Maternal dissociative symptoms and their emotional and cognitive responses to infant crying: Is there a link?

Background

Dissociative symptoms have the capacity to influence the processing of emotional information and guide the emotional and cognitive responses of the person experiencing them. However, no research has investigated the link between dissociation in the parent and the management of infant crying. The aim of this work was to explore empirically, for the first time, the relationship between maternal dissociative symptoms and maternal behavioral and emotional management of infant crying. In particular, we wished to investigate (1) whether higher levels of maternal dissociation were associated with less adaptive emotional and behavioral management; (2) which dissociative symptoms among those reported were the strongest predictors of behaviors less adapted to the child's needs; and (3) whether the relationship between affect in response to crying and behavioral management was mediated by the level of maternal dissociative symptoms.

Method

An online questionnaire was completed by 250 mothers aged 20–49 with a baby aged between 6 and 24 months. Dissociative symptoms were assessed by the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20), behavioral and emotional management by the Infant Crying Questionnaire (ICQ) and the Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS).

Results

Higher dissociation scores were associated with lower scores on the dimensions of attachment, perception of crying as communication, and positive affect in response to infant crying. Conversely, they were associated with minimization of crying and higher levels of negative affect when hearing crying. The results also showed that the behavioral and emotional management of infant crying was predicted by dissociative symptoms of a psychoform (defensive dissociation in particular) and somatoform nature (sensory neglect in particular). They were also consistent with the hypothesis that the link between negative affect and behavioral management of infant crying was mediated by the level of maternal dissociation.

Conclusion

The hypothesis of a link between dissociative symptoms and the behavioral and emotional management of infant crying in mothers is supported. Further studies are needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and thus better prevent early relational trauma.