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What’s going on in my baby’s mind? Mothers’ executive functions contribute to individual differences in maternal mentalization during mother-infant interactions

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  • Tal Yatziv
  • Yoav Kessler
  • Naama Atzaba-Poria

Abstract

Maternal mentalization refers to a mother’s capacity to understand mental-states of herself and her child and to regard her child as a psychological agent. In mother-infant interactions, this capacity is commonly conceptualized as maternal mind-mindedness, which can be divided into two dimensions: appropriate and nonattuned interpretations of the infants’ mental-states. Appropriate mind-mindedness refers to interpretations that seem to be compatible with the infant’s behaviors, whereas nonattuned mind-mindedness refers to noncompatible interpretations. The aim of this study was to investigate the cognitive mechanisms that contribute to mind-mindedness. Specifically, we investigated the role of executive functions in appropriate and nonattuned mind-mindedness, and the moderating roles of two infant-related factors, prematurity (as a stressful context) and child temperament (as a context of unpredictability and negative emotionality). To this end, mother-infant free play interactions were coded for mind-mindedness in a sample of 102 mothers and their 6-month-old infants (61 preterm, 41 full-term). When children were 66-months old, mothers completed cognitive tasks that assessed working memory updating, resistance to interference, response inhibition, and shifting. Appropriate mind-mindedness was positively associated with updating, and this link was stronger when infant temperament was rated as more difficult. Furthermore, among mothers of full-term infants, mothers’ resistance to interference was negatively associated with nonattuned mind-mindedness. This link was not evident in the stressful context of premature birth. Mothers’ response inhibition and shifting were not associated with either of the mind-mindedness dimensions. Implications on understanding variability in maternal mentalization during mother-infant interactions and the roles of executive functions in parenting are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Tal Yatziv & Yoav Kessler & Naama Atzaba-Poria, 2018. "What’s going on in my baby’s mind? Mothers’ executive functions contribute to individual differences in maternal mentalization during mother-infant interactions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-30, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0207869
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207869
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    1. Dua'a Fayiz Al Maghaireh & Khatijah Lim Abdullah & Chong Mei Chan & Chua Yan Piaw & Mariam Mofleh Al Kawafha, 2016. "Systematic review of qualitative studies exploring parental experiences in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(19-20), pages 2745-2756, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jacqueline Dietzel & Jan Philipp Röer & Sarah Vetterlein & Axel Schölmerich & Dominik T. Schneider & Nina Gawehn, 2023. "Parenting Preterm Children: Emotional Availability At Preschool Age," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, May.

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