theories

Question 1

prenatal development

Answer 1

Hypothesised effect of prenatal anxiety (Van den berge et al., 2010)

Foetal programming hypothesis (Barker): direct effects of
the developing infant’sbrain
*High antenatal stress or anxiety predicts greater chance of
preterm delivery, pregnancy hypertension and LBW
* Increased cortisol in mother crosses placental and leads
to increased cortisol in infant
*Greatest risk if stress/ anxiety in early pregnancy

O’Connor et al.(2002): antenatal maternal anxiety predicts behavioural
problems at age 4 years. Suggestsdirect effect of maternal mood on foetal
brain development BUT no measures of parenting

Prenatal anxiety associated with increased problems with regulating cognition, emotion and behaviour in infancy and preschool (more hyperactive, poorer attention) and adolescence (lower intelligence, increased ADHD) (Antonelli (ed.), 2015

ER- Kim et al., 2016- high levels of cortisol= HPA axis downregulation= more likely to develop mental health disorders

Question 2

critism for prenatal development theory

Question 3

Insensitive parenting-

Answer 3

Field (2010): Postnatal depressionassociated with:
* less sensitive maternal behaviour (more intrusive, hostile, less
engaged, less emotional, less face-to-faceinteractions).
*Mothers often characterised as over-intrusive or withdrawn.
* Less responsive child behaviour as a result.
*Maternal anxietyoften associated with:
* Intrusive/ unresponsive caregiving.
*Distinct overprotective and warmth-deficient parenting style.

Question 4

negative attribution bias-

Answer 4

Depressed mothers more likely to rate negative infant faces as more negative than non-depressed mothers
(Stein et al., 2010)
*The depression–distortion hypothesis (Richters & Pellegrini, 1989)
*Distressed emotions associated with depression thought to activate a negative perception-bias in mothers’ ratings of child behaviours
*Leads to overreporting of child adjustment difficulties (e.g., Friedlander et al., 1986)

Question 5

scaffolding-

Answer 5

Scaffolding –parental support that helps child move from
one developmental level to the next.
*Depressed mothers less effective at providing scaffolding
(Hoffman et al., 2006).

*Anxious mothers may be more withdrawn and less sensitive
to their child’s level of development and less able to adjust
their behaviorsaccordingly (Vygotsky,1980).

er = boothe 2019- parents who have higher levels of stress and anxiety are less sensitive to childs emotional needs- neece 2012- cyclical!

Question 6

modelling and EDs

Answer 6

*Relationships hypothesised to be transmitted via:
*Modelling unhealthy eating practices
* Lack of involvement at mealtimes
*Distorted perceptions of appropriate child eating behaviour

*Some studies find no associations -mothers likely to be very
aware of their behaviour and avoid impacting on child at all
costs
*Video feedback has been successfully used to reduce
heightened conflict and control at mealtimes (Stein et al.,
2006b