ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6833-1565
Current Organisations
University of Helsinki
,
University of Turku
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Publisher: American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-05-2018
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-02-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1651-2227.2008.00673.X
Abstract: To evaluate the association between infant fussing and crying and developmental outcome in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Hundred and seventeen VLBW infants were followed up to 24 months of corrected age. The duration of fussing and crying and frequency of fuss/cry bouts were measured at term 6 weeks and 5 months of corrected age. Cognitive and motor development was assessed at 24 months of corrected age. The increased duration of combined fuss/cry at term associated with lower psychomotor developmental index (PDI), [regression coefficient (b)=-0.83, p=0.025]. Crying at term associated negatively with mental developmental index (MDI) (b=-0.91, p=0.040) and PDI (b=-1.10, p=0.015). The associations between fuss/cry and PDI, and crying and PDI persisted in multiple regression analysis (b=-0.89, p=0.030 and b=-1.23, p=0.018, respectively). Excessive fuss/cry (>or=180 min/day) at term associated with lower PDI (p=0.005) and at 6 weeks with lower MDI (p=0.024) and PDI (p=0.012). Increase in the frequency of fuss/cry bouts at 5 months associated with higher PDI in both simple (b=2.90, p=0.045) and in multiple regression analysis (b=3.60, p=0.019). In VLBW infants, longer duration of fussing and crying in very early infancy, but not at 5 months, is associated with less optimal development at 24 months of age.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-04-2008
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 07-2020
Abstract: This study tested whether executive functioning (EF)/learning tasks from the CogState computerized test battery show a unitary latent structure. This information is important for the construction of composite measures on these tasks for applied research purposes. Based on earlier factor analytic research, we identified five CogState tasks that have been labeled as EF/learning tasks and examined their intercorrelations in a new s le of Finnish birth cohort mothers ( N = 233). Using confirmatory factor analyses, we compared two single-factor EF/learning models. The first model included the recommended summative scores for each task. The second model exchanged summative scores for first test round results for the three tasks providing these data, as initial task performance is expected to load more heavily on EF. A single-factor solution provided a good fit for the present five EF/learning tasks. The second model, which was hypothesized to tap more onto EF, had slightly better fit indices, χ 2 (5) = 1.37, p = .93, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = .02, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .00, 90% CI = [.00–.03], comparative fit index (CFI) = 1.00, and more even factor loadings (.30–.56) than the first model, χ 2 (5) = 4.56, p = .47, SRMR = .03, RMSEA = .00, 90% CI = [.00–.09], CFI = 1.00, factor loadings (.20–.74), which was hypothesized to tap more onto learning. We conclude that the present CogState sum scores can be used for studying EF/learning in healthy adult s les, but call for further research to validate these sum scores against other EF tests.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JAD.2018.09.064
Abstract: Biases in socio-emotional attention may be early markers of risk for self-regulation difficulties and mental illness. We examined the associations between maternal pre- and postnatal anxiety symptoms and infant attention patterns to faces, with particular focus on attentional biases to threat, across male and female infants. A general population, Caucasian s le of eight-month old infants (N = 362) were tested using eye-tracking and an attention disengagement (overlap) paradigm, with happy, fearful, neutral, and phase-scrambled faces and distractors. Maternal self-reported anxiety symptoms were assessed with the Symptom Checklist-90/anxiety subscale at five time points between gestational week 14 and 6 months postpartum. Probability of disengagement was lowest for fearful faces in the whole s le. Maternal pre- but not postnatal anxiety symptoms associated with higher threat bias in infants, and the relation between maternal anxiety symptoms in early pregnancy and higher threat bias in infants remained significant after controlling for maternal postnatal symptoms. Maternal postnatal anxiety symptoms, in turn, associated with higher overall probability of disengagement from faces to distractors, but the effects varied by child sex. The small number of mothers suffering from very severe symptoms. No control for the comorbidity of depressive symptoms. Maternal prenatal anxiety symptoms associate with infant's heightened attention bias for threat. Maternal postnatal anxiety symptoms, in turn, associate with infant's overall disengagement probability differently for boys and girls. Boys may show enhanced vigilance for distractors, except when viewing fearful faces, and girls enhanced vigilance for all socio-emotional stimuli. Long-term implications of these findings remain to be explored.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-05-2022
DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2022.2073973
Abstract: Sensitivity to others' emotional signals is an important factor for social interaction. While many studies of emotional reactivity focus on facial emotional expressions, signals such as pupil dilation which can indicate arousal, may also affect observers. For ex le, observers' pupils dilate when viewing someone with dilated pupils, so-called pupillary contagion. Yet it is unclear how pupil size and emotional expression interact as signals. Further, examining in idual differences in emotional reactivity to others can shed light on its mechanisms and potential outcomes. In the current study, adults' (
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2008
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-08-2017
DOI: 10.1111/INFA.12206
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-09-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-08-2011
DOI: 10.1111/J.1651-2227.2011.02428.X
Abstract: To assess the associations between cognitive development of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants and measures of parental psychological well-being. In this prospective cohort study, 182 VLBW infants born 1/2001-12/2006 at the Turku University Hospital, Finland, were followed up. At 2 years corrected age, cognitive development of the child was assessed using the Mental Development Index of Bayley Scales, and both parents filled in validated questionnaires defining parental psychological well-being (Beck Depression Inventory, Parenting Stress Index and Sense of Coherence Scale). The cognitive delay of the infant was associated with paternal symptoms of depression (p = 0.007) and parenting stress (p = 0.03). Mothers of the infants with cognitive delay reported increased parenting stress related to the difficulty to accept the child (p = 0.001). Weak sense of coherence predicted depressive symptoms in both parents (p < 0.0001). Even if the fathers of VLBW infants experienced depressive symptoms less often than the mothers, the ability of the fathers to cope was significantly associated with the cognitive development of the infant. In addition, the fathers reported more parenting stress if the infant had a cognitive delay. The mothers reported more parenting stress related to accepting the VLBW infant with cognitive delay.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-11-2017
Abstract: Resoles are resins obtained by base-catalyzed phenol-formaldehyde condensation with a three-dimensional cross-linked framework. They are considered as highly chemical-resistant, and calcination is thus generally used in the treatment of resole-type resins, which significantly limits the ersity of nanostructured materials that can be derived from resole-type resins. Herein, we report that selected metal nitrate solutions can be used to dissolve various types of nanostructured resoles through an oxidative dissolution process. This strategy not only enables the controlled dissolution of resoles, but more importantly provides a new approach to selectively etch resole-based nanocomposites to give rise to a variety of nanostructured materials with unprecedented architectures and great potential in bioapplications.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 07-03-2022
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2022.803047
Abstract: Both patterns of maternal sensory signals and sensitive care have shown to be crucial elements shaping child development. However, research concerning these aspects of maternal care has focused mainly on maternal sensitivity with fewer studies evaluating the impact of patterns of maternal behaviors and changes in these indices across infancy and childhood. The aims of this study were to explore how maternal unpredictability of sensory signals and sensitivity develop and associate with each other from infancy to toddlerhood and whether elevated maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms relate to maternal unpredictable signals and sensitivity in toddlerhood. The study population consisted of 356 mother–child dyads assessed at 30 months a subset of 103 mother–child dyads additionally participated in 8 months assessment. Maternal unpredictability and sensitivity were assessed from video-recorded free-play episodes at 8 and 30 months. Maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed with questionnaires at gestational weeks 14, 24, 34 and 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. Mean level of mothers’ unpredictability decreased on average whereas sensitivity did not change between infancy and toddlerhood. Both maternal unpredictability and sensitivity showed moderate level of in idual stability from infancy to toddlerhood and these two measures were modestly correlated within each age. Elevated maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms were not related to unpredictability but related to lower maternal sensitivity in toddlerhood. These results identify unpredictable sensory signals as a characteristic of parental care that is independent of standard quality measures and suggest that it may be less influenced by maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-05-2018
DOI: 10.1080/02646838.2018.1462477
Abstract: The changes in emotions, subjective fear of childbirth, and personal goals were examined during a group intervention to treat fear of childbirth (FOC). The objective was to gain a more detailed understanding of the changes occurring during the group intervention of FOC. The changes in emotions, subjective FOC, and personal goals were studied in primiparous pregnant women with severe FOC participating in a group intervention (n = 105). The group intervention contained six sessions during pregnancy and one after childbirth. At every session, the participants filled in a questionnaire regarding their experiences of current positive and negative emotions and the subjective FOC. The participants also set and reported their personal goals in their preparation for childbirth and parenthood. The negative emotions decreased from the beginning of the intervention. The change became significant after the fourth session. The amount of positive emotions increased but became statistically significant only after the delivery. The subjective FOC decreased significantly from the beginning of the intervention. Personal goals shifted from being mainly self-related to being mostly related to parenthood. The group intervention decreased FOC and promoted changes in emotions and personal goals that foster emotional preparedness for childbirth. It seems that the decrease in FOC was made possible through gaining a better capacity to regulate emotions, especially negative emotions. As negative emotions and fear decreased, personal goals simultaneously changed in the direction known to be adaptive for the new life situation as a parent of a newborn.
Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Date: 02-2014
Abstract: To study how the early crying behavior of preterm infants at term, 6 weeks, and 5 months of corrected age is related to later behavioral problems at age 3 and 4 years and parenting stress at 2 and 4 years. The study group included 202 live-born, low birth weight infants (birth weight ≤1500 g) born from January 2001 through December 2006 at the Turku University Hospital, Finland. A Baby Day Diary was used to assess the preterm infants’ crying behavior at term, 6 weeks, and 5 months of corrected age. The children’s behavior was assessed using the Child Behavior Check List at 3 and 4 years old, and parenting stress was assessed by using the Parenting Stress Index when the child was 2 and 4 years old. The duration and frequency of crying bouts in infancy was associated with Child Behavior Check List scores at 4 years old and to both mothers’ and fathers’ stress when the child was 2 and 4 years old. Early excessive crying, especially if lasting up to 5 months of corrected age, is a clinically relevant signal in preterm infants because it may reflect infants’ regulatory problems and/or parenting stress. The crying behavior of preterm infants should be systematically inquired about at well-baby clinics.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-12-2020
DOI: 10.1002/DNEU.22792
Abstract: Neurocognitive functions supporting language development start to develop well before first words are spoken during the first years of life. This process coincides with the initial growth spurt of the brain. While the core components of the language network are well characterized in adults and children, the initial neural correlates of language skills are still relatively unknown. We reviewed 10 studies identified via a systematic search that combined magnetic resonance imaging and language-related measures in healthy infants from birth to 2 years of age. We aimed to describe the current knowledge as well as point out viable future directions for similar studies. Expectedly, the implicated cerebral areas included many established components of the language networks, including frontal and temporal regions. A volumetric leftward asymmetry of the brain was suggested as a determinant of language skills, yet with marked interin idual variation. Overall, temporal and frontal brain volumes associated positively with language skills. Positive associations were described between the maturation of language related white matter tracts and language skills. The language networks showed adult-like structural similarities already in neonates, with weaker asymmetry compared to adults. In summary, we found some evidence that the language circuit described in older age groups is also associated to language skills during the first 2 years of life. However, across the reviewed studies there were no systematic neural correlates of language skills, which is partly explained by a modest number of studies, scattered representation of ages in measurements and the variance in the used methods.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-06-2016
DOI: 10.1002/IMHJ.21578
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-01-2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-04-2020
DOI: 10.1002/BRB3.1640
Abstract: The aim of the present study was to assess how regional brain volumes associate with self‐experienced social and emotional loneliness and social competence in very preterm and term‐born preadolescents. Thirty‐four very preterm subjects (birthweight ≤1,500 g and/or gestational age weeks) without neurodevelopmental impairments and/or major brain pathologies and 31 term‐born subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging at 12 years of age. Regional brain volumes were measured using an automated image quantification tool. At 11 years of age, social and emotional loneliness were assessed with the Peer Network and Dyadic Loneliness Scale‐self‐report questionnaire and cooperating skills, empathy, impulsivity, and disruptiveness with the Multisource Assessment of Children's Social Competence Scale‐self‐report questionnaire. In the very preterm group, a number of significant associations were found between smaller regional brain volumes and self‐experienced emotional loneliness, more impulsivity and more disruptiveness. In the control group, brain volumes and loneliness were not associated, and brain volumes and social competence were associated with a lesser degree than in the very preterm group. Experiences of emotional loneliness and poorer social competence appear to be more related to brain volumes in very preterm preadolescents than in those born full‐term. It also appears that in very preterm preadolescents, emotional loneliness may be more reflected in brain development than social loneliness.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-05-2016
DOI: 10.1111/SJOP.12294
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JAD.2019.06.048
Abstract: Maternal pre- and postnatal psychological distress, such as anxiety and depression, may negatively affect mother-infant interaction quality. However, more information is needed on the role of specific types and timings of pre- and postnatal distress symptoms on mother-infant interaction. Research on the role of maternal anxiety is especially scarce. We examined whether maternal pregnancy- related anxiety (gestational weeks 24 and 34), general anxiety or depressive symptoms (gw 14, 24 and 34 and at the infant age of 3 and 6 months) associate with the quality of mother-infant interaction when the child is eight months old. Maternal symptoms (N = 190) were measured with EPDS, SCL-90 anxiety subscale and PRAQ-R2. Mother-infant interaction was measured with the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS). After controlling for background factors, general anxiety at the 3rd pregnancy trimester was associated with higher maternal intrusiveness in EAS. Depressive symptoms at 6 months postpartum associated with lower maternal structuring behavior and with the child's lower involvement of the mother. A very small number of mothers with severe symptoms of depression and anxiety. Prenatal anxiety and postnatal depressive symptoms may each have unique effects on the different areas of mother-infant interaction, suggesting the need to develop more targeted interventions for mothers with different symptom profiles and timings. Prenatally anxious mothers could potentially benefit from early interventions decreasing stress and anxiety symptoms and specifically promoting their ability to read infant cues appropriately. Infants of postnatally depressed mothers may need interventions where both members of the dyad receive help.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.INFBEH.2010.03.010
Abstract: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between maternal representations and the quality of mother-infant interaction in a group of preterm and full-term infants. The study groups consisted of 38 mothers and their preterm infants (</=1500g or<32 gestational weeks) and 45 mothers and their full-term infants. Maternal representations were assessed using the Working Model of Child Interview (WMCI) at 12 months of the infant's corrected age. The quality of mother-infant interaction was studied using the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA) method at 6 and 12 months of the infant's corrected age. The results showed that maternal representations are related to the quality of mother-infant interaction in a parallel manner in preterm and full-term infants and their mothers. Furthermore, distorted representations were more strongly related to a higher number of areas of concern in mother-infant interaction than other representation classifications. Our results underline the importance of combined assessment of the subjective experiences of the mother and the quality of mother-infant interaction in clinical follow-up. This is the first study to describe the relation between maternal attachment representations and the quality of mother-infant interaction involving preterm infants.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-01-2021
DOI: 10.1111/APA.15728
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1037/EMO0000698
Abstract: The perception of emotion in infant faces is a key parental skill, thought to be impacted by caregiving experience. It is widely assumed that women, and in particular mothers in the postnatal period, are more attuned to infant facial expressions than men. However, empirical evidence for this is lacking, and it is not yet clear whether potential differences in emotion processing between adults during pregnancy and postnatally are specific to infant expressions or extend to faces of all ages. In this cross-sectional study using a subs le from a Finnish birth cohort (
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-07-2020
Publisher: Ubiquity Press, Ltd.
