| Affiliation: | 1. Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, , Rotterdam, The Netherlands;2. Center for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, , Leiden, The Netherlands;3. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, , Rotterdam, The Netherlands;4. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, , Rotterdam, The Netherlands;5. School of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, , Rotterdam, The Netherlands;6. Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center, , Rotterdam, The Netherlands;7. Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont College of Medicine, , Burlington, Vermont, USA;8. Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, , Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
| Abstract: | We examined associations of disorganized attachment and maternal depressive symptoms with infant autonomic functioning in 450 infant‐mother dyads enrolled in the Generation R study. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured 2 months postpartum with the Brief Symptom Inventory. At 14 months, we assessed infant attachment with a slightly shortened Strange Situation and measured infant resting heart rate. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was calculated using spectral analysis. Higher levels of maternal postnatal depressive symptoms predicted lower resting RSA in disorganized infants (B = ?0.31, SE = 0.15, p = .04, R2 = .05) but not in nondisorganized infants (B = 0.05, SE = 0.06, p = .36). This effect was buffered in disorganized infants with a secondary secure attachment classification. Disorganized infants were more vulnerable to the effect of maternal postnatal depressive symptoms on the physiological stress systems. |
