Effects of Depressive Symptoms in Mothers of Children with ASD on Synchrony with Later-Born Infants

Background:  It has been established that maternal functioning is related to optimal caregiving for children in general, and that mothers of children with ASD often experience elevated symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (e.g., Duarte et al., 2005). However, it is unclear how these symptoms might affect their interactions with later-born children (SIBS-ASD) who are at increased risk for ASD. Siller and Sigman (2002) created a quantitative behavioral measure of mother-child synchrony, the proportion of a mother’s interactions that are sensitive toward and contingent upon her child’s focus of attention.

In this study, we hypothesized that mothers of SIBS-ASD would report higher depressive symptoms than mothers of infants with a typically-developing sibling (SIBS-TD).  We also hypothesized that depression scores would be negatively associated with synchrony across groups, but that this effect would be strongest for mothers of SIBS-ASD.

Objectives:  This study is the first to examine possible associations between maternal depressive symptoms and synchrony during mother-infant interactions for mothers of children with ASD versus mothers of children without ASD.

Methods:  Nineteen SIBS-TD (9 female), 11 SIBS-ASD (6 female), and their mothers were recruited as part of a larger longitudinal study.  Data were collected when infants were approximately 12 months old.  Each mother-infant dyad engaged in a 15-minute unstructured play session with a standardized set of toys. Free play was coded for synchrony yielding the proportion of: maternal indicating behaviors synchronized with infant attention (MS1), maternal utterances synchronized with infant attention (MS2), and maternal utterances synchronized with infant attention & action (MS3).  Mothers also completed a self-report measure of depression symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; Radloff, 1977). 

Results:   A one-way ANOVA revealed significantly higher depression scores for mothers of SIBS-ASD (M=14.82) versus mothers of SIBS-TD (M=6.13), F(1,25) = 8.97, p< .01. There were no significant differences between groups for MS1, MS2, or MS3.  Multiple linear regressions indicated a significant interaction effect between sibling risk group and maternal depression on MS2 and MS3. A similar trend was observed for MS1, though the interaction was not statistically significant. 

Conclusions:  These preliminary results replicate previous findings of increased depression symptoms for mothers of children with ASD. Furthermore, while there was no main effect for sibling diagnosis or maternal depression on synchrony scores, there was an interaction effect. Higher maternal depression scores predicted lower mother-infant synchrony, but only for mothers of SIBS-ASD. Thus, depressive symptomatology in mothers of children with ASD is an important factor affecting interactions with their later-born infants. With additional data at 12, 15, and 18 months, we will examine the relationship between synchrony and measures of maternal functioning over time, and how this differs for families affected by ASD. Enhanced understanding of these transactional processes has the potential to inform research and clinical practice for families affected by ASD, such as enhancing the outcomes of parent training interventions.