Date: 08-08-2019
DOI: 10.5334/IJIC.S3458
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 05-12-2022
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2022.855190
Abstract: Parental mentalization refers to a parents’ capacity and interest to consider the in idual experience and mental state underlying the behaviors of the child. Higher mentalization is considered a key aspect for parental sensitivity in interaction, fostering child’s socioemotional and self-regulatory development. Yet, previous studies have not examined the dynamic pathways through which the maternal mentalization may develop, nor their effects on child development. Thus, in the current person-oriented study, first, we identify distinct profiles and longitudinal trajectories of maternal mentalization from pregnancy to child’s 2 years of age. Second, we test how the profiles and trajectories associate with children’s internalizing and externalizing problems, social–emotional competence and effortful control at the age of 2 years. Third, we examine how the profiles and trajectories associate with contextual demographic and child related. The substudy was part of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort and included families from general population ( n = 2,687). Mothers reported their parental reflective functioning (PRF) at late pregnancy, 6 months and 2 years of child’s age. Both mothers ( n = 1,437) and fathers ( n = 715) reported the developmental child outcomes at the child’s age of 2 years. Latent Profile Analysis and Latent Transition Analysis were used to identify PRF profiles and trajectories. The results showed decreasing heterogeneity in PRF from pregnancy to child’s age of 6 months and 2 years (i.e., four, three and two latent classes, respectively). Most mothers progressed towards high PRF over time. Second, the profiles and trajectories depicting high PRF associated with child high social–emotional competence at the age of 2 years, yet no clear positive effects were found on child’s problems and effortful control. The group of mixed PRF trajectories showed strongest association with child’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Finally, there were theoretically meaningful associations between the PRF trajectories and both the contextual (e.g., parity) and child related (e.g., infant temperament) factors. This was the first study to explore the early unfolding of maternal mentalization. The results are discussed in relation with the potential mechanisms accounting for child development and with the nature and limitations of self-reported parental mentalization.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-11-2018
DOI: 10.1002/HBM.24480
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-08-2023
DOI: 10.1002/HBM.26463
Abstract: Non‐verbal cognitive ability predicts multiple important life outcomes, for ex le, school and job performance. It has been associated with parieto–frontal cortical anatomy in prior studies in adult and adolescent populations, while young children have received relatively little attention. We explored the associations between cortical anatomy and non‐verbal cognitive ability in 165 5‐year‐old participants (mean scan age 5.40 years, SD 0.13 90 males) from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study. T1‐weighted brain magnetic resonance images were processed using FreeSurfer. Non‐verbal cognitive ability was measured using the Performance Intelligence Quotient (PIQ) estimated from the Block Design and Matrix Reasoning subtests from the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI‐III). In vertex‐wise general linear models, PIQ scores associated positively with volumes in the left caudal middle frontal and right pericalcarine regions, as well as surface area in left the caudal middle frontal, left inferior temporal, and right lingual regions. There were no associations between PIQ and cortical thickness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine structural correlates of non‐verbal cognitive ability in a large s le of typically developing 5‐year‐olds. The findings are generally in line with prior findings from older age groups, with the important addition of the positive association between volume / surface area in the right medial occipital region and non‐verbal cognitive ability. This finding adds to the literature by discovering a new brain region that should be considered in future studies exploring the role of cortical structure for cognitive development in young children.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-07-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.EARLHUMDEV.2013.12.009
Abstract: Preterm children are at risk for developing behavioral and emotional problems, as well as being less socially competent. Premature birth causes chronic distress in the parents. The aim of the paper is to discover whether parental psychological well-being is associated with the social, behavioral, and functional development of very low birth weight (VLBW, ≤1500g) children at 5years of age. A longitudinal prospective cohort study. A cohort of 201 VLBW infants (≤1500g, <37weeks of gestation) born during 2001-2006 in Turku University Hospital, Finland was studied. At 4-year chronological age of their child, parents independently completed validated questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory, Parenting Stress Index and Sense of Coherence Scale). At 5years, parents and day-care providers evaluated the development of the child by completing the Five to Fifteen questionnaire. The parents of VLBW children reported significantly more problems in child development compared to the Finnish normative data. Depressive symptoms and weaker sense of coherence in mothers, but not in fathers, were associated with more problems in child development. Parenting stress, for both mothers and fathers, was associated with developmental problems in their child at 5years of age. Maternal depressive symptoms and parenting stress of both parents may be risk factors for the social, behavioral, and functional development of 5-year-old preterm children. On the other hand, stronger maternal sense of coherence may be a protective factor.
Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Date: 07-2006
Abstract: OBJECTIVES. The objective of this study was to assess crying behavior during infancy in very preterm infants with or without brain injury. METHODS. A total of 125 very low birth weight infants survived during January 2001 to July 2004 in Turku University Hospital, Finland. They were categorized according to the most pathologic brain finding either in ultrasound or MRI. Baby Day Diary was used to assess crying behavior at term, 6 weeks, and 5 months of corrected age. The behavior of a group of term control infants (n = 49) was assessed at 5 months. RESULTS. Severe brain injuries in very low birth weight infants did not affect the duration of fussing or crying. In very low birth weight infants, brain injuries did not affect the frequency of fussing or crying bouts or the development of circadian rhythm in crying behavior. At 5 months of corrected age, fussing bouts were more frequent in very low birth weight infants compared with term control infants (6.4 per day vs 4.5 per day), and very low birth weight infants were held more (169 minutes [97] vs 130 minutes [69], respectively). CONCLUSIONS. This prospective study using a validated cry diary showed that brain injuries that are related to prematurity do not have major effects on crying behavior or development of circadian rhythm. Prematurity does not increase the duration but increases the frequency of fussing and crying at 5 months of corrected age compared with term control infants. It also seems that prematurity and brain pathology may increase caregiving activity in the form of holding.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 22-12-2020
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2020.564158
Abstract: The unpredictability of maternal sensory signals in caregiving behavior has been recently found to be linked with infant neurodevelopment. The research area is new, and very little is yet known, how maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms and specific parental characteristics relate to the unpredictable maternal care. The aims of the current study were to explore how pre- and postnatal maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms and self-regulation capacity associate with the unpredictability of maternal sensory signals. The study population consisted of 177 mother-infant dyads. The unpredictability of the maternal sensory signals was explored from the video-recorded mother-infant free play situation when the infant was 8 months of age. Pre- and postnatal anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured by questionnaires prenatally at gwks 14, 24, 34, and 3 and 6 months postpartum. Maternal self-regulation capacity, a trait considered to be stable in adulthood, was assessed using adult temperament questionnaire when the infant was 12 months of age. We found that elevated prenatal maternal anxiety symptoms associated with higher unpredictability in the maternal care while depressive symptoms were unrelated to the unpredictability of maternal care. Moreover, the association was moderated by maternal self-regulation capacity, as higher anxiety symptoms during pre-and postnatal period were associated more unpredictability among the mothers with low self-regulation capacity. The combination of higher amount of maternal anxiety symptoms and lower self-regulation capacity seems to constitute specific risk for the unpredictable maternal care.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-01-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CDEV.13516
Abstract: To investigate the role of early regulatory problems (RP), such as problems in feeding, sleeping, and calming down during later development, the association between parent‐reported RP at 3 months (no‐RP, n = 110 RP, n = 66) and attention to emotional faces at 8 months was studied. Eight‐month‐old infants had a strong tendency to look at faces and to specifically fearful faces, and the in idual variance in this tendency was assessed with eye tracking using a face‐distractor paradigm. The early RPs were related to a lower attention bias to fearful faces compared to happy and neutral faces after controlling for temperamental negative affectivity. This suggests that early RPs are related to the processing of emotional information later during infancy.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-2020
DOI: 10.1093/SCAN/NSAA081
Abstract: Maternal postpartum depression is a prominent risk factor for aberrant child socioemotional development, but there is little understanding about the neural phenotypes that underlie infant sensitivity to maternal depression. We examined whether newborn white matter fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter maturity, moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity at 6 months. Participants were 80 mother–infant dyads participating in a prospective population-based cohort, and included families whose newborns underwent a magnetic resonance/diffusion tensor imaging scan at 2–5 weeks of age and whose mothers reported their own depressive symptoms at 3 and 6 months postpartum and infant negative emotional reactivity at 6 months. The whole-brain FA moderated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and mother-reported infant negative reactivity at 6 months after adjusting for the covariates. Maternal depressive symptoms were positively related to infant negative reactivity among infants with high or average FA in the whole brain and in corpus callosum and cingulum, but not among those with low FA. The link between maternal depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity was moderated by newborn FA. The variation in white matter microstructure might play a role in child susceptibility to parental distress.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2008
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-11-2029
DOI: 10.1186/S12884-020-03393-X
Abstract: Smoking in pregnancy constitutes a preventable risk factor for fetal/child development and maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) seems to contain a momentum that can break the chain of adverse outcomes by promoting maternal prenatal health practices. This study aimed to explore the association of MFA with smoking at any time during pregnancy and smoking cessation in early pregnancy, and the modifying role of MFA on the expected effects of education and prenatal psychological distress (PPD) on prenatal smoking behavior. The pregnant women ( n = 3766) participated in the The FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study in Finland between December 2011 and April 2015. The binary outcomes, smoking at any time during pregnancy and smoking cessation in early pregnancy, were obtained from self-reports at gestational weeks (gwks) 14 and 34 and The Finnish Medical Birth Register. MFA was assessed with the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS) at gwks 24 and 34. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between MFA and maternal prenatal smoking behavior. The prevalence of smoking was 16.5%, and 58.1% of the smokers quit smoking during pregnancy. The independent associations of total MFA scores with prenatal smoking behavior were not established (aOR = 1.00-1.02, multiplicity adjusted p 0.05). A higher score in the altruistic subscale of MFA, Giving of self , associated with a higher probability of smoking cessation (24 gwks: aOR = 1.13, 95% CI [1.04, 1.24], p = 0.007, multiplicity adjusted p = 0.062 34 gwks: aOR = 1.17, 95% CI [1.07, 1.29], p 0.001, multiplicity adjusted p = 0.008). The modifying effect of MFA on the observed associations between PPD and smoking in pregnancy and between maternal education and smoking in pregnancy / smoking cessation in early pregnancy was not demonstrated. The altruistic dimension of maternal-fetal attachment associates with an increased probability of smoking cessation during pregnancy and therefore strengthening altruistic maternal-fetal attachment may constitute a promising novel approach for interventions aiming at promoting smoking cessation during pregnancy.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-02-2022
DOI: 10.1111/APA.16303
Abstract: To test whether the implementation of the Close Collaboration with Parents intervention at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) decreases depression symptoms of mothers up to two years after the delivery of preterm infants. We used a non‐equivalent two‐group design, comparing mothers of very low birthweight infants in the same NICU before (2001–2006) and after (2011–215) the intervention. The unit carried out the educational intervention (2009–2012) that was targeted at its healthcare team and aimed to improve their skills to collaborate with parents. Maternal depression symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) six months and two years after the expected birth date of the infant. We found a median difference of 2.56 (95% CI from 1.64 to 3.48) in EPDS at the two‐year follow‐up between the pre‐intervention and post‐intervention groups, p 0.001. Furthermore, we found no interaction between measurement time‐points and group, implying that the intervention effect on maternal depression symptoms was similar at the six‐month and two‐year time‐points. The intervention seems to have long‐term preventive effects on maternal depressive symptoms. This effect is of clinical significance as prolonged maternal depression associates with adverse child outcomes.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 20-12-2022
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0279384
