Linguistic markers of emotion in mothers of sickle cell carrier infants: What are they and what do they mean?

ObjectiveThe objectives were to examine emotion-related language in mothers’ narratives about newborn screening, and test the correlations between language and self-reported emotion and behavior.MethodsTranscripts of interviews with mothers of infant sickle cell carriers were analyzed with word count software for the prevalence of emotion-related words in narratives about newborn screening. Word counts were compared to population norms for spoken language using one-sample t-tests. Anxiety-related words were correlated with self-reported anxiety and avoidance of genetic testing.Results187 transcripts were analyzed, in which there was a higher percentage of anxiety words (m = .38%) than population norms (m = .18%), t(186) = 10.59, p < .001, CI = .16–.23. Anxiety-related word use was positively correlated with self-reported previous anxiety, rs(185) = .24, p = .001. Self-reported previous anxiety, but not word use, was correlated with mothers’ avoidance of undergoing genetic testing themselves rs(152) = .25, p = .002.ConclusionMothers of sickle cell carrier infants reported anxiety upon learning their child's condition. Anxiety-related words in maternal narratives were correlated with their reports of past, but not present, emotions.Practice implicationsResearchers and clinicians should use caution in assuming that word choices reflect state emotions. Self-report methods may be preferable for predicting behavioral outcomes.