Infant Temperament Research Articles

Maternal mental health mediates the effect of prenatal stress on infant temperament: The Harvey Mom Study.

Prenatal maternal stress and mental health problems are known to increase risk for developmental psychopathology in offspring, yet pathways leading to risk or resiliency are poorly understood. In a quasi-experimental design, we prospectively examined associations between disaster-related prenatal stress, maternal mental health symptoms, and infant temperament outcomes. Mothers who were pregnant during Hurricane Harvey (N = 527) reported on objective hardships (e.g., loss of belongings or income, evacuation, home flooding) related to the storm and subsequent mental health symptoms (anxiety/depression, posttraumatic stress) across time. At a postpartum assessment, mothers reported on their infant's temperament (negative affect, positive affect, orienting/regulatory capacity). Greater objective hardship indirectly predicted higher levels of infant orienting/regulatory capacity through its association with increased maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms. Greater objective hardship also indirectly predicted higher levels of infant negative affect through its association with increased maternal anxiety/depression symptoms across time. Our findings suggest a psychological mechanism linking prenatal stress with specific temperamental characteristics via maternal mental health symptoms. Findings point to the importance of high-quality assessment and mental health services for vulnerable women and young children.

Does a mother's childbirth experience influence her perceptions of her baby's behaviour? A qualitative interview study.

Childbirth has become increasingly medicalised, which may impact on the mother's birth experience and her newborn infant's physiology and behaviour. Although associations have been found between a mother's subjective birth experience and her baby's temperament, there is limited qualitative evidence around how and why this may occur. This qualitative study aimed to explore mothers' childbirth and postnatal experiences, perceptions of their baby's early behavioural style, and whether they saw these as related. A qualitative semi-structured interview schedule collected rich in-depth data. Twenty-two healthy mothers over 18 years of age and with healthy infants aged 0-12 months born at term, were recruited from Southwest regions of England and Wales. Thematic analysis was performed on the data. Mothers experienced childbirth as a momentous physical and psychological process. However, they did not necessarily perceive the birth as affecting their baby's early behaviour or temperament. While some mothers drew a direct relationship, such as linking a straightforward birth to a calm infant, others did not make an explicit connection, especially those who experienced a challenging birth and postnatal period. Nevertheless, mothers who had a difficult or medicalised birth sometimes reported unsettled infant behaviour. It is possible that mothers who feel anxious or depressed after a challenging birth, or those without a good support network, may simply perceive their infant as more unsettled. Equally, mothers who have been well-supported and experienced an easier birth could be more likely to perceive their baby as easier to care for. Childbirth is a physical and psychological event that may affect mother-infant wellbeing and influence maternal perceptions of early infant temperament. The present findings add to prior evidence, reinforcing the importance of providing good physical and emotional support during and after childbirth to encourage positive mother-infant outcomes.

Stability of maternal postnatal bonding between 3 and 6 months: Associations with maternal mental health and infant temperament

Maternal bonding is key for infant development and well-being. Research to date focused on prenatal bonding experience, with fewer studies looking at the postnatal period. Moreover, evidence suggests significant associations among maternal bonding, maternal mental health, and infant temperament. The joint impact of maternal mental health and infant temperament on maternal postnatal bonding remains unclear, with limited research reporting longitudinal data. Hence, the present study aims (1) to explore the impact of maternal mental health and infant temperament on postnatal bonding at both 3 and 6 months of age, (2) to explore postnatal bonding stability from 3 to 6 months, and (3) to determine which factors are linked with 3-to-6-month changes in bonding. At the infants' 3 months (n = 261) and 6 months of age (n = 217), mothers provided measures of bonding, depressive and anxious symptoms, and infant temperament via validated questionnaires. At 3 months, higher levels of maternal bonding were predicted by lower levels of anxiety and depression in the mothers and by higher infants' regulation scores. At 6 months, lower levels of anxiety and depression predicted higher levels of bonding. Moreover, mothers showing decreases in bonding were characterized by 3-to-6-month increases in depression and anxiety, as well as increased reported difficulties in regulation dimensions of infant temperament. This study highlights the impact of both maternal mental health and infant temperament on maternal postnatal bonding in a longitudinal sample and could offer useful information for early childhood prevention and care.

