Paid maternal leave is associated with infant brain function at 3 months of age |
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| Authors: | Natalie H Brito Denise Werchan Annie Brandes-Aitken Hirokazu Yoshikawa Ashley Greaves Maggie Zhang |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA;2. Department of Population Health, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York, USA |
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| Abstract: | The first months of life are critical for establishing neural connections relevant for social and cognitive development. Yet, the United States lacks a national policy of paid family leave during this important period of brain development. This study examined associations between paid leave and infant electroencephalography (EEG) at 3 months in a sociodemographically diverse sample of families from New York City (N = 80; 53 males; 48% Latine; data collection occurred 05/2018–12/2019). Variable-centered regression results indicate that paid leave status was related to differences in EEG power (ps < .02, R2s > .12). Convergent results from person-centered latent profile analyses demonstrate that mothers with paid leave were 7.39 times as likely to have infants with EEG profiles characterized by increased higher-Hz power (95% CI, 1.9–36.9), potentially reflecting more mature patterns of brain activity. |
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