Behavior-State Matching and Synchrony in Mother-Infant Interactions of Nondepressed Versus Depressed Dyads

Abstract

Behavior-state matching and synchrony in interactions were assessed in 48 depressed and nondepressed mother-infant dyads when the infants were 3 months old. Attentive/affective behavior states were coded for the infants and mothers on a negative to positive scale. The depressed mothers and their infants matched negative behavior states more often and positive behavior states less often than did the nondepressed dyads. The total percentage of time spent in matching behavior states was less for the depressed than for the nondepressed dyads. Cross-spectral analyses of the mothers' and infants' behavior-state time series suggested only a trend for greater coherence or synchrony in the interactions of the nondepressed dyads.