Abstract: Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to unpredictable patterns of maternal sensory signals during infancy is associated with child neurodevelopment, including poorer effortful control. However, longitudinal effects on child development and possible sex differences are understudied. The aims of the present study were to explore whether exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals during infancy is related to child effortful control at 5 years of age and whether child sex moderates these associations. In addition, we examined how exposure to very high vs. low/moderate unpredictability using categorical cut-offs is related to child effortful control. Participants (133 mother–child pairs, all Caucasian) were drawn from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study in Finland. Maternal sensory signals (auditory, visual, tactile) were coded from the 10-min free-play episode on a moment-on-moment basis using Observer XT 11 (Noldus), and the unpredictability of maternal sensory signals was characterized as the entropy rate when the infant was 8 months of age. Child effortful control was assessed via mother reports using the Child Behavior Questionnaire very short form (CBQ-VSF) when the child was 5 years old. Correlational analyses showed that higher unpredictability of maternal sensory signals had a modest association with children’s poorer effortful control at 5 years of age. Notably, the linear regression model showed that child sex moderated these associations, as higher exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals was related to poorer effortful control among males, but not among females. Moreover, the general linear model showed that exposure to very high unpredictability was associated with poorer child effortful control at 5 years of age and remained significant when adjusted for possible confounding factors. These results are in line with previous findings and suggest that the unpredictability of maternal sensory signals is potentially an important aspect of early caregiving behavior associated with the development of child effortful control.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 09-2022
DOI: 10.1037/EMO0000924
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1037/NEU0000724
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.EARLHUMDEV.2014.02.007
Abstract: It is not clearly understood how the quality of early mother-child interaction influences language development in very-low-birth-weight children (VLBW). We aim to analyze associations between early language and the quality of mother-child interaction, and, the predictive value of the features of early mother-child interaction on language development at 24 months of corrected age in VLBW children. A longitudinal prospective follow-up study design was used. The participants were 28 VLBW children and 34 full-term controls. Language development was measured using different methods at 6, 12 and at 24 months of age. The quality of mother-child interaction was assessed using PC-ERA method at 6 and at 12 months of age. Associations between the features of early interaction and language development were different in the groups of VLBW and full-term children. There were no significant correlations between the features of mother-child interaction and language skills when measured at the same age in the VLBW group. Significant longitudinal correlations were detected in the VLBW group especially if the quality of early interactions was measured at six months and language skills at 2 years of age. However, when the predictive value of the features of early interactions for later poor language performance was analyzed separately, the features of early interaction predicted language skills in the VLBW group only weakly. The biological factors may influence on the language development more in the VLBW children than in the full-term children. The results also underline the role of maternal and dyadic factors in early interactions.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 08-01-2020
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 28-04-2023
Abstract: (1) Background. The birth of an infant at 23 to 24 weeks poses a significant challenge to healthy parent–infant bonding because of the high risk of infant loss and the prolonged separation. The aim of this study was to retrospectively explore the narratives of parents with children born at 23–24 weeks about their bonding formation and relational experiences. (2) Methods. This was a qualitative descriptive study conducted with Finnish parents of children born at 23 or 24 weeks of gestation. Twenty-nine mothers and eight fathers were retrospectively interviewed using a semi-structured interview about the bonding process with their infant during the period in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and their later parent–child relationship. Parents’ narratives were deductively analysed according to a framework previously developed for studying parental bonding. (3) Results. Our results showed that several parents described the bonding process as natural or even easy despite the traumatic start to parenthood. Support from NICU staff and providing opportunities for participation in infant care and parent–infant physical closeness were reported to enhance the bonding process. Our study identified earlier parenting experience as a new element supporting bonding. (4) Conclusions. According to our results, essential elements enhancing parent–infant bonding in NICU settings seem to be supporting parents psychologically, promoting parent–infant closeness, and encouraging parental participation in the infants’ care, even with the most immature infants.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-08-2021
DOI: 10.1111/INFA.12428
Abstract: Our aim was to study the effects of maternal perinatal mood and maternal emotional availability on child emotional availability and negative affect during the still‐face procedure (SFP). The s le included 214 women who participated in a prospective study. We assessed maternal mood problems using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and PRAQ questionnaire during pregnancy and using STAI and EPDS questionnaires during pregnancy and at 6 months after delivery. Maternal and child emotional availability were studied using the Emotional Availability Scales during the SFP at 6 months. We observed and quantified child's negative affect during SFP episodes. We found that mothers with maternal mood problems (anxiety and/or depression) during pregnancy, but not postnatally, showed less optimal maternal structuring during the SFP, and the children showed lower involvement and responsiveness during interactions with their mothers. Furthermore, lower maternal emotional availability was related to the child's higher negative affect during the SFP. Our findings underline the independent roles of both prenatal stress exposure and maternal caregiving behavior in a child's socioemotional development.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2009
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 17-12-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JPEDS.2018.12.050
Abstract: To assess the relation between maternal prenatal psychological distress, comprising depression and anxiety symptoms and relationship quality, and the risk of recurrent respiratory infections (RRIs) in children up to 2 years of age. Children with RRIs frequently use health care services and antibiotics. Prenatal maternal psychological distress can be one, previously unidentified risk factor for RRIs. The study population was drawn from a population-based pregnancy cohort in Finland (www.finnbrain.fi). Children with RRIs (n = 204) and a comparison group (n = 1014) were identified by maternal reports at the child age of 12 or 24 months. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Symptom Checklist-90 anxiety subscale, the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire-Revised 2, and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale were used to assess maternal symptoms and parental relationship quality at 34 weeks of gestation. Adjustment for maternal postnatal depressive and anxiety symptoms was performed. Maternal prenatal Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (OR, 1.24 95% CI, 1.08-1.44), Symptom Checklist-90/Anxiety (OR, 1.40 95% CI, 1.01-1.76), Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire-Revised 2 (OR, 1.28 95% CI, 1.11-1.47), and Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (OR, 1.32 95% CI, 1.01-1.58) total sum scores were associated with child RRIs by the age of 24 months. Greater number of siblings, shorter duration of breastfeeding, and the level of maternal education were also identified as risk factors for child RRIs. Maternal prenatal psychological distress is linked with a higher risk for child RRIs.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-01-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12887-020-02478-Y
Abstract: Surviving children born at 23 gestational weeks are a growing population. As many of these children face developmental challenges during childhood and adolescence, more knowledge is needed about the everyday life of this group. The parental perspective is important, as developmental problems often pose a challenge for the parents. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore mothers’ experiences of parenting children born at 23 gestational weeks and of the children’s everyday lives. This was a qualitative descriptive study conducted with mothers of children born at 23 weeks of gestation. These purposively s led eight mothers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews. Seven themes were formed on the basis of the interview data and they are presented in three dimensions: 1) the child seen from maternal perspective included themes ‘emphasizing strengths in the midst of challenges’, ‘relations with peers and siblings’, and ‘emotional well-being and active life’ 2) the parenting experience included themes ‘intensive mothering’ and ‘gratitude’ 3) the support included themes ‘support from the social network’ and ‘support from society’. The mothers described how the lives of their children were active and rich. The mothers were dedicated to motherhood and they also expressed feelings of gratitude. Mothers received support from social networks and from society. This qualitative study provided an important complementary perspective to the discussion on extremely premature children’s quality of life. It also highlighted the importance of parental perspectives in assessing neonatal care and its outcomes.
