Associations Between Socioeconomic Stress, Engagement In Joint Attention, And Neurodevelopment In 24- to 36-Month- Old Infants

Associations between maternal socioeconomic stress (SE-stress) at 6 months, quality and quantity of joint attention (JA) at 24 months, and relative alpha and theta activity at rest in 24- to 36-month-old infants were examined. Data from 116 mother-infant dyads from predominantly low-income families were analyzed. Multiple hierarchical regressions indicated significant associations between SE-stress and EEG outcomes, SE-stress and JA quality, and JA quality and 24-month outcomes. Several models tested whether JA quantity/quality mediated or moderated associations between SE-stress and EEG outcomes. A significant moderation effect of JA quantity on the association between stress and theta at 36 months was found, indicating a stronger association between maternal stress and theta power at 36 months when dyads engaged in less JA during play. Overall, findings show SE-stress is associated with both infant resting brain activity and engagement in JA during play. Associations between stress and EEG outcomes vary depending on the quantity of engagement in JA.