The Interplay Between Maternal and Paternal Senses of Efficacy Moderates the Link Between Perinatal Parental Stress and Family Alliance at 3 Months.

Objective. Both parents may report high levels of stress during the perinatal period with possible negative consequences for parental well-being and child development. Parental sense of efficacy moderates the effect of stress. To date, no studies have assessed links between parental stress and mother-father-infant interactions in terms of family alliance and the extent to which each parent's sense of efficacy moderates these links. Design. In this study, 65 dual-parent families answered a questionnaire about parental stress between 36 and 38 weeks of pregnancy and at 3 months after birth. Families were also observed while playing with their 3-month-old infant in the Lausanne Trilogue Play, and they completed a questionnaire about parental efficacy. Results. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that higher maternal or paternal postnatal stress has a direct link with higher family alliance and the links between stress and family alliance are moderated by complex interaction effects between maternal and paternal senses of efficacy. Conclusions. This study shows the necessity of considering the interaction between the senses of self-efficacy of both parents as moderators of parenting stress.

Swiss cohort on Traumatic Childbirth and Health (SwiTCH): protocol for a prospective, population-based cohort study on parents' mental health from pregnancy to one year postpartum.

INTRODUCTION: Approximately 4%-5% of mothers develop childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) and approximately 12.3% of mothers develop some CB-PTSD symptoms (CB-PTSS). To date, there is a dearth of studies on fathers and other coparents. Parental CB-PTSD and CB-PTSS may have a negative impact not only on the parents but also on the infant. Understanding risk and protective factors of CB-PTSD for both parents and its consequences on the family is key to detecting or anticipating it, to developing interventions aimed at reducing its detrimental effects and to supporting parents. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study protocol describes an observational, population-based study, consisting of a longitudinal prospective cohort with online surveys at four time points. The population of interest consist of women, in the third trimester of pregnancy or at 6-12 weeks postpartum, and their partner/coparent, who will give birth or gave birth in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The target sample size is 300-500 women and a proportional number of partners. The primary outcome of this study is the prevalence of CB-PTSD and CB-PTSS. The secondary outcomes focus on: (1) the impact of CB-PTSD and CB-PTSS on the marital and coparental relationships, the bonding with the infant, parental burnout and healthcare seeking behaviours, (2) the role of the childbirth experience in the development of CB-PTSD and CB-PTSS and (3) the social and economic determinants of CB-PTSD and CB-PTSS. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was granted by the human research ethics committee of the Canton de Vaud (study number 2022-00284). All study participants signed an informed consent form. Dissemination of results will occur via national and international conferences, in peer-reviewed journals, public conferences and social media. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05865704.

Parental sensitivity, family alliance and infants' vagal tone: Influences of early family interactions on physiological emotion regulation.

In this study, we investigated the influence of parental sensitivity and family alliance on infants' vagal tone, considered as a physiological indicator of emotion regulation. Studies on mother-infant interactions have shown that vagal tone can be influenced by the quality of the interaction, such as interacting with a sensitive mother. To date, no study has investigated the influence of paternal sensitivity or family alliance on infants' vagal tone. We hypothesized that maternal sensitivity, paternal sensitivity, and family alliance would be associated with infants' vagal tone during dyadic and triadic interactions. We also explored if family alliance would act as a moderator on the association between parental sensitivity and vagal tone and if the sensitivity of both parents would act as a moderator on the association between family alliance and vagal tone. This study took place in Switzerland and included 82 families with their 3-4-month-old infants. Results showed that maternal sensitivity and family alliance were associated with infants' vagal tone, but paternal sensitivity was not. We found no significant moderation effect. However, result tendencies suggested that the contribution of paternal sensitivity to infants' emotion regulation could be influenced by family alliance, whereas maternal sensitivity and family alliance have a unique contribution.

En este estudio, investigamos la influencia de la sensibilidad del progenitor y la alianza de familia sobre el tono vagal del infante, considerado como un indicador fisiológico de regulación de la emoción. Los estudios acerca de las interacciones madre-infante han demostrado que el tono vagal puede ser influido por la calidad de la interacción, tal como el interactuar con una mamá sensible. Hasta hoy, ningún estudio ha investigado la influencia de la sensibilidad paterna o la alianza de familia sobre el tono vagal del infante. Nuestra hipótesis es que la sensibilidad materna, la sensibilidad paterna y la alianza de familia estaban asociadas con el tono vagal del infante durante las interacciones diádicas y triádicas. También exploramos si la alianza de familia actuaba como moderadora en la asociación entre la sensibilidad paterna y el tono vagal y si la sensibilidad de ambos progenitores actuaba como moderadora en la asociación entre la alianza de familia y el tono vagal. Este estudio se llevó a cabo en Suiza e incluyó a 82 familias con sus infantes de 3-4 meses de edad. Los resultados muestran que la sensibilidad materna y la alianza de familia estaban asociadas con el tono vagal del infante, pero que la sensibilidad paterna no lo estaba. No encontramos ningún efecto de moderación significativo. Sin embargo, las tendencias del resultado sugieren que la contribución de la sensibilidad paterna a la regulación de la emoción puede ser influida por la alianza de familia, mientras que la sensibilidad materna y la alianza de familia tienen una contribución particularmente única.

