Parental protection in fathers with negative caregiving experiences: Heightened amygdala reactivity to infant threatening situations.
J Neuroendocrinol
; 35(7): e13230, 2023 07.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36648172
ABSTRACT
Parental protection is an important, yet understudied, aspect of parenting behavior. Predictors of the quality of protection and potential underlying neural mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, we examined whether negative caregiving experiences in fathers' own childhood are related to protective behavior and neural reactivity to infant threatening situations. Paternal protective behavior was measured with self- and partner-reported protective behavior and behavioral observations in an experimental set-up (auditory startling task) in 121 first-time fathers (mean age child = 19.35 weeks, SD = 11.27). Neural activation during exposure to videos of infant-threatening (vs. neutral) situations was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found a significant and positive association between negative caregiving experiences and amygdala reactivity to infant-threatening situations. A history of negative caregiving experiences was not significantly related to reported or observed paternal protective behavior. Our findings suggest that fathers with negative caregiving experiences show emotional hyperreactivity to cues of infant threat.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Padres
/
Padre
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Neuroendocrinol
Asunto de la revista:
ENDOCRINOLOGIA
/
NEUROLOGIA
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article