Maternal emotional availability and perinatal depressive symptoms as predictors of early childhood executive function.

Autor: Power J; Monash Health, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia. Electronic address: Josephine.Power@monash.edu., Watson S; Murdoch University, Discipline of Psychology, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; University of Notre Dame, School of Medicine, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia., Chen W; Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Australia; enAble Institute, Curtin University, Australia; Fiona Stanley Hospital, SMHS, Australia; Postgraduate School of Education, UWA, Australia; Murdoch University, WA, Australia; School of Medicine (Fremantle), University of Notre Dame Australia, WA, Australia; Centre of Excellence in Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Medical Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand., Lewis AJ; Federation University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., van IJzendoorn MH; Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia; Erasmus University, Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Rotterdam, the Netherlands., Galbally M; Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of affective disorders [J Affect Disord] 2024 Nov 15; Vol. 365, pp. 332-340. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 22.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.044
Abstrakt: Background: 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.
Method: 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.
Results: 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.
Limitations: The study's limitations include a relatively small sample size for moderation analysis and the exclusion of paternal influences.
Conclusion: 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.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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