Linking maternal childhood maltreatment to infant socioemotional development through perinatal mental health

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with an elevated risk of experiencing psychological problems, particularly during the perinatal period. Maternal history of CM is also associated with disruptions to offspring socioemotional development. One potential pathway through which maternal CM contributes to offspring socioemotional development is through maternal mental health. OBJECTIVE: The present study explored how maternal CM is associated with infant socioemotional development through maternal mental health, both during pregnancy and postpartum. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants (n = 128) completed study sessions during their third trimester of pregnancy, at 2 weeks postpartum, and 6 months postpartum. METHODS: Participants reported history of CM and current levels of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and borderline personality features during pregnancy and at 2 weeks postpartum, and infant socioemotional development at 6 months. RESULTS: A structural equation serial mediation model indicated that (1) maternal CM severity was associated with mental health symptoms in pregnancy (β = 0.324, 95% CI [0.031, 0.165]), but not postpartum (ß = -0.107, 95% CI [-0.087, 0.025]), (2) pregnancy mental health symptoms predicted postpartum mental health symptoms (β = 0.536, 95% CI [0.270, 0.617]), which predicted offspring socioemotional development (β = 0.515, 95% CI [1.203, 3.546]), and (3) the serial indirect effect bridging maternal CM and infant socioemotional development was significant (β = 0.089, 95% CI [0.019, 0.242]), but specific indirect effects through pregnancy and postpartum mental health symptoms were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that maternal CM is associated with offspring socioemotional development through a temporal chain, where maternal mental health symptoms in pregnancy increase risk for postpartum mental health symptoms.