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Abstract
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Aims. The aim of this study was to assess the moderating role of context processing in the association between maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and changes in maternal sensitivity (MS) in reaction to mother-toddler separation. Methods. Thirty mothers and their toddlers (1-3 y.o.) participated in the study. Mothers reported their current PTSS and performed a context-encoding and -memory task in which they had to recognize contexts that they had previously seen paired with neutral or angry faces. MS was assessed during free mother-child play as well as following a 3-minute separation and was coded during these two interactions using the CARE-Index. A ratio score was calculated to assess changes in MS to the separation. Results and Conclusions. The recognition of contexts previously associated with angry faces did not moderate the relationship between maternal PTSS and the changes in MS. However, the recognition of contexts previously associated with neutral faces did. Specifically, more PTSS was related to greater improvement of sensitivity for mothers who had better recognition of such contexts. This may be due to the ambiguous nature of neutral faces activating hypervigilance symptoms among individuals with PTSS who tend to focus on this type of stimulus more closely; while angry faces are more clearly perceived as threats, requiring less contextual analysis to comprehend their meaning. These findings, which will be interpreted more deeply during the presentation, raise new questions about processing of ambiguous affective stimuli among mothers suffering from PTSS that may open new avenues for early intervention.
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