Cortisol reactivity and negative affect among preterm infants at 12 months during a mother-infant interaction task

Available online 16 November 2022
The purpose of this study was to investigate correlates of preterm (PT) infant’s cortisol reactivity
and the association to infant negative affect, during a mother-infant interaction procedure. Participants included 48 infants born prematurely (gestational age < 37 weeks) and their mothers,
assessed when infants were 12 months old corrected for prematurity. The examined variables
comprised both neonatal and environmental dimensions including maternal interactive behavior.
Infant negative affect and maternal interactive behavior were assessed with a standardized
mother-infant interaction task. A baseline infant saliva sample was collected before the interaction began, and a second sample after the interaction episodes ended. Results revealed that
decrease of infant’s cortisol concentration was significantly associated with the exposure to more
sensitive, and less intrusive maternal behaviors. However, once controlled for neonatal risk,
family SES and maternal psychological distress, the associations were rendered non-significant.
Although the association between cortisol reactivity and negative affect trended toward significance, maternal intrusiveness was the only significant predictor of observed infant negative
affect. Findings suggest the importance of primary relational experiences on PT infants’ early
regulatory competencies.
This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) under Grant SFRH/BD/132594/2017 assigned to Vanessa Moutinho. The research of the Carla Moreira author was partially financed by Portuguese Funds through FCT within the Projects UIDB/00013/2020 and UIDP/00013/2020.