Maternal alexithymic traits are related to lower maternal sensitivity and higher hostility in mother-infant interaction

Abstract

Background A child’s ability to regulate emotions, attention and arousal develops in the context of their primary caregiving from the very beginning of infancy and thus, is dependent on bidirectional signalling and understanding of emotions also within mother-infant interaction. Parental alexithymia could potentially complicate this emotional interaction. In this study, we aim to explore the association between maternal alexithymic traits and the quality of mother-infant interaction. Methods The study sample consisted of 158 mother-infant dyads within the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study population who had filled in a questionnaire measuring alexithymic traits 6 months postpartum and participated in an observational study on mother-infant interaction 8 months postpartum. Alexithymia was measured with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale including all three alexithymia dimensions – Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF), Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF) and Externally Oriented Thinking (EOT). Mother-infant interaction was assessed with the Emotional Availability Scale and in this study all four adult dimensions (Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-intrusiveness and Non-hostility) were included. The associations were studied with correlation analyses and General Linear Model. Results Maternal alexithymic traits were associated with the quality of mother-infant interaction. Specifically, the association between DDF and Sensitivity (p = 0.044, η 2 p = 0.026) and EOT and Non-hostility (p = 0.030, η 2 p = 0.030) remained significant when controlled by associated background and confounding factors. Conclusions Support was found for the hypothesis that higher maternal alexithymic traits would associate with weaker maternal sensitivity and more hostile behavior in mother-infant interaction. Further studies are needed to gain support for these hypotheses and to investigate their possible implications for child development.