Toddlers' impulsivity, inhibitory control, and maternal eating-related supervision in relation to toddler body mass index: Direct and interactive effects.

Previous studies have noted that child temperament characteristics, such as aspects of self-regulation, as well as parental feeding practices contribute to children's body mass index (BMI), and have implications for identifying children who may be at risk of being overweight or obese. While studies have considered children's temperament or maternal feeding practices separately, few have considered these correlates of children's BMI jointly or in interaction in relation to children's BMI. The current study included 179 mother-child dyads participating in a longitudinal study. Information on children's impulsivity and inhibitory control was collected when children were 24 months of age. Children's tendency to emotionally overeat, maternal supervision of children's eating, and toddler and maternal BMI were assessed when children reached 30 months of age. Higher toddler impulsivity and emotional overeating, as well as maternal BMI were positively associated with toddler BMI. Inhibitory control and maternal supervision of toddler eating were not directly associated with toddler BMI. However, the main effect of toddler impulsivity was qualified by a significant interaction with maternal supervision of toddler eating. For children high in impulsivity, there was a significant negative association between maternal eating supervision and toddler BMI. For children low in impulsivity, there was a trend level (p = .059) positive relation between maternal eating supervision and toddler BMI. These findings suggest that increased maternal supervision of children's eating may be beneficial for helping children maintain a healthy BMI when they exhibit high impulsivity.

Sleep quality buffers the effects of negative social interactions on maternal mood in the 3-6 month postpartum period: a daily diary study.

Sleep and social relationships are two key determinants of psychosocial health that undergo considerable change across the transition to motherhood. The current study investigated the bidirectional relationship between daytime Positive and Negative Social Interactions (PSIs & NSIs) and nighttime sleep quality on maternal mood across 1 week in the 3-6 month postpartum period. Sixty healthy, non-depressed first-time mothers completed 7-consecutive days of daily social interaction and sleep diaries. Results indicated that higher than average sleep quality buffered the effect of higher than average NSIs on maternal mood (i.e., buffered mood reactivity) and appeared to promote mood recovery following a particularly "bad day" (i.e., higher than average NSIs). In addition, although PSIs were more common than NSIs overall, the most frequent and positively rated PSIs were with baby as were the most frequent and negatively rated NSIs. To our knowledge, our results are the first to characterize the impact of PSIs on postpartum maternal mood, assess maternal-infant social interactions in daily diary study of postpartum social relationships, and demonstrate the role that maternal sleep quality plays in social discord-related mood reactivity and mood recovery processes in the 3-6 month postpartum period.

Contribution of temperament to eating disorder symptoms in emerging adulthood: Additive and interactive effects.

Temperament characteristics, such as higher negative emotionality (NE) and lower effortful control (EC), are individual difference risk factors for developmental psychopathology. Research has also noted relations between temperament and more specific manifestations of psychopathology, such as eating disorders (EDs). Although work is emerging that indicates that NE and EC may additively contribute to risk for ED symptoms, no studies have considered the interactive effects of NE and EC in relation to ED symptoms. In the current investigation, we hypothesized that (1) low EC would be associated with increased ED symptoms, (2) high NE would be associated with increased ED symptoms, and (3) these temperament traits would interact, such that the relationship between NE and ED symptoms would be strongest in the presence of low EC. After controlling for gender and child trauma history, emerging adults' (N=160) lower EC (i.e., more difficulties with self-regulation) was associated with more ED symptoms. NE did not emerge as a direct predictor of ED symptoms. However, the anticipated interaction of these temperament characteristics on ED symptoms was found. The association between NE and ED symptoms was only significant in the context of low EC. These findings provide evidence that elevated NE may only be a risk factor for the development of eating disorders when individuals also have self-regulation difficulties. The implications of these findings for research and interventions are discussed.