Infant, maternal, and familial predictors and correlates of regulatory problems in early infancy: The differential role of infant temperament and maternal anxiety and depression

Excessive infant crying and feeding problems may be related to interactional deficits of anxious mothers who perceive their infants as “difficult” during soothing or feeding situations. Sleeping problems may be transmitted already during pregnancy by an altered sleep-wake-rhythm of mothers with a history of depression or by a genetic predisposition. Therapeutic interventions should focus on maternal anxiety and depression, behavior management techniques to cope with difficult situations with “fussy” infants and potential protective factors (e.g. favorable maternal emotion regulation) to address crying, feeding and sleeping problems.