4 - (SYM 48) Maternal Depression Is Negatively Correlated with Infant Social Referencing Patterns During Play: A Dyadic Head-mounted Eye Tracking Study

Many caregivers report increased depressive symptoms following childbirth, some of whom may qualify for a diagnosis of postpartum depression (PPD). Previous research suggests that PPD is associated with increased infant risk for poor social communication outcomes due to decreases in social referencing and coordination during caregiver-infant interactions. However, whether individual differences in caregiver depressive symptoms are dimensionally associated with global or more specific alterations in social referencing during play remains unclear. This is a critical question as many caregivers experience persistent depressive symptoms during the postnatal period that fail to qualify for a clinical diagnosis. And, given prior PPD research, it’s likely that increased ‘subclinical’ postpartum depressive symptoms also alter caregiver-infant patterns of engagement. The present study used dyadic head-mounted eye-tracking (D-ET) technology and a dimensional measure of maternal depressive symptoms to investigate associations between caregiver-infant social referencing during naturalistic toy play and maternal depressive symptoms in 30 caregivers and their 9-17-month-old infants. Infants of mothers reporting higher depressive symptoms were less likely to contingently return their caregiver’s face-look during play. In line with prior developmental research and theory, the current findings support the presence of altered face-looking behavior by infants of mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Importantly, study results indicate these alterations may also be present in infants of mothers experiencing subclinical levels of depressive symptoms. Future longitudinal studies utilizing innovative technology such as D-ET can help identify specific features of caregiver-infant interaction that can be targeted through intervention to better support women, infants, and their relationships during the postpartum period.