Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms and infant sleep problems: the role of infant temperament and sex

Published online: 19 Dec 2022
Objectives: We aimed to analyze whether (1) infant temperament mediates
the impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on infant sleep problems and (2) the mediation role of infant temperament was moderated by
the infant’s sex.
Methods: The sample was comprised of 172 mother-infant dyads. Mothers
completed self-reported measures of prenatal and postnatal depressive
symptoms, infant temperament (negative affectivity, surgency/extraversion,
and orienting regulation), and sleep problems.
Results: While controlling for maternal postnatal depressive symptoms, our
results revealed that (1) infant negative affectivity at two weeks partially
mediated the impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on sleep
anxiety at six months, and (2) this mediation is independent of the infant’s sex.
Conclusions: Our findings provided evidence that negative affectivity can be
an early specific marker of sleep anxiety and can partially explain the negative impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on further sleep
problems in the infant.
This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [PTDC/SAU/SAP/116738/2010,SFRH/BD/113005/2015,SFRH/BD/115048/2016].