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Maternal and infant affect at 4 months predicts performance and verbal at 4 and 7 years in a diverse population

Publication ,  Journal Article
Sheinkopf, SJ; Tenenbaum, EJ; Messinger, DS; Miller‐Loncar, CL; Tronick, E; Lagasse, LL; Shankaran, S; Bada, H; Bauer, C; Whitaker, T ...
Published in: Developmental Science
September 2017

Using existing longitudinal data from 570 infants in the Maternal Lifestyle Study, we explored the predictive value of maternal and infant affect and maternal vocalizations during 2 minutes of face‐to‐face interactions at 4 months on scores at 4.5 and 7 years. After controlling for demographic factors, maternal depression, and prenatal drug exposure, maternal positive affect and maternal positive vocalizations emerged as predictors of both verbal and performance at 4.5 and 7 years. Although infant positive affect during the interaction with the mother was not predictive of these outcome measures, infant positive affect towards an examiner predicted verbal but not performance at 4.5 years. These results suggest that maternal positive affect may index emotional engagement in interaction that facilitates both verbal and nonverbal cognitive development, while infant social positive affect is specifically related to the acquisition of verbal reasoning abilities. These findings are significant because they are based on a discrete snapshot of observable behavior in infancy (just 2 minutes of interaction), because they extend the range of maternal behaviors and characteristics known to support positive developmental outcomes, and because they are derived from high‐risk infants where prevention efforts may be beneficial. Potential mechanisms for these associations are discussed, as are the clinical implications for identifying dyads most in need of targeted interventions.

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Published In

Developmental Science

DOI

EISSN

1467-7687

ISSN

1363-755X

Publication Date

September 2017

Volume

20

Issue

5

Publisher

Wiley

Related Subject Headings

  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • 2004 Linguistics
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
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Sheinkopf, S. J., Tenenbaum, E. J., Messinger, D. S., Miller‐Loncar, C. L., Tronick, E., Lagasse, L. L., … Lester, B. M. (2017). Maternal and infant affect at 4 months predicts performance and verbal IQ at 4 and 7 years in a diverse population. Developmental Science, 20(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12479
Sheinkopf, Stephen J., Elena J. Tenenbaum, Daniel S. Messinger, Cynthia L. Miller‐Loncar, Ed Tronick, Linda L. Lagasse, Seetha Shankaran, et al. “Maternal and infant affect at 4 months predicts performance and verbal IQ at 4 and 7 years in a diverse population.” Developmental Science 20, no. 5 (September 2017). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12479.
Sheinkopf SJ, Tenenbaum EJ, Messinger DS, Miller‐Loncar CL, Tronick E, Lagasse LL, et al. Maternal and infant affect at 4 months predicts performance and verbal IQ at 4 and 7 years in a diverse population. Developmental Science. 2017 Sep;20(5).
Sheinkopf, Stephen J., et al. “Maternal and infant affect at 4 months predicts performance and verbal IQ at 4 and 7 years in a diverse population.” Developmental Science, vol. 20, no. 5, Wiley, Sept. 2017. Crossref, doi:10.1111/desc.12479.
Sheinkopf SJ, Tenenbaum EJ, Messinger DS, Miller‐Loncar CL, Tronick E, Lagasse LL, Shankaran S, Bada H, Bauer C, Whitaker T, Hammond J, Lester BM. Maternal and infant affect at 4 months predicts performance and verbal IQ at 4 and 7 years in a diverse population. Developmental Science. Wiley; 2017 Sep;20(5).
Journal cover image

Published In

Developmental Science

DOI

EISSN

1467-7687

ISSN

1363-755X

Publication Date

September 2017

Volume

20

Issue

5

Publisher

Wiley

Related Subject Headings

  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • 2004 Linguistics
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology