Transaction of parental cognition, stress and depressive symptoms, and infant regulatory challenges

Parental cognitions, stress, depression, and infant regulatory challenges might reinforce each other in the early parent-infant relationship. A transactional model was used as a framework to investigate these relationships. Two hundred and twenty pregnant women and their partners were recruited during pregnancy and followed 7 months postnatally in the NorBaby study in Norway. To investigate risk and protective factors for parental stress and depressive symptoms at 2, 5, and 7 months postnatally, the following variables were entered antenatally: repetitive negative thinking, implicit associations to infants, parity, and social support. Postnatally, observed infant regulatory challenges at 2 months, parent's perception of infant temperament at 5 months, and signs of infant social withdrawal at 7 months. The model yielded that repetitive negative thinking predicted parenting stress and depressive symptoms, while infant regulatory challenges did not. Repetitive negative thinking is also related to infant temperament. For mothers, parity was beneficial against stress, depressive symptoms, and infant regulatory challenges. Implicit associations to infants were not related to parenting stress or depressive symptoms postnatally. Parenting stress and depressive symptoms were not related to infant social withdrawal at 7 months. In sum, how parents perceive their infant's temperament is associated with their own tendency to engage in repetitive negative thinking, and not by their infant's observed regulatory behavior. Accordingly, parental cognition and well-being should be considered when families struggle to adapt in the perinatal period.