A mother's touch: Preschool‐aged children are regulated by positive maternal touch

Positive maternal touch plays an important role in the development of children's physiological regulation and cognitive development in infancy, as well as the development of sociality in early childhood. However, few studies have looked beyond infancy to consider the possible continuing impact...

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Published in:Developmental psychobiology 2022-03, Vol.64 (2), p.e22243-n/a
Main Authors: Scott, Mirenna G., Smiley, Patricia A., Ahn, Ashley, Lazarus, Molly F., Borelli, Jessica L., Doan, Stacey N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Hydrocortisone
income
Male
Maternal Behavior - physiology
maternal touch
Mother-Child Relations
Mothers - psychology
physiological reactivity
preschool‐aged children
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Touch
Touch Perception
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Summary:Positive maternal touch plays an important role in the development of children's physiological regulation and cognitive development in infancy, as well as the development of sociality in early childhood. However, few studies have looked beyond infancy to consider the possible continuing impact of positive maternal touch on child stress reactivity during early childhood. A diverse community sample of mothers (N = 114, Mage = 33.52 years, SD = 5.33) and their preschool‐aged children (Mage = 41.68 months, SD = 4.67; 49.1% female) participated in the study. Basic demographics were reported by mothers. We coded maternal touch behaviors during an emotionally charged laboratory conversation task and assessed children's physiological reactivity to stressful laboratory tasks with salivary cortisol. Results reveal a significant negative association between positive maternal touch and child salivary cortisol reactivity. In addition, family income, adjusted for family size, and child sex were significantly associated with child cortisol stress reactivity. Findings are discussed in terms of persistent downregulating effects of positive maternal touch on child stress reactivity, as well as possible links of stress reactivity with family income, a proxy for economic stress, and child sex.
ISSN:0012-1630
1098-2302
DOI:10.1002/dev.22243