Dans cette étude nous nous sommes penchés sur l'influence de la sensibilité paternelle et de l'alliance de la famille sur le tonus vagal des nourrissons, considéré comme étant un indicateur physiologique de la régulation de l'émotion. Les études sur les interactions mère-nourrisson ont montré que le tonus vagal peut être influencé par la qualité de l'interaction, comme l'interaction avec une mère sensible. Jusqu'à présent aucune étude n'a porté sur l'influence de la sensibilité paternelle ou l'alliance familiale sur le tonus vagal des nourrissons. Nous avons fait l'hypothèse que la sensibilité maternelle, la sensibilité paternelle, et l'alliance familiale peuvent être liées au tonus vagal des nourrissons durant les interactions dyadiques et triadiques. Nous avons également exploré si l'alliance familiale pourrait agir comme modératrice sur le lien entre la sensibilité parentale et le tonus vagal et si la sensibilité des deux parents pourrait agir comme modérateur du lien entre l'alliance familiale et le tonus vagal. Cette étude s'est faite en Suisse et a inclus 82 familles avec des bébés de 3-4 mois. Les résultats ont montré que la sensibilité maternelle et l'alliance familiale étaient liées au tonus vagal des bébés mais la sensibilité de l'était pas. Nous n'avons trouvé aucun effet de modération important. Cependant les tendances des résultats ont suggéré que la contribution de la sensibilité paternelle à la régulation de l'émotion des nourrissons pourrait être influencée par l'alliance familiale alors que la sensibilité maternelle et l'alliance familiale a une contribution unique.

The influence of the COVID-19 lockdown on infants' physiological regulation during mother-father-infant interactions in Switzerland.

In this study, we investigated the physiological regulation of vagal tone during dyadic and triadic parent-infant interactions in infants born before or around the COVID-19 lockdown in Switzerland. We hypothesized that there would be a decrease in vagal tone in triadic interactions compared with dyadic interactions, as triadic interactions are more complex and therefore more resource demanding. However, we expected this difference to be smaller for infants who experienced the period of confinement, as the lockdown led parents to spend more time at home. We also hypothesized that parents would have less stressful interactional events in the triadic interaction because they would be used to interacting with the child together. This study included 36 parents with their 3 month-old infants. Eighteen families met the study authors before the onset of the pandemic (pre-COVID) and 18 met them after its onset, having experienced a period of confinement during the infants' first 3 months of life (COVID). Results showed that the COVID group had no decrease in vagal tone during triadic interactions, whereas the pre-COVID group did. This difference could not, however, be explained by less stressful interactional events in triadic interactions, as the COVID group showed more stressful interactional events in mother-father-infant interactions.

Interactive synchrony and infants' vagal tone as an index of emotion regulation: associations within each mother- and father-infant dyad and across dyads.

Introduction: Studies have shown that infants' emotion regulation capacities are closely linked to the quality of parent-infant interactions. However, these links have been mostly studied in mother-infant dyads and less is known about how the quality of father-infant interactions contributes to the development of emotion regulation during infancy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the links between interactive synchrony (i.e., an index of the quality of parent-infant coordination of interactive behaviors) and infants' vagal tone (i.e., a physiological index of emotion regulation). To understand the respective contributions of both parents, as well as the interrelations between the functioning of both dyads within a family, we observed mothers and fathers from 84 families interacting with their infants. Methods: Synchrony was assessed by using the CARE-Index; infants' vagal tone was derived from the analysis of infants' electrocardiograms recorded during the interactions. Moreover, to take the play's order into account, we counterbalanced the procedure, so that approximately half of the mothers played first. We specified a first structural equation modeling (SEM) model to investigate the associations between interactive synchrony and the infants' root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), an index of vagal regulation, in the two successive parts of the play. We conducted a multigroup analysis in a second SEM model to investigate the associations of the first SEM model in two groups based on the order of interaction. Results: The results of the SEM models showed that greater synchrony was related to greater infant RMSSD within mother-infant dyads and across one dyad to the other dyad in the full sample and in the group of fathers who interacted first with the infants. The associations between synchrony and infant vagal tone within father-infant dyads never appeared to be significant, nor did any associations within each dyad and across dyads when mothers interacted first. Discussion: This study highlights that the links between interactions and infants' vagal tone are sensitive to family members' interdependencies and some conditions (the order of interaction).

Associations between parent-infant interactions, cortisol and vagal regulation in infants, and socioemotional outcomes: A systematic review.

Emotional regulation in early infancy develops mainly through social interactions with caregivers and is a key process in socioemotional functioning. The use of physiological measures such as vagal tone and cortisol can help researchers understand what underlies this association between parent-infant interaction, emotion regulation, and socioemotional functioning. This review integrates 39 studies from four databases. We first examine associations between parent-infant interactions and physiological measures of emotion regulation in children aged 0-24 months. We then examine the association between these physiological measures and children's socioemotional outcomes. The results provide insights into which aspects of parent-infant interactions are associated with the physiological functioning of infants and which socioemotional outcomes in infants may be influenced by this functioning.