Adrenocortical and behavioral attunement in parents with 1-year-old infants

Sethre-Hofstad et al. [2002, Psychoneuroendocrinology 27:731-747] found that behaviorally well-attuned or sensitive parents showed better physiological attunement with their 2- to 4-year-old toddlers' adrenocortical responses to a potentially challenging task than less sensitive parents. In the present study we aimed to replicate this finding in a sample of 83 parents with 15-month-old infants. Parental and infant cortisol responses were assessed using saliva samples collected before and 21 min after the child's confrontation with a stranger and a moving robot. Infant behaviors reflecting distress/uncertainty during the stranger-robot session were rated from videotape. Parental sensitivity was observed during a parent-infant teaching episode. Our findings replicate those of Sethre-Hofstad et al. [2002, Psychoneuroendocrinology 27:731-747] by showing correlated parent-infant cortisol responses for sensitive parents but not for less sensitive parents. Furthermore, sensitive parents cortisol responses were associated with their children's distress/uncertainty during the stranger-robot episode, whereas this was not true for less sensitive parents. Results indicate an important connection between behavior and physiology in parent-infant interactions that deserve more research.