Contextual Stress and Maternal Sensitivity: A Meta-Analytic Review of Stress Associations with the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort in Observational Studies

TL;DR

This meta-analytic review synthesizes evidence on how various contextual stressors negatively impact maternal sensitivity, highlighting the significance of sociodemographic, parenting, and mental health factors in observational studies.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive meta-analysis of stress associations with maternal sensitivity using the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort across multiple studies, identifying the strength and types of these effects.

Findings

All stress indicators negatively associated with maternal sensitivity.

Small effects for parenting stress and mental health.

Moderate effects for sociodemographic factors.

Abstract

Maternal sensitivity is a modifiable determinant of infant attachment security and a precursor to optimal child development. Contextual stressors undermine sensitivity, but research was yet to be synthesized. We aimed to identify i) types of stress associations analyzed in studies of maternal sensitivity and ii) the strength of effects of various stress factors. A systematic search identified all studies that used the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (MBQS) to code sensitivity in dyadic observations and that reported a coefficient for MBQS associations with contextual stress. Identified stressors cohered around three spheres: sociodemography (maternal education, family income, composite SES, maternal age and cohabitation status); parenting stress (perceived maternal stress related to parenting); and mental health (specifically maternal internalizing symptoms). Seven meta-analyses (combined ns range 223-1239) of a subset of 30 effects from 20 articles, and a multi-level meta-analysis (N=1324) assessed aggregated correlations with sensitivity. Significant mean effects emerged in expected directions, whereby all stress indicators were negatively associated with sensitivity. Small effects were found for associations with parenting stress (r=-0.13) and mental health indicators (r=-0.12). Generally moderate effects were found for associations with socio-demographic indicators (range r=-0.12 to r=0.32). Emerging findings support the proposition that in various contexts of stress, maternal sensitivity to infant needs can be undermined. Implications and research directions are discussed.