Abstract
Childhood experiences shape later parenting behaviors; however, few studies have examined the mechanisms that explain how parenting is transmitted across generations. The present study examined direct and indirect effects of mothers' remembered emotionally responsive parenting in childhood on maternal sensitivity to infant distress via parenting-related emotion, physiology, and cognition. Participants included 299 mothers (M(age) = 29.71, SD = 5.48; 47.5% non-Hispanic White) and their infants (48.8% female). Mothers self-reported their emotionally responsive parenting in childhood, and measures of emotional, physiological, and cognitive responses to video clips of crying infants were assessed prenatally. Maternal sensitivity was observed during distress-eliciting tasks when infants were 2 and 6 months old. Covariates included maternal age, education, race, and concurrent observed infant distress. Results from the structural equation model demonstrated women's emotionally responsive parenting in childhood was significantly associated with lower negative emotion in response to infant crying but not with physiological arousal, regulation, or negative cognition about infant crying. Lower negative emotion in response to infant crying was significantly associated with lower negative cognition about infant crying, which was then significantly associated with higher maternal sensitivity to distress. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant serial indirect effect of mothers' emotionally responsive parenting in childhood on maternal sensitivity to distress via negative emotions and negative cognitions about infant crying. The findings suggest that screening pregnant women based on recalled parenting in childhood and targeting how they emotionally and cognitively respond to infant cry cues may be an effective approach to promote positive parenting during early infancy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).