Infant crying predicts real-time fluctuations in maternal mental health in ecologically valid home settings.

ABSTRACT: Exposure to infant crying is a well-established predictor of mothers' mental health. However, this association may reflect many potential mechanisms. Capturing dynamic fluctuations in mothers' states simultaneously with caregiving experiences is necessary to identify the real-time processes influencing mental health. In this study, we leveraged ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and infant-worn audio recorders to capture variability in mothers' mental health symptoms and their exposure to infant crying over one week in a racially and socio-economically diverse urban North-American sample (N = 53). We use multilevel modeling to characterize within- and between-person effects of crying on maternal negative affect and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Within participants, when i

SUBMITTER: de Barbaro K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10057632 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature