TY - JOUR
T1 - Physiological attunement in mother-infant dyads at clinical high risk
T2 - The influence of maternal depression and positive parenting
AU - Hendrix, Cassandra L.
AU - Stowe, Zachary N.
AU - Newport, D. Jeffrey
AU - Brennan, Patricia A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Hendrix Cassandra L. a Stowe Zachary N. b Newport D. Jeffrey c Brennan Patricia A. a a Emory University b University of Wisconsin c University of Miami Miller School of Medicine This research was supported by a NARSAD Young Investigator Grant (to P.A.B.) as well as NIH Grants MD009746, MH088609, MH58922, and MH68036. The first author is supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant DGE-1444932. Dr. Brennan and Ms. Hendrix declare no conflicts of interest. Dr. Stowe has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Wyeth; served on speakers or advisory boards for Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Wyeth, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and GlaxoSmithKline; and received honoraria from Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Wyeth. Dr. Newport has received research support from Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, the National Institutes of Health, NARSAD, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Wyeth; served on speakers or advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Wyeth; and received honoraria from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Wyeth. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Cassandra L. Hendrix, 36 Eagle Row , Emory University , Atlanta , GA 30322 ; E-mail: clhendr@emory.edu . 19 09 2017 05 2018 30 2 623 634 Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 2017 Cambridge University Press
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - A growing number of research studies have examined the intradyadic coregulation (or attunement) of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning in mothers and their children. However, it is unclear how early this coregulation may be present in dyads at clinical high risk and whether certain factors, such as maternal depression or positive parenting, are associated with the strength of this coregulation. The present study examined cortisol attunement within mother-infant dyads in a high-risk sample of 233 mothers who received treatment for psychiatric illness during pregnancy and whose infants were 6 months old at the study visit. Results showed that maternal and infant cortisol covaried across four time points that included a stressor paradigm and a mother-infant interaction task. Greater maternal positive affect, but not depression, predicted stronger cortisol attunement. In addition, infants' cortisol level following separation from the mother predicted mothers' cortisol level at the next time point. Mothers' cortisol level following the separation and the laboratory stress paradigm predicted infants' cortisol levels at each successive time point, over and above infants' own cortisol at the previous time point. These findings suggest that maternal and infant cortisol levels influence one another in a bidirectional fashion that may be temporally and context dependent.
AB - A growing number of research studies have examined the intradyadic coregulation (or attunement) of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning in mothers and their children. However, it is unclear how early this coregulation may be present in dyads at clinical high risk and whether certain factors, such as maternal depression or positive parenting, are associated with the strength of this coregulation. The present study examined cortisol attunement within mother-infant dyads in a high-risk sample of 233 mothers who received treatment for psychiatric illness during pregnancy and whose infants were 6 months old at the study visit. Results showed that maternal and infant cortisol covaried across four time points that included a stressor paradigm and a mother-infant interaction task. Greater maternal positive affect, but not depression, predicted stronger cortisol attunement. In addition, infants' cortisol level following separation from the mother predicted mothers' cortisol level at the next time point. Mothers' cortisol level following the separation and the laboratory stress paradigm predicted infants' cortisol levels at each successive time point, over and above infants' own cortisol at the previous time point. These findings suggest that maternal and infant cortisol levels influence one another in a bidirectional fashion that may be temporally and context dependent.
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U2 - 10.1017/S0954579417001158
DO - 10.1017/S0954579417001158
M3 - Article
C2 - 28925341
AN - SCOPUS:85030720646
VL - 30
SP - 623
EP - 634
JO - Development and Psychopathology
JF - Development and Psychopathology
SN - 0954-5794
IS - 2
ER -