Infant negative affect, maternal intrusiveness, and child outcomes: The moderating role of maternal mind-mindedness in shaping psychopathology risk or resilience

Infant temperamental negative affect (NA) poses transdiagnostic risk for psychopathology. Risk often operates indirectly through caregiving, as high NA infants tend to elicit intrusive parental responses. The present study examined whether maternal mind-mindedness (MM), moderates the longitudinal indirect pathway from infant NA, through concurrent maternal intrusive behavior, to child internalizing/externalizing symptoms at 5.5 years. Eighty-eight mother–infant dyads participated (55.7% male, all White, 70.2% middle-high socioeconomic status). Infant NA, maternal intrusiveness, and representational and interactional measures of MM were observed at 4 months. Mothers reported child symptoms at 5.5 years. Representational MM moderated the indirect pathway from infant NA to child symptoms through maternal intrusiveness. At low MM, infant-NA was significantly associated with increased maternal intrusiveness and subsequent risk for externalizing symptoms. At high MM, infant-NA was significantly associated with lower maternal intrusiveness and subsequent reduced externalizing symptoms, thereby creating a developmental advantage for high-NA infants relative to their low-NA counterparts. Findings underscore maternal representational MM as a protective buffer against NA-related risk. Methodological considerations are discussed regarding the employment of interactional versus representational measures of MM. Clinical implications of MM are discussed as a promising target for early interventions, particularly in the context of high-NA infants.