Multiple Predictors of Maternal Sensitivity across the Transition
to Parenthood and Infant Social-Emotional Outcomes
Kylene Krause, M.S., Alissa C. Huth-Bocks, Ph.D., Syreeta Scott, M.S., and Angela Joerin, B.A.
Eastern Michigan University
INTRODUCTION
It has been well established in previous literature that sensitive maternal behaviors significantly impact important
child developmental outcomes. In addition, sensitive maternal behaviors have been found to remain relatively
stable over time, indicating that predictors of maternal sensitivity are a worthy topic of investigation. However,
previous research lacks a full understanding of the various factors which promote early maternal sensitive
behaviors.
AIM: To explore prenatal and postnatal factors which may predict sensitive maternal parenting behaviors toward
infants as well as infant social-emotional functioning.
METHOD
PARTICIPANTS:
A community sample of pregnant women (N = 120) was recruited from public locations, programs, and
agencies primarily serving low-income families. As part of a larger investigation, women participated in a 2 1/2
hour interview during their last trimester of pregnancy (T1) and received $25.00 compensation. During this
interview, which often took place in the women’s homes, participants completed a semi-structured interview
about their feelings about pregnancy and motherhood and verbally completed numerous questionnaires about
their history, current and past relationships, psychosocial experiences, and general health. They also
completed another, similar home visit when their infants were 1 year of age (T3). This visit lasted approximately
3 hours and women received $50.00 compensation.
• Age: Mean = 26 (Range = 18 – 42, SD = 5.7)
• Race/ Ethnicity: 47% = African American, 36% Caucasian, 18% = Other Ethnic Groups
• Education: 20% = High School Diploma/ GED or less, 44% = Some College/Trade School, &
36% = College Degree
•  Monthly Income: Median = $1,500.
• Family Status: 64% = Single Parents
30% = First Time Mothers
MEASURES:
1 – Maternal Sensitivity. The Mini Maternal Behavior Q-sort (Bailey, Bisceglia, Roche, Jenkins, & Moran, 2009;
Pederson, Moran, & Bento,1999) is a 25-item Q-sort (sorted into 5 categories of 5, from very much unlike the
mother to very much like the mother) designed to assess the level of sensitivity shown towards the infant. The
Q-sort is completed by trained researchers following the T3 home visit. Sensitivity scores are based on the
correlation between the participants’ sort and an “ideal” sensitivity sort.
2 – Child Abuse Potential. The Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory (BCAP; Ondersma, Chaffin, Mullins, &
LeBreton, 2005) is a 34-item questionnaire that assesses dimensions believed to be related to risk for child
abuse such as parental rigidity, loneliness, and general distress. The 24-item Abuse total collected during T1
was used for this investigation.
3 – Knowledge of Infant Development. The Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory (KIDI; MacPhee, 1981)
is a 20-item multiple-choice questionnaire, collected at T3, designed to assess adults’ knowledge of typical
child development and parenting of children from birth to 2 years. In this study, we used the proportion of
correct responses to represent mothers’ knowledge of infant development.
4 – Parenting Daily Hassles. The Parenting Daily Hassles questionnaire (PDH; Crnic & Greenberg, 1990) is a
20-item multiple choice questionnaire designed to measure a parent’s perception of the frequency and intensity
of the daily hassles of parenting. Each item is rated on how often the events happen (rarely, sometimes, a lot,
or constantly) and then rated on a 1 to 5 scale of how much of a hassle the event is (1 = low, 5 = high).
5 – Infant Social-Emotional Problems. The Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA; BriggsGowan et al., 2004) is a 42-item multiple choice questionnaire of the social and emotional problems and
competencies of children between the ages of 12 and 36 months of age. Items are rated as 0 = not true/ rarely,
1 = somewhat true/ sometimes, and 2 = very true/ often. Only the total problem scale was used in this
investigation.
