Dimensions of Subjectivity in Parents' Ratings of Infant Temperament

This study was designed to further define the subjective component in parental reports of infant temperament. 131 mothers and 127 fathers completed the ICQ twice during pregnancy and at 3.5 months postpartum. In addition, motivation for the pregnancy was assessed early in pregnancy, and depression and anxiety were measured at each point in the study. Principal components analyses of the data collected during pregnancy yielded anxiety/depression and pregnancy motivation components for both mothers and fathers. The ICQ scores formed 2 components in the mothers' analysis and 1 in the fathers'. Subsequent correlation and regression analyses examining the relation between the pregnancy components and the postpartum scores revealed that the best predictors of postpartum ICQ scores were the postpartum ICQ components, although the anxiety/depression component was also a significant correlate. The results are discussed in terms of the role parents' prepartum expectancies might play in their perceptions of and interactions with their infants.