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Maternal Anxiety following Delivery, Early Infant Temperament and Mother´s Confidence in Caregiving

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2014

Manuel Jover ,
Julia Colomer ,
Jose Miguel Carot ,
Christina Larsson ,
Maria Teresa Bobes ,
Jose Luis Ivorra ,
Ramón Martín-Brufau  and
Julio Sanjuan
Manuel Jover*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
Julia Colomer
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
Jose Miguel Carot
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
Christina Larsson
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
Maria Teresa Bobes
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
Jose Luis Ivorra
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
Ramón Martín-Brufau
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
Julio Sanjuan
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Manuel Jover. Psychiatric Department. Clinic Hospital. Blasco Ibañez, 17. 46010. Valencia (Spain). Phone/Fax: +34–9638626. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

A mother’s emotional state is a well-known environmental factor that relates to the development of infant temperament. However, some relevant issues have not yet been fully explored. The current study examines the influence of determined maternal, contextual and perinatal variables on infant temperament and the mother’s confidence in caregiving during the first weeks of life. A prospective study was carried out in three-hundred and seventeen newborns and their mothers. Perinatal and socio-demographic variables were recorded. The mother’s anxiety and mood were measured in the first days after childbirth and again at 8 weeks. Infant temperament and the mother’s confidence in caregiving were measured at 8 weeks. A mother’s postpartum anxiety following delivery was the best predictor for most of the variables of infant temperament, including infant irritability (p = .001), and other child variables like infant sleep (p = .0003) and nursing difficulty (p = .001). Contextual-family variables, such as the number of people at home (p = .0024) and whether they were primiparous (p = .001), were the best predictors for a mother´s confidence in caregiving. Support was found for an early effect of maternal anxiety on infant temperament. The results have clinical implications for postnatal psychological interventions.

Keywords

infant temperamentmaternal anxietyconfidence in caregiving
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 17 , 2014 , E95
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2014 

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