Infant temperament and maternal anxiety and depressed mood in the early postpartum period. 2011

John R Britton
Department of Neonatology, Kaiser Permanente, Denver, Colorado 80218, USA. johnrbritton@comcast.net

Although difficult infant temperament has been associated with maternal postpartum anxiety and depressed mood in later infancy, the emergence of this association in the early postpartum period has not been explored. In a survey study of 296 mothers of healthy term newborns during the first postpartum month, the relationship of infant temperament with maternal anxiety and depressed mood was explored. Maternal ratings of infant temperament were measured by the Early Infancy Temperament Questionnaire. Postpartum anxiety was measured by the State Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and depressed mood by the Beck Depression Inventory. The State Scale and Beck Depression Inventory correlated positively with ratings of infant activity, rhythmicity, approach, distractibility, and overall temperamental difficulty. In addition, the State Scale correlated positively with ratings of adaptability and intensity. In regression analyses, controlling for other factors, ratings of overall temperamental difficulty were independently associated with both State Scale and Beck Depression Inventory scores. Associations of difficult infant temperament with maternal postpartum anxiety and depressive symptoms emerge early in the postpartum period. These associations are independent of other known contributors to postpartum mood.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D007231 Infant, Newborn An infant during the first 28 days after birth. Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D008425 Maternal Behavior The behavior patterns associated with or characteristic of a mother. Maternal Patterns of Care,Maternal Care Patterns,Behavior, Maternal,Behaviors, Maternal,Care Pattern, Maternal,Care Patterns, Maternal,Maternal Behaviors,Maternal Care Pattern,Pattern, Maternal Care,Patterns, Maternal Care
D009034 Mother-Child Relations Interaction between a mother and child. Mother-Child Interaction,Mother-Child Relationship,Mother-Infant Interaction,Mother-Infant Relations,Interaction, Mother-Child,Interaction, Mother-Infant,Interactions, Mother-Child,Interactions, Mother-Infant,Mother Child Interaction,Mother Child Relations,Mother Child Relationship,Mother Infant Interaction,Mother Infant Relations,Mother-Child Interactions,Mother-Child Relation,Mother-Child Relationships,Mother-Infant Interactions,Mother-Infant Relation,Relation, Mother-Child,Relation, Mother-Infant,Relations, Mother-Child,Relations, Mother-Infant,Relationship, Mother-Child,Relationships, Mother-Child
D009035 Mothers Female parents, human or animal. Mothers' Clubs,Club, Mothers',Clubs, Mothers',Mother,Mother Clubs,Mother's Clubs,Mothers Clubs,Mothers' Club
D010555 Personality Inventory Check list, usually to be filled out by a person about himself, consisting of many statements about personal characteristics which the subject checks. Edwards Personal Preference Schedule,Myers-Briggs Type Indicator,Indicator, Myers-Briggs Type,Inventories, Personality,Inventory, Personality,Myers Briggs Type Indicator,Personality Inventories
D011569 Psychiatric Status Rating Scales Standardized procedures utilizing rating scales or interview schedules carried out by health personnel for evaluating the degree of mental illness. Factor Construct Rating Scales (FCRS),Katz Adjustment Scales,Lorr's Inpatient Multidimensional Psychiatric Rating Scale,Wittenborn Scales,Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale,Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

Related Publications

John R Britton
September 1990, The Journal of genetic psychology,
John R Britton
January 1979, American Nurses Association Publications,
John R Britton
January 2019, Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research,
John R Britton
November 2011, Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands),
John R Britton
April 2013, Pediatrics,
Copied contents to your clipboard!