Perinatal Depression and Anxiety Symptoms, Parental Bonding and Dyadic Sensitivity in Mother–Baby Interactions at Three Months Post-Partum

The quality of the early parent-infant relationship is crucial for the child's optimal development, and parental sensitivity plays a key role in early interactions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the influence of maternal perinatal depression and anxiety symptoms on dyadic sensitivity at three months post-partum, also considering a large set of maternal and infant variables. At the third trimester of pregnancy (T1) and at three months postpartum (T2), 43 primiparous women filled in a set of questionnaires evaluating symptoms of depression (CES-D) or anxiety (STAI), the woman's parental bonding experiences (PBI), alexithymia (TAS-20), maternal attachment to the baby (PAI, MPAS) and the perceived social support (MSPSS). At T2 mothers also completed a questionnaire on infant temperament and took part in the CARE-Index videotaped procedure. Dyadic sensitivity was predicted by higher maternal trait anxiety scores in pregnancy. In addition, the mother's experience of being cared for by her father in childhood was predictive of her infant's lower compulsivity, while paternal overprotection predicted higher unresponsiveness. The results highlight the influence of perinatal maternal psychological well-being and maternal childhood experiences on the quality of the dyadic relationship. The results may be useful to foster mother-child adjustment during the perinatal period.

Effectiveness of Digital Guided Self-help Mindfulness Training During Pregnancy on Maternal Psychological Distress and Infant Neuropsychological Development: Randomized Controlled Trial

Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with unfavorable outcomes in infants. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can effectively alleviate psychological distress, but there are often barriers to the access of face-to-face interventions. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a digital guided self-help (GSH) MBI (GSH-MBI) in reducing maternal psychological distress and improving infant neuropsychological performance. This was a randomized controlled trial. We recruited 160 women who were 12 to 20 weeks pregnant and exhibited psychological distress. We randomized them into a digital GSH-MBI group and a control group (usual perinatal care). The digital GSH-MBI consisted of a 6-week intervention through a WeChat mini program, with a daily reminder sent to the participants by a research assistant via WeChat. The primary outcomes consisted of maternal psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms, which were assessed at 6 time points from baseline to 6 months post partum (only pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms were assessed 3 times during pregnancy). The secondary outcomes were infant neuropsychological outcomes, including temperament and developmental behaviors, which were assessed at 6 weeks and 6 months post partum. Compared with the control group, the digital GSH-MBI group showed a significant reduction in depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms. In addition, the scores of the digital GSH-MBI group were lower than those of the control group for the 3 types of infant temperament at 6 weeks post partum, including quality of mood, distractibility, and adaptability. Digital GSH-MBIs are effective in alleviating psychological distress among pregnant women and protecting infant outcomes. Chinese Clinical Trial Register ChiCTR2000040717; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=65376.

The effect of maternal empathy on infants' attachment security: Moderation by maternal emotion regulation and infant temperament.

This study examined the relationship between maternal empathy and infants' attachment security and tested the moderating effects of maternal emotion regulation and infant negative emotional temperament. Participants were sampled from 215 families whose infants were 6months old (T1) and from 170 families of the same cohort whose infantswere 14 months old (T2). At T1, mothers were measured for their empathy (empathic concern and perspective taking), emotion regulation (reappraisal and suppression), and infant negative emotional temperament (sadness, falling reactivity, fear, and distress to limitations). At T2, mothers were again measured for their emotion regulation, and infant attachment was measured using the Strange Situation Procedure. Maternal empathic concern (EC) and perspective taking (PT) were found to be positively related to infant attachment security, while maternal reappraisal and infant temperamental sadness moderated the relationship between maternal PT and infant attachment security. No significant moderation effects were found between maternal EC and infant attachment security. Simple slope results showed that for infants with higher maternal reappraisal or infant sadness, maternal PT could positively predict infant attachment security. These findings highlight the importance of how the individual characteristics of mothers and infants may interact with maternal empathy during the critical period of infant attachment formation.

Preliminary findings of emotion regulation in 12-month-old infants of mothers enrolled in a randomized controlled trial assessing a nutrition+exercise intervention.

