Publication year
2010
Citation Title
A latent growth examination of fear development in infancy: Contributions of maternal depression and the risk for toddler anxiety.
Journal Name
Developmental Psychology
Journal Volume
46
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
651-668
DOI
10.1037/a0018898
Summary
The authors evaluated the developmental trajectory of child fearfulness in the first year of life, using parent report (Study 1) and laboratory-based observations (Study 2). The use of laboratory-based observations (Study 2) is of particular importance given lingering concerns regarding the limitations of parent report in the context of temperament assessment as well as extensive research linking maternal depression to potential perceptual distortions and subsequent over-reporting of negative child behaviors and emotional expressions.
Key Findings
Less fearfulness observed earlier in the first year of life gave way to steady increases in fear over time, as evaluated by both mother report and laboratory observations. In addition, infant fear between eight and 12 months of age was a significant predictor of increased toddler anxiety symptoms.
Relative to male infants, female infants showed steeper increases in fear reactivity over time (Study 1). Although not significant, a similar trend was observed in Study 2.
More maternal depressive symptoms were linked with steeper increases in infant fearfulness over time. However, maternal depression was not linked to the initial level of infant fearfulness.
Implications for Military Professionals
Educate mothers regarding the typical development of fear in their young children and how to best respond to it
Assist mothers with depression to find sources of help and support while raising young children
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide workshops that aim to help mothers cope with depression and depressive symptoms to prevent non-normative increases in infant fearfulness
Develop interventions aimed at the parent-child interaction dynamic in an attempt to improve the quality of early social exchanges
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage the development of preventative programs and interventions for families that may experience depressive symptoms that impact child well-being
Recommend education for professionals who work with military families regarding the typical development of fear in young children
Methods
Developmental changes in the fear of young children was assessed at four, six, eight, ten, and twelve months of age through parent survey and laboratory observation in a civilian (nonclinical) sample drawn from communities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada.
Participants also provided information regarding maternal mental health symptoms.
Data were analyzed to determine the normative development of fear in infants and predictors of deviations from that development.
Participants
Two hundred and ninety-two mothers (92% White) with four month old infants participated.
Mothers were between the ages of 20 and 46 years old (M = 30, SD = 5).
Infants were 50% boys and 50% girls.
Limitations
Additional parent characteristics (e.g., marital satisfaction, socioeconomic challenges, education) were not examined in this study, but may be important in understanding the development of infant fearfulness and risk for early manifestations of anxiety.
The sample was limited to civilian families in a specific geographic area, which may limit the extent to which the results apply to other populations.
Prior research suggests that maternal depressive symptoms may have a distorting effect on the caregivers’ perceptions of child behavior, which may lead to over-reporting of difficulties when compared to other sources of information.
Avenues for Future Research
Investigate the ranges of fearfulness that lead to clinical levels of anxiety problems in order to target early identification of at-risk infants and intervention efforts
Examine whether negative emotionality in general or a diagnosed mental health disorder play the same role in shaping the growth of infant fear trajectory
Examine developmental trajectories of additional domains of temperament (e.g., positive emotionality) in conjunction with parent and family characteristics (e.g., marital satisfaction, multiple demographic correlates such as socioeconomic status and education, and emotion regulation attributes)
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Growth modeling was used to examine the developmental trajectory of infant temperamental fear with maternal fear and depressive symptoms as predictors of infant fearfulness and change in infant fear predicting toddler anxiety symptoms. In Study 1, a sample of 158 mothers reported their own depressive symptoms and fear when their children were 4 months of age and infant fearfulness at 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months. Maternal symptoms of depression predicted steeper increases in infant fearfulness over time (z = 2.06, p < .05), with high initial infant fear and steeper increases in fear (intercept, z = 2.32, p < .05, and slope, z = 1.88, p < .05) predicting more severe toddler anxiety symptoms. In Study 2, an independent sample of 134 mothers completed measures of maternal depression and fear when the infants were 4 months old, and standardized laboratory observations of infant fear were made at 8, 10, and 12 months. Consistent with Study 1, maternal depression accounted for change in fearfulness (z = 2.30, p < .05), with more frequent and more severe maternal symptoms leading to greater increases in infant fear and increases in fearfulness z = 2.08, p < .05) leading to more problematic toddler anxiety. The implications and contributions of these findings are discussed in terms of methodology, fear development, and developmental psychopathology.
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