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Maternal pre‐ and postnatal anxiety and infant temperament. The generation R study
Author(s) -
Henrichs Jens,
Schenk Jacqueline J.,
Schmidt Henk G.,
Velders Fleur P.,
Hofman Albert,
Jaddoe Vincent W.V.,
Verhulst Frank C.,
Tiemeier Henning
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
infant and child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.87
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1522-7219
pISSN - 1522-7227
DOI - 10.1002/icd.639
Subject(s) - anxiety , temperament , psychology , pregnancy , negative affectivity , population , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , personality , medicine , social psychology , environmental health , biology , genetics
The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal anxiety that is temporary or chronic during the pre‐ and postnatal period predicts infant temperament. Mothers of 2997 infants in a population‐based birth cohort reported levels of pregnancy‐specific anxiety (Pregnancy Outcome Questionnaire) and general anxiety symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory) prenatal and at 6 months postnatal. Temperament characteristics were assessed by maternal report using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire—Revised when the infants were 6 months of age. Maternal pregnancy‐specific and general anxiety during the pre‐ and postnatal period were all independently associated with perceived infant temperamental difficulties. Chronically high maternal anxiety predicted the highest perceived infant activity level and negative affectivity. These findings show that different forms of maternal anxiety during both the pre‐ and postnatal period are independently related to perceived temperamental problems in infancy. They also emphasize the significance of chronic maternal anxiety for infant mental health. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.