Improved offspring emotion regulation (ER) has been associated with maternal intake of single nutrients or exercise during pregnancy but has not been examined in randomized trials. We investigated the impact of a maternal nutrition+exercise intervention during pregnancy on offspring ER at 12months of age. Mothers in the Be Healthy In Pregnancy randomized controlled trial were randomly assigned to an individualized nutrition+exercise intervention plus usual care (UC) or UC alone (control group). A multimethod assessment of infant ER using parasympathetic nervous system function (high frequency heart rate variability [HF-HRV] and root mean square of successive differences [RMSSD]) as well as maternal reports of infant temperament (Infant Behavior Questionnaire- Revised short form) was completed with a subsample of infants of enrolled mothers (intervention=9, control=8). The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01689961). We observed greater HF-HRV (M=4.63, SD=0.50, p=.04, ƞ2 p =.25) and RMSSD (M=24.25, SD=6.15, p=.04, ƞ2 p =.25) in infants of mothers in the intervention versus control group. Intervention group infants also had higher maternally rated surgency/extraversion (M=5.54, SD=0.38, p=.00, ƞ2 p =.65) and regulation/orienting (M=5.46, SD=0.52, p=.02, ƞ2 p =.81), and lower negative affectivity (M=2.70, SD=0.91, p=.03, ƞ2 p =.52). These preliminary results suggest that pregnancy nutrition+exercise interventions could improve infant ER but these findings require replication in larger, more diverse samples.

Relationships between parental responsive feeding and infant appetitive traits: The moderating role of infant temperament.

Between the ages of 6 and 12 months is a crucial stage for children to develop appetitive self-regulation. Evidence suggests that a combination of parental responsive feeding and infant temperament (surgency, effortful control, negative affect) shapes infant appetitive traits (food approach, food avoidance). There is a need for research to explore these relationships, in order to provide guidance for the design of an effective intervention to improve appetitive traits. The objective of the current study was to explore the moderating role of infant temperament in the relationship between parental responsive feeding and infant appetitive traits. A total of 616 questionnaires, measuring parental responsive feeding, infant appetitive traits, and infant temperament, were collected from parents with infants aged 6-12 months. Results revealed that responsive feeding was associated with both food approach and food avoidance. Furthermore, only lower levels of surgency significantly moderated the relationship between responsive feeding and food approach, while responsive feeding was associated with food avoidance irrespective of infant temperament. These findings suggest that a strategy embedding responsive feeding interventions should be adopted to reduce infant food avoidance and low-surgent infant food approach, and interventions that are tailored toward food approach for infants with effortful control, negative affect, or higher levels of surgency should be further sought.

Trait continuity: Can parent-rated infant temperament predict HEXACO personality in early adulthood?

Examining the Raine cohort study, we tested the trait continuity hypothesis by examining the extent that young adults' (25-29 years old) self-reported HEXACO personality can be statistically predicted from multi-dimensional parental temperament ratings collected in infancy (1-2 years old). The study incorporated a lagged design (two waves), a large sample size (n=563), and examined both temperament and personality as both dimensions and profiles. Overall, we found very limited evidence of trait continuity, with generally very weak and few statistically significant observed associations of infant temperament with early adulthood personality. Relations were weak whether profile or dimension-based operationalizations of both phenomena were adopted. Additionally, controlling for sex affected the relations of temperament and personality only to a small extent for most of the traits, and moderation effects of sex were generally zero-to-trivial in size. Altogether, parent-rated temperament in infancy seems to provide little information about HEXACO personality in early adulthood.

Infant temperament with anxiety postpartum mothers in primary health care Sleman, Indonesia

Introduction: Changes in psychological conditions after childbirth often occur, one of which is anxiety. During the postpartum period, anxiety is a common disorder that occurs in as many as 30% of women, with at least one episode of anxiety in their lifetime. Anxiety in postpartum mothers is caused by the infant, who has an easy or difficult temperament. Therefore, this study aims to determine the relationship between infant temperament and anxiety in postpartum mothers in ​​the Sleman Yogyakarta Public Health Center. Methods: This type of research is a non-experimental quantitative with a cross-sectional approach involving 80 samples of postpartum mothers aged up to the first six weeks in the Sleman Yogyakarta Public Health Center. Sampling with a purposive sampling technique. The instruments used were the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rate Scale (HARS). The statistical test used in this research is Chi-Square. Results: Most infant temperaments were easy (68.8%) and mild postpartum anxiety (50%). Statistical test results show a p-value of 0.001. Conclusion: An infant's temperament influences anxiety in postpartum mothers. Nurses must improve the quality of maternity nursing care services through education and early detection to prevent postpartum anxiety.

