Maternal Attitudinal Inflexibility: Longitudinal Relations with Mother-Infant Disrupted Interaction and Childhood Hostile-Aggressive Behavior Problems

• NCJ Number: 229022
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 33 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 924-932
• Author(s): Sadia Najmi; Jean-Francois Bureau; Diyu Chen; Karlen Lyons-Ruth
• Date Published: December 2009
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study used the Personal Attitude Scale (PAS; Hooley, 2000) in order to measure the link between maternal attitudinal inflexibility, early hostile or disrupted mother-infant interactions, and hostile-aggressive behavioral problems in the child.

Abstract

The findings indicate that maternal difficulties in interacting with the infant in the laboratory were linked with maternal PAS scores assessed 20 years later. Hostile-aggressive behavioral problems in the child at 5 years old were also predictive of PAS scores of mothers; however, contrary to prediction, these behavioral problems did not mediate the association between mother-infant interaction difficulties and maternal PAS scores. This indicates that the child's hostile-aggressive behavioral problems did not produce the link between the quality of early interaction and later maternal attitudinal inflexibility. The authors advise that once the stability of the PAS has been established, it can be used as a valuable screening tool for the prenatal identification of parents at risk for difficult interactions with the child. Cognitive interventions are needed to help less flexible parents shift their perspective in order to modify their behaviors and attitudes to take into account their child's perspectives and needs. Study participants were 76 low-income mothers and their infants who had participated in a previous study of family risk factors in infant development. The average age of mothers at the 20-year follow-up assessment was 48 years old. Eight-one percent of the mothers were White, 4 percent African-American, 11 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent of mixed/other origin. Of the children, 39 percent were boys and 61 percent were girls. Maternal attitudinal inflexibility was assessed by the PAS. Naturalistic mother-infant interaction was videotaped at home at 18 months of age. Maternal behavior was coded for attitudes toward and responses to the child. 1 table, 2 figures, and 51 references