Publisher: Royal College of Psychiatrists
Date: 05-2023
DOI: 10.1192/BJO.2023.59
Abstract: The research on the role of father in the foetal programming of health and behaviour has received increasing attention. However, the influences of paternal depressive symptoms and couple relationship satisfaction during pregnancy – potentially mediated via maternal well-being – on the offspring's risk of infections in early life is still seldom assessed. The aim was to investigate if paternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with elevated risk of recurrent respiratory infections (RRIs) for offspring at 12 months of age, and whether maternal distress mediates the association between paternal distress and offspring RRIs. The study population was drawn from the nested case–control cohort of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. Children with RRIs ( n = 50) were identified by maternal reports at the age of 12 months, whereas mothers did not report RRIs for the comparison group ( n = 716). Parental depressive symptoms were measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and couple relationship satisfaction was measured with the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The association between paternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and offspring RRIs was mediated by maternal prenatal depressive symptoms. Additionally, paternal poorer relationship satisfaction was associated with child RRIs independently of maternal distress. The results suggest different pathways through which paternal distress during pregnancy may contribute to elevated risk of offspring RRIs, and more research is needed to study their underlying mechanisms. Paternal distress and couple relationship satisfaction during pregnancy should be assessed and screened as a contributor to offspring health.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-09-2017
DOI: 10.1093/IJE/DYX173
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 08-10-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2021.735734
Abstract: Executive functioning (EF) is one of the building blocks in parental caregiving behavior, and contextual variables have been reported to moderate the link between EF and caregiving behavior. Although psychological distress due to various factors is prevalent during early parenthood and is negatively associated with adult EF, it is not known whether psychological distress influences the maternal EF/caregiving link. This study explored the association between maternal EF and caregiving behavior (more specifically, Emotional Availability/EA), and whether single and cumulative maternal psychological distress domains moderated the EF/EA association in a general population s le of 137 Finnish birth cohort mothers with 2.5-year-old children. EF was measured with a composite of five computerized Cogstate tasks, EA with the Emotional Availability Scales, and three psychological distress domains with self-report questionnaires (depression: EPDS, anxiety: SCL-90, insomnia: AIS). Better EF was significantly associated with more positive, sensitive caregiving, but this association was no longer significant when controlling for education level. Neither in idual nor cumulative distress domains moderated the EF/EA association significantly, although the observed moderation effects were in the expected direction. These findings suggest that EF should be recognized alongside socioemotional factors as variables that are associated with parental caregiving behavior during toddlerhood. Furthermore, if the non-significant moderation results are replicated, they indicate that mothers in community s les are not at great risk for psychological distress that would compromise their capacity to utilize their EF while caring for their child. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings, as well as to examine these associations among fathers and in s les that have higher levels of chronic stressors. Studies with more erse s les in terms of distress levels and EF performance would provide further insight into early childhood parenting and its risk factors.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.JAD.2016.04.020
Abstract: Maternal prenatal stress has been related to infant negative affect. However, it is still unclear how different sources of maternal prenatal stress such as depressive, anxiety and pregnancy-specific anxiety symptoms are associated with reactivity outcomes. This study aimed to test the associations between different sources of maternal prenatal stress and the aspects of infant emotional reactivity at six months. Our study population (n=282) was drawn from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. Prenatal stress was measured by questionnaires on maternal depression, general anxiety and pregnancy-specific anxiety at three time points across pregnancy (gwk 14, 24, 34). Based on the symptom scores, the s le was ided into mothers with high stress during pregnancy (n=110) and mothers with low stress during pregnancy (n=172). Mother-reported infant emotional reactivity and its subscales were measured six months postpartum. After controlling for background variables and maternal postnatal symptoms, overall negative emotional reactivity (β=0.20, p<0.01), and its aspects fearfulness (β=0.15, p=.057) and falling reactivity (β=-0.22, p<0.01), were predicted by only pregnancy-specific anxiety. No significant predictors were found for infant positive reactivity after adjusting for confounders. Mother reports of both maternal symptoms and infant reactivity were used, which might increase the risk of reporting bias. The findings suggest that mothers experiencing stress should be provided intervention during pregnancy, and that screening should have a particular focus on pregnancy-related worries.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 28-07-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2021.655654
Abstract: Synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC) are frequently administered to pregnant women at risk for preterm delivery to promote fetal lung maturation. Despite their undeniable beneficial effects in lung maturation, the impact of these hormones on developing brain is less clear. Recent human studies suggest that emotional and behavioral disorders are more common among sGC-exposed vs. non-exposed children, but the literature is sparse and controversial. We investigated if prenatal sGC exposure altered fear bias, a well-established infant attention phenotype, at 8-months. We used eye tracking and an overlap paradigm with control, neutral, happy, and fearful faces, and salient distractors, to evaluate infants’ attention disengagement from faces, and specifically from fearful vs. neutral and happy faces (i.e., a fear bias) in a s le ( N = 363) of general population from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. sGC exposed infants ( N = 12) did not differ from non-exposed infants ( N = 351) in their overall probability of disengagement in any single stimulus condition. However, in comparison with non-exposed infants, they did not show the age-typical fear bias and this association remained after controlling for confounding factors such as prematurity, gestational age at birth, birth weight, sex, and maternal postnatal depressive symptoms. Prenatal sGC exposure may alter emotional processing in infants. The atypical emotion processing in turn may be a predictor of emotional problems later in development. Future longitudinal studies are needed in order to evaluate the long-term consequences of sGC exposure for the developing brain.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 15-10-2021
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579421001012
Abstract: High levels of early emotionality (of either negative or positive valence) are hypothesized to be important precursors to early psychopathology, with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) a prime early target. The positive and negative affect domains are prime ex les of Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) concepts that may enrich a multilevel mechanistic map of psychopathology risk. Utilizing both variable-centered and person-centered approaches, the current study examined whether levels and trajectories of infant negative and positive emotionality, considered either in isolation or together, predicted children's ADHD symptoms at 4 to 8 years of age. In variable-centered analyses, higher levels of infant negative affect (at as early as 3 months of age) were associated with childhood ADHD symptoms. Findings for positive affect failed to reach statistical threshold. Results from person-centered trajectory analyses suggest that additional information is gained by simultaneously considering the trajectories of positive and negative emotionality. Specifically, only when exhibiting moderate, stable or low levels of positive affect did negative affect and its trajectory relate to child ADHD symptoms. These findings add to a growing literature that suggests that infant negative emotionality is a promising early life marker of future ADHD risk and suggest secondarily that moderation by positive affectivity warrants more consideration.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2015
DOI: 10.1002/IMHJ.21512
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1093/EMPH/EOAA049
Abstract: As the mother–offspring relationship is central to human reproduction, postpartum depression symptoms are difficult to explain in evolutionary terms. We proposed that postpartum depression might arise as a result of evolutionary mother–offspring conflict over maternal investment, and investigated the association between postpartum depression symptoms, infant night waking, maternal sleep disturbance and breastfeeding frequency. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using survey responses at 6 months postpartum from 1598 Finnish mothers. We hypothesized that infant night waking at 6 months postpartum would be associated with postpartum depression symptoms, and that this association would be mediated by maternal sleep disturbance and a higher breastfeeding frequency. Infant night waking was moderately associated with postpartum depression symptoms, and this association was mediated by maternal sleep disturbance (R2=0.09). Contrary to our prediction, we found that increased breastfeeding was associated with less postpartum depression symptoms. We conclude that postpartum depression symptoms might partly be the result of increased maternal fatigue stemming from high offspring demands on maternal investment, but that this is not due to the metabolic strain from increased breastfeeding. Studying postpartum depression from the mother–offspring conflict perspective can potentially improve our understanding of the involved behavioral processes of both mother and offspring, and allow interventions designed to benefit the well-being of both parties. Lay Summary: We proposed that postpartum depression is due to an evolutionary conflict between mother and infant, where the infant tires the mother to delay the arrival of a sibling. We found a link between infant night waking and postpartum depression, mediated by the mother’s sleep, but not by breastfeeding frequency.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-07-2023
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 08-07-2009
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-11-2015
DOI: 10.1111/APA.13241
Abstract: This study examined the impact of prematurity-related morbidity on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of premature children at eight years of age, compared to term born controls of same age. We focused on 155 premature, very low birth weight (VLBW) infants weighing up to 1500 g who were born from 2001 to 2006 in Turku University Hospital, Finland, and compared them with 129 full-term controls. Cognitive development and length was assessed at five years of age and the children self-reported 17 dimensions of HRQoL at eight years of age. The VLBW group was sub ided into healthy children and those with prematurity-related morbidities. Our findings showed that 64.5% of the VLBW children did not have prematurity-related morbidities. The HRQoL of the healthy preterm VLBW children was very good and did not differ significantly from the controls. However, the VLBW children with one or more morbidities had significantly lower scores in nine of the 17 HRQoL dimensions than the children in the control group. The majority of the VLBW children survived without prematurity-related morbidities, and their HRQoL was very good and similar to the control children. The main goal of neonatal care for preterm infants should be to prevent long-term morbidities.