Associations between maternal postpartum depression and infant temperament in treatment-seeking mothers prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It remains unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mother-infant relationship and associations between maternal postpartum depression (PPD) and offspring temperament. This study examined the impact of the pandemic on these links and how maternal ratings of the mother-infant relationship mediated associations between PPD and infant temperament in a sample of treatment-seeking mothers in Ontario, Canada before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mothers with infants <12 months of age and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores ≥10 enrolled in two separate randomized controlled trials of 1-day cognitive behavioral therapy-based workshops for PPD conducted before COVID-19 (n = 392) and during the pandemic (n = 403). Mothers reported on depressive symptomatology, infant temperament, and the mother-infant relationship. Maternal PPD was associated with more infant negative affectivity and mother-infant relationship difficulties. While associations between PPD and infant-focused anxiety were stronger during COVID-19, the pandemic did not otherwise affect associations between PPD and infant temperament. Mediation analyses suggested that aspects of the mother-infant relationship mediated associations between PPD and infant negative affectivity. Findings highlight the importance of detecting PPD and intervening to potentially improve outcomes for mothers and their children.

Preterm infant body composition, working memory, and temperament

Altered body composition in preterm infants is associated with risks to cognitive development, but the effect specific to prefrontal cortex (PFC) development is unknown. We were interested in the impact of fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM) gains out to 4 months corrected gestational age (CGA) on PFC development, as indexed by working memory and temperament. This is a prospective observational pilot study recruiting 100 preterm (<33 weeks gestation), appropriate for gestational age, and very low birth weight infants, of which 49 infants met inclusion criteria. Body composition was measured using air displacement plethysmography at hospital discharge and 4 months CGA. Questionnaire based temperament assessments were completed at 12 and 24 months CGA and a working memory assessment was completed at 24 months CGA. Associations between developmental tests and body composition obtained at term and 4 months were analyzed. Increased FM at discharge was associated with increased fear and decreased soothability at 12 months. Increased FM at 4 months was associated with increased activity level, increased distress from limitations at 12 months and decreased attentional shifting, decreased frustration, and decreased inhibitory control at 24 months. Increased FFM at 4 months was associated with increased activity level at 12 months and increased impulsivity and decreased low intensity pleasure at 24 months. In this exploratory pilot study, increased FM out to 4 months and increased FFM after discharge are associated with negative markers of infant temperament. Infant temperament may be sensitive to body composition status at least to 4 months CGA.

Research Review: A systematic review and meta-analysis of infant and toddler temperamentaspredictors of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder with onset as early as preschool and impairment across the lifespan. Temperament factors, specifically those that theoretically map onto ADHD symptoms, may be early markers of risk for developing later childhood ADHD that could be identifiable in infancy or toddlerhood. This meta-analysis examined the associations between these early temperamental factors and later symptoms and diagnosis of ADHD and mapped early temperament constructs onto the three ADHD symptom dimensions. A systemic review of the literature was conducted to identify prospective longitudinal studies that included theoretically relevant temperament constructs (sustained attention, activity level, inhibition, and negative emotionality) examined from birth to 36 months old and ADHD (symptoms or diagnosis) in preschool or childhood. The association between each temperament construct and ADHD outcomes was examined using pooled standardized estimates in meta-analyses. Forty-eight articles (n=112,716 infants/toddlers) prospectively examined temperament and the relation to childhood ADHD symptoms or diagnosis. Activity level (k=18) in infancy and toddlerhood was moderately associated with childhood ADHD (r=.39, CI=0.27, 0.51, p < .001). Moderate effect sizes were also observed for sustained attention (k=9; r=-.28, CI=-0.42, -0.12, p < .001) and negative emotionality (k=33; r=.25, CI=0.16, 0.34, p < .001) with ADHD. The specificity of each temperament construct for later ADHD symptom dimensions was such that activity level and negative emotionality were predictive of all three symptom dimensions (i.e., inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and combined), whereas sustained attention was only associated with combined symptoms. Infant and toddler temperament is an early risk factor for the development of childhood ADHD that could be utilized for early intervention identification. Yet, this systematic review found that relatively few prospective longitudinal studies have examined sustained attention (k=9) and inhibition (k=15) in infancy and toddlerhood in relation to later ADHD highlighting the need for further research.

