on a child’s functioning, specifically her/his temperament. The present study explored the developmental change of parents’ perception of their daughters’ and sons’ temperament and its association with parental mental health problems.MethodsThe sample included 188 parents (94 couples) and their at-term 94 babies (55.3% boys, 44.7% girls). Assessments by self-reports were conducted at 3 (Time 1) and 12 (Time 2) months after the children’s birth; at Time 1, mothers and fathers independently answered: the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ-R). At Time 2, EPDS, STAI, and IBQ-R were again administered to mothers and fathers.ResultsIn general, mothers and fathers would give similar descriptions of their child’s temperament throughout the first year of life; however, infant temperament showed developmental changes as well as gender differences. Mother and father anxiety and depression symptoms are associated with the infants’ negative affectivity. Also, mothers with high anxiety and depression levels perceive their infants with a minor tendency to approach novelty, to seek environmental stimulation, and to express/experience positive emotions.ConclusionThe results highlight the need to screen for infants’ temperament vulnerabilities in the context of maternal and paternal depression in order to protect the child from behavioral, cognitive, and emotional difficulties and to create specific programs aimed at preventing dysfunctional parent–infant relationships.
Highlights
Temperament may be defined “as the infant’s threshold for positive and negative reactivity and the intensity of its reaction to stimuli” (Austin et al, 2005, p.184), and it is assumed to be biologically based, it is shaped by environmental experiences (Zentner and Bates, 2008; Montirosso et al, 2011).Difficult temperament is characterized by negative affect, feeding and sleeping problems, sensory difficulties, and trouble in adjusting to novelty (Henderson and Wachs, 2007; Zentner and Bates, 2008)
It has been demonstrated that perinatal maternal anxiety and depression are related to infants’ higher stress sensitivity and inadequate affective and cognitive regulation (Essex et al, 2002; Austin et al, 2005; Coplan et al, 2005; Pesonen et al, 2004; Hammarberg et al, 2008)
Mothers showed more anxious symptoms than fathers at both times. In this case, the mean scores for both mothers and fathers were under the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) cutoff
Summary
Difficult temperament is characterized by negative affect, feeding and sleeping problems, sensory difficulties, and trouble in adjusting to novelty (Henderson and Wachs, 2007; Zentner and Bates, 2008). These features seem to constitute a risk for later emotional and behavioral problems (Bates, 2001; Guerin et al, 2003; Posner and Rothbart, 2007). It has been demonstrated that perinatal maternal anxiety and depression are related to infants’ higher stress sensitivity and inadequate affective and cognitive regulation (Essex et al, 2002; Austin et al, 2005; Coplan et al, 2005; Pesonen et al, 2004; Hammarberg et al, 2008). Fathers with self-reported depression, like mothers, would perceive their children as fussier and more difficult (Atella et al, 2003; Davé et al, 2005). Potapova et al (2014) confirmed these findings, highlighting the relevance of paternal internalizing problems, parenting-related stress, and infant temperament for their child’s emotional and behavioral regulation capacity
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