Infant neurodevelopment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Associations with maternal pandemic-related experiences, parenting stress, and self-efficacy

Qingyu Jiang; Natalie Feldman; Amanda Koire; Candice Ma; Leena Mittal; Hung-Chu Lin; Carmina Erdei; Joshua L Roffman; Cindy H Liu

doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2024.106018

Infant neurodevelopment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Associations with maternal pandemic-related experiences, parenting stress, and self-efficacy

Early Hum Dev. 2024 Jun:193:106018. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2024.106018. Epub 2024 Apr 25.

Authors

Qingyu Jiang¹, Natalie Feldman², Amanda Koire³, Candice Ma¹, Leena Mittal³, Hung-Chu Lin⁴, Carmina Erdei², Joshua L Roffman⁵, Cindy H Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
² Department of Pediatrics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: chliu@bwh.harvard.edu.

PMID: 38703424
DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2024.106018

Abstract

Background: Although pandemic-related experiences have been linked to the psychological well-being of mothers, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on infant neurodevelopmental outcomes have not been sufficiently studied.

Aims: To assess whether maternal COVID-19-related experiences (i.e., COVID-19-related health, risk, resource worries, and feelings of grief), parenting stress, and maternal self-efficacy are associated with infant neurodevelopment as measured by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition (ASQ-3) maternal report when infants were between 8 to 10 months of age. Furthermore, this study examined the moderating effect of maternal self-efficacy between maternal COVID-19-related experiences and infant neurodevelopment.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 122 women who were drawn from the Perinatal Experiences and COVID-19 Effects (PEACE) Study, with online surveys administered between November 2020 and August 2022.

Results: After controlling for maternal anxiety and depression symptoms and demographic factors, hierarchical regression analysis indicated that parenting stress showed no effect on ASQ-3 scores. However, more adverse COVID-19-related experiences and higher levels of maternal self-efficacy were associated with better infant neurodevelopment. Moreover, there was a significant interaction effect between maternal self-efficacy and COVID-19-related experiences on infant neurodevelopment. For mothers with moderate to high levels of self-efficacy, more adverse COVID-19-related experiences were associated with better infant neurodevelopment. For mothers with low levels of self-efficacy, more adverse COVID-19-related experiences were associated with poorer developmental outcomes in infants.

Conclusions: Under adverse conditions, confidence in caregiving may afford more optimal infant neurodevelopment. Interventions aimed at fostering maternal self-efficacy and addressing specific stressors can be valuable in promoting positive developmental trajectories for infants born during the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Infant; Maternal self-efficacy; Neurodevelopment; Parenting stress.

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / psychology
Child Development*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Mothers* / psychology
Parenting* / psychology
Self Efficacy*
Stress, Psychological* / epidemiology
Stress, Psychological* / psychology