Psychosocial Assessment in Perinatal Mental Health: Insights, Strategies, and Future Directions

Abstract Perinatal mental health is a complex and multifaceted area influenced by various psychosocial risk factors that impact the well-being of individuals during pregnancy and the postpartum period. This article provides insight into the intricacies of perinatal mental health challenges, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive support systems. It highlights prominent risk factors, including exposure to stressful life events, strained marital relationships, inadequate social support, lower socioeconomic status, single marital status, unwanted pregnancies, obstetrical stressors, and infant temperament. The article discusses various psychosocial interventions, including psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving techniques, behavioral activation, and befriending. It also emphasizes the importance of specialized care for women experiencing postpartum psychosis. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences-Mother–Baby Unit Model, a multidisciplinary approach to perinatal mental health care, is explored, highlighting its comprehensive psychosocial assessment and tailored interventions. The article emphasizes the need to focus on psychosocial risk factors and culturally sensitive interventions in perinatal mental health care.

유아의 기질과 외현화 문제행동에 대한 부모의 양육행동과 지지적 부부공동양육의 조절된 조절효과

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of parental parenting behavior and supportive parental co-parenting on the process of infant temperament affecting externalizing problem behavior. For this purpose, 232 infants (118 boys, 114 girls) and their parents from 10 early childhood education institutions in D Metro city were studied. As a result, some moderated moderation effects were confirmed. Specifically, negative emotionality of preschoolers reduced externalizing problem behaviors, but mothers' controlling parenting buffered this tendency, and as mothers' supportive coparenting increased, this buffering effect decreased. In addition, the preschoolers’ extrovertion temperament reduced the externalizing problem behavior, but the mother's controlling parenting buffered this tendency, and the buffering effect decreased as the mother's supportive coparenting increased. Effortful control of preschoolers reduced externalizing problem behaviors, but mothers' compassionate parenting buffered this tendency, and the buffering effect decreased as mothers' supportive coparenting increased. Next, the extrovertion temperament of preschoolers reduces externalizing problem behaviors, but the father's controlling parenting buffered this tendency, and the buffering effect decreases as the father's supportive coparenting increased. In addition, the effortful control of preschoolers reduced externalizing problem behaviors, but the father's controlling parenting buffered this tendency, and as the father's supportive coparenting increased, this buffering effect decreased. In this regard, the direction of effective parent education was discussed.

Milk-cereal mix supplementation during infancy and impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes at 12 and 24 months of age: a randomized controlled trial in India.

Inadequate protein intake and lack of micronutrients may affect neurodevelopment in infants. This randomized controlled trial was conducted to measure the effect of two milk-cereal mixes with modest and high amounts of protein and enriched with multiple micronutrients (MMN), given between 6-12 months, on cognitive, language, motor and behavioural scores at 12 and 24 months of age, compared to no-supplementation. The two supplements were also compared with each other. The study was conducted in urban Delhi, India and the infants were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to the three study groups. At 12 and 24 months of age, 1134 and 1214 children were available, respectively. At 12 months of age, compared to no supplement group, an increase in the motor scores (mean difference, MD 1.52, 95% CI: 0.28, 2.75) and a decrease in the infant temperament scores (mean difference, MD -2.76, 95% CI: -4.23, -1.29) in the modest protein group was observed. Those in the high protein group had lower socio-emotional scores (MD -1.40, 95% CI: -2.43, -0.37) and higher scores on infant temperament scale (MD 2.05, 95% CI: 0.62, 3.48) when compared to modest protein group. At 24 months, no significant differences in any of the neurodevelopment scores between the three study groups was found. In conclusion, supplementation with modest amount of protein and MMN may lead to short term small improvements in motor function and infant temperament. There appears no advantage of supplementing with high protein, rather negative effects on infant behaviour were observed.

Maternal Prenatal Depressive Symptoms and Infant Sleep Problems: The Role of Infant Temperament and Sex

ABSTRACT Objectives We aimed to analyze whether (1) infant temperament mediates the impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on infant sleep problems and (2) the mediation role of infant temperament was moderated by the infant’s sex. Methods The sample was comprised of 172 mother-infant dyads. Mothers completed self-reported measures of prenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms, infant temperament (negative affectivity, surgency/extraversion, and orienting regulation), and sleep problems. Results While controlling for maternal postnatal depressive symptoms, our results revealed that (1) infant negative affectivity at two weeks partially mediated the impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on sleep anxiety at six months, and (2) this mediation is independent of the infant’s sex. Conclusions Our findings provided evidence that negative affectivity can be an early specific marker of sleep anxiety and can partially explain the negative impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on further sleep problems in the infant.

