Interactions between anxious mothers and their infants: An integration of theory and research findings

Abstract

Children of highly anxious mothers are at risk for developmental difficulties including anxiety disorders, and "anxious maternal behavior" and disturbed mother-infant interactions have been implicated in the transmission of risk. In this article, we describe interactions between mothers who are highly anxious and their young infant, based on the few directly relevant observation studies that are available. For more detail, we draw on a broader literature including studies of depressed mothers and developmental theory. Our goal is to describe how the interactions between anxious mothers and infants look to an outside observer and how they may feel to mothers and infants. We also discuss possible bases for their disturbed interactive behavior, the impact that the disturbances can have on both mothers and infants, buffers and risk factors, and routes to short-term intervention. Finally, we suggest directions for future research on maternal anxiety and anxious maternal behavior and the significance of such research for clinicians and researchers.

Mothers’ and Fathers’ Responsive Problem Solving with Early Adolescents: Do Gender, Shyness, and Social Acceptance Make a Difference?

“…Parents of shy children have been found to be psychologically controlling in general (Mills and Rubin 1998), and overprotective in particular , a parenting style that may be especially damaging for shy youth (Barber et al 1994). It is also possible that both passive and evocative gene-environment correlations operate such that shy children, who tend to have shy parents (Kaitz and Maytal 2005;Reiss and Neiderhiser 2000), evoke nonresponsive behaviors from parents, behaviors which would tend to be consistent with their genetic predisposition toward social withdrawal.…”

“…Through passive gene-environment correlations, parents tend to establish a home environment and adopt parenting strategies that are influenced by their own genetic predispositions. Specifically, a socially withdrawn parent may create a home environment in which venturing outside the home is discouraged, or these parents may be hesitant to engage with their child due to the parent's own shyness (see Kaitz and Maytal 2005). Through evocative gene-environment correlations, specific child characteristics tend to evoke typical responses from parents.…”

Consequences and Possible Predictors of Health-damaging Behaviors and Mental Health Problems in Pregnancy – A Review

“…There were also indications that depression in the mother can predispose to intrauterine growth retardation [121][122]. If maternal mental health problems remain untreated, there is a risk that these symptoms will continue even after the birth of the child [123][124], which can seriously limit the maternal care given to the infant and the interaction between mother and infant [125][126][127].…”

Retraimento social em bebês: um estudo exploratório sobre os irmãos mais novos de crianças com transtorno do espectro do autismo

“…(Weinberg, Tronick, 1998;Kaitz, Maytal, 2005;Brum, 2006;Correia, Linhares, 2007). Ao mesmo tempo, também é sabido que o bebê exerce um papel ativo na construção destas relações, sendo que características intrínsecas a ele exercem similar influência sobre a saúde mental parental e seus modos de cuidar e se relacionar com ele (Trevarthen, Aitken, 2001;Crespin, 2004;Trevarthen, Stuart, 2005 (Fox et al, 2004).…”