Differences in infant negative affectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This longitudinal study compared infant temperament rated at 3 months postpartum by 263 United-States-based women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic and 72 who gave birth prior to the pandemic. All women completed questionnaires assessing perinatal mental health, social contact, and infant temperament. Mothers whose infants were born during the pandemic reported higher levels of infant negative affectivity as compared with mothers whose infants were born earlier (F(1, 324) = 18.28, p < .001), but did not differ in their ratings of surgency or effortful control. Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms, prenatal stress, and postpartum stress mediated differences in infant negative affectivity  between pandemic and pre-pandemic groups. Within the pandemic group, decreased postpartum social contact was associated with higher ratings of infant negative affectivity. These findings suggest that the pandemic has affected maternal perceptions of infant temperament, perinatal mental health, and social contact.