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 12-2022
DOI: 10.1037/DEV0001432
Abstract: Most infants exhibit an attentional bias for faces and fearful facial expressions. These biases reduce toward the third year of life, but little is known about the development of the biases beyond early childhood. We used the same methodology longitudinally to assess attention disengagement patterns from nonface control pictures and faces (neutral, happy, and fearful expressions) in a large s le of children at 8, 30, and 60 months (
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 21-09-2023
DOI: 10.1037/DEV0001598
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 26-07-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2021.704036
Abstract: Background: The quality of parental caregiving behavior with their child plays a key role in optimal mother–infant interaction and in supporting child adaptive development. Sensitive caregiving behavior, in turn, requires the ability to identify and understand emotions. Maternal alexithymia, with difficulties in identifying and describing feelings or emotions, as well as a concrete way of thinking, could potentially complicate the quality of caregiving. In this study, we aim to explore the possible association between maternal alexithymic traits and the quality of maternal caregiving behavior. Methods: The study s le consisted of 158 mother–infant dyads within the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study population with an available report of maternal alexithymic traits at 6 months postpartum and observational data on maternal caregiving behavior at 8 months postpartum. Alexithymia was measured using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) including three alexithymia dimensions—Difficulty Identifying Feelings, Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF), and Externally Oriented Thinking (EOT). Maternal caregiving behavior was assessed using the Emotional Availability Scale and in this study, all four parent dimensions (Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-intrusiveness and Non-hostility) were included. Maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms at 6 months postpartum were controlled for as potential confounders. In addition, background factors of mother's age and gestational weeks at the time of child birth, maternal educational level, monthly income and parity, as well as relationship status and the gender of the baby were assessed. Results: Maternal TAS-20 total score correlated negatively with Sensitivity ( r = −0.169, p = 0.034) and with non-intrusiveness ( r = −0.182, p = 0.022). In addition, maternal DDF correlated negatively with Sensitivity ( r = −0.168, p = 0.035) and EOT with Non-hostility ( r = −0.159, p = 0.047). Furthermore, in regression analyses with controlling for the associated background factors, maternal total score of alexithymic traits ( p = 0.034, η 2 p = 0.029) and higher DDF ( p = 0.044, η 2 p = 0.026) remained significantly associated with lower Sensitivity and higher EOT remained significantly associated with lower Non-hostility ( p = 0.030, η 2 p = 0.030). Conclusions: In this explorative study we found preliminary evidence for the hypothesis that higher maternal alexithymic traits associate with lower maternal sensitivity and more hostile maternal caregiving behavior. Further studies are needed to explore these hypotheses and to investigate their possible implications for child development.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-01-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S10578-017-0709-0
Abstract: In the present review, we examine the association between maternal prenatal stress or anxiety and children's early negative reactivity or self-regulation. The review includes 32 studies that focus on pregnancy-related anxiety, state or trait anxiety, perceived stress, and stressful life events in relation to child's crying, temperament, or behavior during the first 2 years of life. We searched four electronic databases and 32 studies were selected based on the inclusion criteria. Twenty-three studies found an association between maternal prenatal anxiety or stress and a child's negative reactivity or self-regulation, and typically the effect sizes varied from low to moderate. The association was found regardless of the form of prenatal stress or anxiety and the trimester in which the prenatal stress or anxiety was measured. In conclusion, several forms of prenatal anxiety and stress may increase the risk of emotional and self-regulatory difficulties during the first 2 years of life.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-08-2023
DOI: 10.1186/S12887-023-04226-4
Abstract: Preterm infants have a risk of health and developmental problems emerging after discharge. This indicates the need for a comprehensive follow-up to enable early identification of these problems. In this paper, we introduce a follow-up tool “ePIPARI – web-based follow-up for preterm infants”. Our future aim is to investigate whether ePIPARI is a feasible tool in the follow-up of preterm infants and whether it can identify children and parents in need of clinical interventions. ePIPARI includes eight assessment points (at term age and at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months of corrected age) when the child´s health and growth, eating and feeding, neurodevelopment, and parental well-being are evaluated. ePIPARI consists of several widely used, standardized questionnaires, in addition to questions typically presented to parents in clinical follow-up visits. It also provides video guidance and written information about age-appropriate neurodevelopment for the parents. Parents of children born before 34 weeks of gestation during years 2019–2022 are being invited to participate in the ePIPARI study, in which web-based follow-up with ePIPARI is compared to clinical follow-up. In addition, the parents of children born before 32 weeks of gestation, who reached the corrected age of two years during 2019–2021 were invited to participate for the assessment point of 24 months of ePIPARI. The parents are asked to fill in the online questionnaires two weeks prior to each clinical follow-up visit. The web-based tool, ePIPARI, was developed to acquire a sensitive and specific tool to detect infants and parents in need of further support and clinical interventions. This tool could allow in idualized adjustments of the frequency and content of the clinical visits. ClinicalTrials.cov, NCT05238168 . Registered 11 April 2022 – Retrospectively registered.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JAD.2019.07.055
Abstract: Prior work has examined the links between pre- and postnatal maternal distress and infant negative affectivity however, there is little understanding about how the continuity of infant exposure to pre- and postnatal maternal distress relates to infant development. This study investigated the continuity of maternal pre- and postnatal depressive and anxiety symptoms and their relations with infant fear among 391 mother-infant dyads. An additional aim was to consider infant sex as a moderating factor. Maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured during gestational weeks 14, 24 and 34 and 3 and 6 months postpartum. Subsequently, infant fear was measured using mother reports (IBQ-R) at 6 months and in a laboratory setting (Lab-TAB Masks episode) at 8 months. Using growth mixture modeling, a three-class model describing the course of maternal symptoms across pregnancy and the early postnatal period was identified, consisting of mothers with "Consistently Low Distress", "Prenatal-Only Distress", and "Consistently High Distress". Infant girls exposed to prenatal-only maternal distress were higher in observed fear than infant boys exposed to prenatal-only distress. Infant girls exposed to consistently high distress also showed lower observed fear than their counterparts exposed to prenatal-only maternal distress. The main limitation of the study is the relatively small group size within the Consistently High subgroup. The findings suggest that girls might be particularly sensitive to maternal distress, and that prenatal-only and continuous distress exposure are differentially related to female infant fear.
Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Date: 04-2012
Abstract: The purpose was to explore whether poor parental psychological well-being is associated with behavioral problems of very low birth weight (VLBW, ≤1500 g) infants at 3 years of age. In this prospective cohort study, 189 VLBW preterm infants born between January 2001 and December 2006 at the Turku University Hospital, Finland, were followed. Validated questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory, Parenting Stress Index, and Sense of Coherence Scale) were mailed to the parents when their children were 2 years corrected age. A total of 140 parents evaluated the behavior of the child at 3 years by filling out the Child Behavior Checklist. There were significant associations between most of the measures of parental symptoms of depression, parenting stress, and sense of coherence and the behavioral outcome of the VLBW infants. The concomitant symptoms of both parents were associated with more problematic child behavior. Parents report more behavioral and emotional problems in VLBW children at age 3 if they themselves have had symptoms of depression, parenting stress, or weak sense of coherence 1 year earlier. The new finding of this study was to show the significance of the father’s psychological well-being on the behavioral development of a preterm child.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 22-10-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2021.719996
Abstract: Parental executive functioning (EF) and parenting behaviors can be affected by the multiple stressors that are often present during early parenthood. However, little is known about how commonly experienced psychological distress during early parenthood is associated with parental EF capacity. We explored the links between psychological distress and EFs in a general population s le of 150 Finnish birth cohort mothers with 2.5-year-old children. The symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and poor couple relationship adjustment were measured with the self-report questionnaires EPDS, SCL-90, AIS, and RDAS. EFs were assessed with five computerized Cogstate tasks. When the psychological distress measures were added to a hierarchical regression analysis as continuous variables, no significant single or additive associations with EFs were found. When the distress measures were dichotomized to compare symptoms below/above cutoffs indicating clinically elevated levels, single distress domains remained as non-significant predictors, but a cumulative risk index of the number of concurrent clinically elevated distress domains was significantly associated with EFs. Thus, mothers with a higher number of concurrent clinically elevated psychological distress domains (i.e., depression, anxiety, insomnia, and poor couple relationship adjustment) tended to have lower EFs. This association is possibly bi-directional – clinically elevated distress within several domains could have a cumulative, depleting effect on maternal EF capacity, but a lower EF capacity could also increase the vulnerability for experienced distress within several concurrent domains. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify potential causal links between stressors and EF.
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 06-2021
DOI: 10.1037/FAM0000813
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 16-02-2023
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579422001377
Abstract: Research on the longitudinal courses of child social–emotional symptoms and sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic within societies would be of key value for promoting child well-being in global crises. We characterized the course of children’s social–emotional and sleep symptoms before and throughout the pandemic in a Finnish longitudinal cohort of 1825 5- to 9-year-old children (46% girls) with four follow-up points during the pandemic from up to 695 participants (spring 2020–summer 2021). Second, we examined the role of parental distress and COVID-related stressful events in child symptoms. Child total and behavioral symptoms increased in spring 2020 but decreased thereafter and remained stable throughout the rest of the follow-up. Sleep symptoms decreased in spring 2020 and remained stable thereafter. Parental distress was linked with higher child social–emotional and sleep symptoms. The cross-sectional associations between COVID-related stressors and child symptoms were partially mediated by parental distress. The findings propose that children can be protected from the long-term adverse influences of the pandemic, and parental well-being likely plays a mediating role between pandemic-related stressors and child well-being. Further research focusing on the societal and resilience factors underlying family and child responses to the pandemic is warranted.
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1039/C8MH00133B
Abstract: This review summarizes the advances in the derivation of one-dimensional porous and hollow carbon nanofibers from metal–organic frameworks for energy storage and conversion.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-01-2012
DOI: 10.1111/J.1600-0412.2011.01304.X
Abstract: Early mother-infant relationships in preterm populations were evaluated in the context of a systematic review of the literature. A systematic search of three electronic databases (PsychINFO, PubMed and Cochrane Library) was undertaken. Three studies of maternal attachment, 18 studies of mother-preterm infant interaction and eight studies of infant attachment were included. Studies of preterm infant attachment were also evaluated using a meta-analysis. Studies of mother-preterm infant interactions showed that the differences in maternal interaction behavior between mothers of preterm infants and mothers of full-term infants seem to be most evident during the first six months of life. Differences in the preterm infant's interaction behavior seem also to continue for six months after birth. However, five of 18 studies showed an equal or even higher quality of mother-infant interaction in groups of preterm compared to groups of full-term infants. Studies of maternal and infant attachment indicated that preterm infants and their mothers are not at higher risk of insecure attachment than full-term infants and their mothers. The mother-preterm infant relationship is complex, and some relational patterns forecast greater psychological risk than others. It is important to decrease maternal stress and early separation in every possible way during hospitalization as well as after discharge.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-10-2017
DOI: 10.1111/DESC.12625
Abstract: Little consideration has been given to the possibility of human infant development being shaped via lactocrine programming, and by breast milk cortisol levels specifically. Despite animal models indicating that glucocorticoid (GC) exposure via lactation might modify brain development and behavior, only one study has reported that milk cortisol levels were positively associated with infant negative affectivity, especially fearfulness and sadness-early emerging risk factors for internalizing difficulties such as anxiety. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether human milk cortisol is associated with mother-reported fearfulness and experimentally induced infant fear reactivity. Mother-infant dyads (n = 65) enrolled in the FinnBrain Cohort Study participated. Breast milk s les were obtained 2.5 months postpartum, and milk cortisol concentrations were ascertained using validated luminescence immunoassay methodology. Infant fear reactivity was assessed using maternal reports 6 months postpartum and in a laboratory 8 months postpartum. There was a significant interaction between infant sex and milk cortisol such that higher milk cortisol was related to higher infant fear reactivity in a laboratory setting in girls (β = 0.36, p = .04) but not in boys (β = -0.15, p = .40). Milk cortisol was not associated with mother-reported infant fearfulness. Results suggest that higher human milk cortisol concentrations are associated with elevated experimentally induced fear in infancy. Findings support lactocrine programming, and suggest that mothers may "communicate" vital information about stressful environments via cortisol contained in breast milk, shaping girls' early emotional reactivity.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-12-2017
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 12-07-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FNINS.2021.666020
Abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a safe method to examine human brain. However, a typical MR scan is very sensitive to motion, and it requires the subject to lie still during the acquisition, which is a major challenge for pediatric scans. Consequently, in a clinical setting, sedation or general anesthesia is often used. In the research setting including healthy subjects anesthetics are not recommended for ethical reasons and potential longer-term harm. Here we review the methods used to prepare a child for an MRI scan, but also on the techniques and tools used during the scanning to enable a successful scan. Additionally, we critically evaluate how studies have reported the scanning procedure and success of scanning. We searched articles based on special subject headings from PubMed and identified 86 studies using brain MRI in healthy subjects between 0 and 6 years of age. Scan preparations expectedly depended on subject’s age infants and young children were scanned asleep after feeding and swaddling and older children were scanned awake. Comparing the efficiency of different procedures was difficult because of the heterogeneous reporting of the used methods and the success rates. Based on this review, we recommend more detailed reporting of scanning procedure to help find out which are the factors affecting the success of scanning. In the long term, this could help the research field to get high quality data, but also the clinical field to reduce the use of anesthetics. Finally, we introduce the protocol used in scanning 2 to 5-week-old infants in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, and tips for calming neonates during the scans.
Start Date: 2017
End Date: 2021
Funder: Academy of Finland
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2018
End Date: 2020
Funder: Signe ja Ane Gyllenbergin Säätiö
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2022
End Date: 2029
Funder: Academy of Finland
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2015
End Date: 2017
Funder: Academy of Finland
View Funded Activity