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The course of maternal repetitive negative thinking at the transition to motherhood and early mother–infant interactions: Is there a link?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 December 2018

Dana Müller ,
Tobias Teismann ,
Gerrit Hirschfeld ,
Norbert Zmyj ,
Sabrina Fuths ,
Silja Vocks ,
Silvia Schneider  and
Sabine Seehagen
Dana Müller*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
Tobias Teismann
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
Gerrit Hirschfeld
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Hochschule Osnabrück, Germany
Norbert Zmyj
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Technical University, Dortmund, Germany
Sabrina Fuths
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
Silja Vocks
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Universität Osnabrück, Germany
Silvia Schneider
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
Sabine Seehagen
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
*
Author for correspondence: Dana Müller, Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Massenbergstraße 9-13, 44787 Bochum, Germany; E-mail: dana.mueller@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
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Abstract

Potential long-term associations between repetitive negative thinking and mother-infant interactions have received little attention. The current longitudinal study including N = 62 mother-infant dyads investigated both maternal and infant behavior in face-to-face interactions as a function of pre- and postnatal maternal repetitive negative thinking when infants were aged around 4 months. We hypothesised that mothers with a strong tendency to engage in repetitive negative thinking would react less contingently to their infants’ behavior compared to mothers with a weak tendency to engage in repetitive negative thinking. Furthermore, we hypothesised that infants of mothers high in repetitive negative thinking would differ from infants of mothers low in repetitive negative thinking in their reactions in the still-face task. Contrary to expectations, there was no difference in maternal contingency between mothers high versus low in repetitive negative thinking. However, infant behavior in the still-face task differed as a function of maternal repetitive negative thinking status. Specifically, infants of mothers high in repetitive negative thinking spent more time with object/environment engagement than infants of mothers who were low in repetitive negative thinking, and they also protested less frequently. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for the intergenerational transmission of mental disorders.

Keywords

maternal contingencystill-face taskmother-infant interactionrepetitive negative thinkingdepression
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , October 2019 , pp. 1411 - 1421
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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