Maternal-Infant Attachment and its Relationships with Postpartum Depression, Anxiety, Affective Instability, Stress, and Social Support in a Canadian Community Sample.

As a crucial component of child development, maternal-infant attachment influences a child's cognitive, psychological, and social development. Maternal depression, anxiety, stress, and social support have been identified as risk factors for poor maternal-infant attachment in some studies, while others did not find such relationships. The aim of this study was to examine the associations of maternal-infant attachment with depression, anxiety, affective instability, stress, social support, and other variables in a community sample of Canadian postpartum women. A total of 108 Canadian postpartum women participated in this cross-sectional study. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) assessed depression, anxiety, and stress, and the Affective lability Scale-18 measured affective instability (AI). Multiple linear regression was conducted to examine the association between maternal-infant attachment and other variables. The findings revealed a significant association of maternal-infant attachment with postpartum depression, and infant temperament, while anxiety, AI, stress, and social support were not identified as predictors for maternal-infant attachment. The results implicate the importance of addressing maternal depression and maternal-infant attachment, consequently decreasing the risk for childhood psychopathology.

Early pathways of maternal mentalization: Associations with child development in the FinnBrain birth cohort study.

Parental mentalization refers to a parents' capacity and interest to consider the individual experience and mental state underlying the behaviors of the child. Higher mentalization is considered a key aspect for parental sensitivity in interaction, fostering child's socioemotional and self-regulatory development. Yet, previous studies have not examined the dynamic pathways through which the maternal mentalization may develop, nor their effects on child development. Thus, in the current person-oriented study, first, we identify distinct profiles and longitudinal trajectories of maternal mentalization from pregnancy to child's 2 years of age. Second, we test how the profiles and trajectories associate with children's internalizing and externalizing problems, social-emotional competence and effortful control at the age of 2 years. Third, we examine how the profiles and trajectories associate with contextual demographic and child related. The substudy was part of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort and included families from general population (n = 2,687). Mothers reported their parental reflective functioning (PRF) at late pregnancy, 6 months and 2 years of child's age. Both mothers (n = 1,437) and fathers (n = 715) reported the developmental child outcomes at the child's age of 2 years. Latent Profile Analysis and Latent Transition Analysis were used to identify PRF profiles and trajectories. The results showed decreasing heterogeneity in PRF from pregnancy to child's age of 6 months and 2 years (i.e., four, three and two latent classes, respectively). Most mothers progressed towards high PRF over time. Second, the profiles and trajectories depicting high PRF associated with child high social-emotional competence at the age of 2 years, yet no clear positive effects were found on child's problems and effortful control. The group of mixed PRF trajectories showed strongest association with child's internalizing and externalizing problems. Finally, there were theoretically meaningful associations between the PRF trajectories and both the contextual (e.g., parity) and child related (e.g., infant temperament) factors. This was the first study to explore the early unfolding of maternal mentalization. The results are discussed in relation with the potential mechanisms accounting for child development and with the nature and limitations of self-reported parental mentalization.

Development of Proactive Control and Anxiety Among Behaviorally Inhibited Adolescents.

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is an infant temperament characterized by heightened reactivity and negative affect in response to novel people and situations. BI is among the earliest and strongest predictors of future anxiety problems. However, not all children with a history of BI will manifest anxiety problems. A growing body of evidence suggests that proactive control skills may help buffer youth with BI from future anxiety difficulties; yet, it remains unclear how temperament may interact with the development of cognitive control to influence anxiety risk. The present study tested whether enhancements in proactive control occurring during adolescence may reduce risk for anxiety among youth with a history of BI. Participants included 185 adolescents (56% female) whose temperament was assessed during toddlerhood. In adolescence, participants completed anxiety assessments and an AX Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT) to assess cognitive control strategy. Both assessments were administered at age 13 years and again at 15 years. Latent change score modeling revealed that, on average, participants increasingly used proactive control strategies and experienced worsening anxiety from age 13-15 years. Early BI was associated with a smaller anxiety increase from 13-15 years, but only among participants whose proactive control skills improved at mean or greater rates. The present findings suggest that greater proactive control development during adolescence protects youth with high BI from age-related increases in anxiety. Results support a framework that highlights cognitive control as a key moderator of anxiety risk among children with a history of high BI.