Dissecting maternal care : Patterns of maternal parenting in a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Parental care has a strong impact on neurodevelopment and mental health in the offspring. While a multitude of animal studies has revealed that the parental brain is a highly complex system involving many brain structures and neuroendocrine systems, human maternal parenting as a multi-dimensional construct with cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components has not been characterized comprehensively.This unique multi-method analysis aimed to examine patterns of self-reported and observed parenting from 6 to 60 months postpartum in a cohort of 496 mothers (maternal age: M = 32 years). Self-report questionnaires assessed motivational components of mothering, parenting stress, parenting-related mood, maternal investment, maternal parenting style, mother-child relationship satisfaction, and mother-child bonding at multiple time points. Observed parenting variables included the Ainsworth Sensitivity Scales at 6 and 18 months, the Behavioral Evaluation Strategies Taxonomies (BEST) at 6 months, an Etch-A-Sketch cooperation task (EAS) at 48 months and the Parent-Child Early Relationship Assessment (PCERA) at 60 months. To examine whether different latent constructs underlie these measures of maternal parenting, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis.Self-report measures of parenting correlated only weakly with behavioral observations. Factor analysis on a subsample (n = 197) revealed four latent factors that each explained 7 to 11% of the variance in the data (32% total variance explained). Based on the loadings of the instruments, the factors were interpreted as follows: Supportive Parenting, Self-Enjoyment Parenting, Overwhelmed Parenting, and Affectionate Parenting. These factor scores showed specific associations with maternal education and depressive symptoms, and with child outcomes, including maternally reported internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems, school readiness, and child-reported symptoms of mental health.These findings parallel the complexity of the parental brain, suggesting that maternal parenting consists of multiple components, each of which is associated with different maternal characteristics and child outcomes.