RESULTS
Table 1. Descriptive Data for Study Variables
Measure
Mean
.41
6.4
Standard
Deviation
.43
5.0
KIDI
.75
.15
.25
1
0 -1
N/A
PDH Frequency
39.9
8.3
22
62
20 - 80
.81
PDH Intensity
37.5
12.2
20
78
20 - 100
.88
BITSEA
11.1
5.7
1
38
0 - 62
.77
Maternal Behavior Q-set
BCAP
Minimum Maximum Possible Alpha
Range
-.82
1.0
-1 - 1
N/A
0
21
0 – 24
.81
Table 2. Correlation Matrix for Study Variables
Q-Set
BCAP
KIDI
Q-Set
1.000
BCAP
-.258*
1.000
KIDI
.233*
-.199*
1.000
PDH Freq.
-.064
.190*
PDH Freq.
PDH Intens. BITSEA
-.052
1.000
.264** -.127
.814**
1.000
BITSEA
.257** -.412**
.402**
.404**
Table 3. Predicting Maternal Sensitivity
Variable
BCAP
KIDI
PDH Intensity
Adjusted R2
F Value
β
-.180
.176
-.161
.101
5.289
Child Abuse
Potential
Maternal
Sensitivity
Knowledge
of Infant
Development
Infant SocialEmotional
Functioning
Intensity of
Parenting
Hassles
PDH Intens. -.232*
-.209*
Figure 1. Mediation Models Tested
1.000
* p < .05 ** p < .01
Significance
p = .056
p = .056
p = .083
Three different mediation models were tested with
maternal sensitivity as the mediator, infant socialemotional functioning as the dependent variable and
either child abuse potential, knowledge of infant
development, or intensity of parenting hassles as the
independent variable. Results from three sets of
regression analyses showed that no mediation was found
in any of the models.
.002
• Table 1 displays descriptive data for all study variables.
• Table 2 shows the correlations between all study variables. Greater maternal sensitivity was
significantly related to lower child abuse potential, greater knowledge of infant development, lower
intensity of parenting daily hassles, and lower infant social-emotional problems.
• Table 3 presents the results of a multiple regression predicting maternal sensitivity. Together, child
abuse potential, knowledge of infant development, and intensity of daily parenting hassles
accounted for 10% of the variance in maternal sensitivity. The main effects of all three predictors
individually approached significance in predicting maternal sensitivity.
•  Table 4 presents the results of a multiple regression predicting infant social-emotional
functioning. Together, child abuse potential, knowledge of infant, daily parenting hassles, and
maternal sensitivity accounted for 30% of the variance in infant social-emotional problems.
Knowledge of infant development and the frequency of daily parenting hassles were the strongest
individual predictors.
Table 4. Predicting Infant Social-Emotional
Functioning
Variable
β
Significance
BCAP
KIDI
PDH Frequency
PDH Intensity
Sensitivity
Adjusted R2
F Value
.095
-.349
.303
.072
-.067
.303
10.924
p = .258
p = .000
p = .030
p = .616
p = .437
.000
DISCUSSION
This study examined predictors of maternal sensitivity that have not received much attention in the literature. Correlational results suggested that
greater maternal sensitivity was significantly related to lower child abuse potential, greater knowledge of infant development, and lower intensity of
parenting daily hassles. When considered simultaneously, these three factors together predicted 10% of the variance in maternal sensitivity. This is a
relatively small effect. Thus, future research should continue to explore predictors of maternal sensitivity as it appears that other factors have
significant contributions. However, predictors that could be identified prenatally might be especially important to investigate.
No mediation was found in any of the three models tested. Instead, regression analyses suggested that knowledge of infant development, child
abuse potential, and intensity of parenting hassles are (along with maternal sensitivity) important predictors of infant social-emotional problems.
Correlational results suggested that increased infant social-emotional problems were significantly related to greater child abuse potential, lower
knowledge of infant development, higher frequency and intensity of parenting daily hassles, and lower maternal sensitivity. When considered
simultaneously, these five factors together predicted 30% of the variance in infant social-emotional problems. These results indicate that these five
factors, and especially knowledge of infant development and subjective experiences of parenting, are important factors to consider when developing
early intervention programs aimed at improving infant social-emotional functioning.