Adult mothers more affectionate with their infants

A new study of maternal behavior finds that more mature mothers tend to display more affection towards their infants whereas teenage mothers tend to focus on instrumental behaviors such as fixing their infant's clothes.

?While the study is still preliminary, this finding was very surprising,? says Katherine Krpan, lead author of the study and PhD student in psychology at the University of Toronto.

?We expected to see teen mothers exhibit more inappropriate behaviours towards their babies such as poking and prodding, which has been shown by previous research. Instead, they were behaving appropriately but displayed more instrumental behaviour and less affection compared to the adult moms.?

Krpan, along with her co-authors Alison Fleming, Rosemarie Coombs and Dawn Zinga from UTM and Meir Steiner from McMaster University and St. Joseph?s Healthcare, examined the maternal behaviour of 119 mothers in three age groups ? teenage mothers (15 to 18 years), young mothers (19 to 25 years) and mature mothers (26 to 40 years), all of whom had given birth within a three-month time span.

In addition to looking at age, the researchers examined how the mothers' responses related to hormonal levels and childhood experiences.

The researchers videotaped each mother interacting with her infant for 20 minutes in the comfort of her home. They were asked questions about their current mood and early childhood experiences.

The results showed that mothers who received consistent care as children were more affectionate toward their own children than those raised by several caregivers.

Cortisol levels in the mothers were also measured at three points during the course of the research. The study, published in the January issue of Hormones and Behaviour, was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.