1. Maternal emotional availability and perinatal depressive symptoms as predictors of early childhood executive function.
- Author
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Power, Josephine, Watson, Stuart, Chen, Wai, Lewis, Andrew J., van IJzendoorn, Marinus H., and Galbally, Megan
- Subjects
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EDINBURGH Postnatal Depression Scale , *DEPRESSION in women , *EXECUTIVE function , *MOTHER-infant relationship , *MENTAL depression , *PRENATAL depression - Abstract
The interconnected effects of maternal perinatal depression and the early mother-infant relational quality on children's executive function development are crucial yet understudied. This study addresses this gap, focusing on how perinatal depressive symptoms and emotional availability at 6 months predict child executive function performance at age four, with an emphasis on the moderating role of emotional availability. This study included 282 mother-infant pairs recruited from the Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study, utilising repeated Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale measurement over the perinatal period, Emotional Availability Scales, and child executive function assessments (Shape School, NEPSY-II, Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity scale, inattentive subscale). Latent growth curve analysis incorporated controls for socioeconomic status and maternal cognitive abilities, and moderation effects were examined through multiplicative interaction terms. We found that emotional availability influences children's executive function, specifically switching, motor inhibition, and inattentive symptoms, irrespective of maternal depressive symptom changes. This effect is further nuanced by emotional availability's moderating role in the association between depressive symptom change and switching. The study's limitations include a relatively small sample size for moderation analysis and the exclusion of paternal influences. This study is a significant step in understanding the profound influence of maternal emotional availability in infancy on child executive function development, offering new avenues for research and, if replicated, a foundation for innovative intervention approaches. • Maternal emotional availability is a key predictor of child executive function development • Changes in perinatal depressive symptoms significantly impacted child switching and inattentive symptoms • Less emotionally available mother-infant relationships increased vulnerability to the effect of increasing depressive symptoms • The postpartum environment plays a critical role in early executive function development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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