Skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) promotes self-regulation in premature infants: Sleep-wake cyclicity, arousal modulation, and sustained exploration.

The effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care, or KC) on self-regulatory processes of premature infants was studied. Seventy-three infants who received KC were compared with 73 infants matched for birth weight, gestational age, medical risk, and family demographics. State organization was measured in 10-s epochs over 4 hr before KC and again at term. No differences between KC infants and controls were found before KC. At term, KC infants showed more mature state distribution and more organized sleep-wake cyclicity. At 3 months, KC infants had higher thresholds to negative emotionality and more efficient arousal modulation while attending to increasingly complex stimuli. At 6 months, longer duration of and shorter latencies to mother-infant shared attention and infant sustained exploration in a toy session were found for KC infants. The results underscore the importance of maternal body contact for infants' physiological, emotional, and cognitive regulatory capacities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family functioning and interactive patterns in the context of infant psychopathology.

Family functioning and mother–infant relational patterns were examined in 38 clinic-referred infants and 34 matched non-referred infants. Referred infants were diagnosed with the Diagnostic Classification for Zero to Three. On the family level, referred families showed significantly lower family functioning in all domains of emotional and instrumental communication, regardless of the specific infant's diagnoses. On the dyadic level, referred mothers were more intrusive and their infants were more withdrawn during dyadic interactions. Clinic-referred mothers reported higher levels of phobia and depression. Global family functioning was predicted by the infant's clinical status, maternal intrusiveness, and maternal psychopathology. Infant mental health clinicians need to address both family level and dyadic level of functioning, regardless of the reason for the infant's referral. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant and Maternal Behaviors Regulate Infant Reactivity to Novelty at 6 Months.

Three issues were investigated: (a) the regulatory effects of presumed infant and maternal regulation behaviors on infant distress to novelty at 6 months, (b) stability of infant regulatory effects across contexts that vary in maternal involvement, and (c) associations and temporal dynamics between infant and maternal regulation behaviors. Participants were 87 low-risk infants and their mothers, observed at 6 months postpartum during infant exposure to novel toys. Contingencies derived from sequential analyses demonstrate that, by 6 months, some infants reduce their own distress to novelty by looking away from the novel toy or self-soothing, maternal engagement and support have comparable effects, and certain infant and maternal behaviors co-occur. Moreover, infants whose mothers engaged contingently when they looked away from the novel toy expressed less distress than comparable infants whose mothers did not. These findings implicate both infants and mothers in the development of emotion regulation during the infant's first year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent-Infant Synchrony and the Social-Emotional Development of Triplets.

To study the social-emotional development of triplets, 23 sets of triplets, 23 sets of twins, and 23 singleton infants (N=138) were followed from birth to 2 years. Maternal depression and social support were assessed in the postpartum period, mother-infant and father-infant interaction and the home environment were observed at 3 months, a separation-reunion episode and a maternal interview were conducted at 12 months, and infant behavior problems were evaluated at 24 months. Lower parent-infant synchrony was observed for triplets. Triplets showed less distress during maternal separation and less approach at reunion. Mothers reported lower adjustment and differentiation among siblings for triplets than for twins. Higher internalizing problems were reported for triplets, and the triplet with intrauterine growth retardation showed the poorest outcomes. Behavior problems were predicted by medical risk, maternal depression, parent-infant synchrony, infant approach, and mother adjustment. Discussion focuses on developmental risk when the exclusivity of the parent-infant relationship is compromised. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contextual basis of maternal perceptions of infant temperament.

To elucidate the differential saliency of infant emotions to mothers across interactive contexts, the authors examined the moderating role of observed infant affect during interactions with mother in the relation between maternal and laboratory-based ratings of infant temperament. Fifty-nine developmentally healthy 9-month-old infants were judged for degree of infant positive, infant negative, and mother-infant mutually positive affect during the course of object-focused and routine home-based activities with mother. Mothers completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (M. K. Rothbart, 1981), and infants underwent the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (H. H. Goldsmith & M. K. Rothbart, 1999). Results revealed that maternal and observer ratings of infant negativity converged when infants manifested high degrees of negative affect during routine home-based activities. Maternal and observer ratings of infant positivity converged when infants experienced low mutually positive affect during play. These findings support the hypothesis that maternal perceptions are based on mothers' experiences with their infants but that the salience of infant temperamental characteristics to mothers varies across emotion and interactive context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coparenting, family process, and family structure: Implications for preschoolers' externalizing behavior problems.

This study examined how aspects of triadic-level family interaction relate to preschoolers' externalizing behavior problems. The quality of coparenting, family affective processes, and family structure was assessed at 3 years, and mothers, fathers, and teachers reported on children's externalizing behavior problems at 4 years. High levels of supportive coparenting and more adaptive family structures were associated with fewer externalizing behavior problems, whereas high levels of undermining coparenting and negative affect and less adaptive family structures were associated with more externalizing behavior problems. Moreover, the quality of family affectivity and family structure interacted with coparenting and appeared to influence its effects on the family. This study highlights the importance of focusing on triadic, family-level variables for understanding children's behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural perspective on work and family: Dual-earner Israeli Jewish and Arab families at the transition to parenthood.

Parents' functioning in the work and family roles was examined in traditional and modern societies at the transition to parenthood. Participants were 162 dual-earner Israeli Jewish and Arab families, who were interviewed and observed in dyadic and triadic interactions. Arab parents reported better adaptation to work following the first childbirth, and the triadic family process in Jewish families was more cohesive. Child care arrangements, part-time employment, easier infant temperament, and lower separation anxiety predicted maternal readaptation to work. Traditional sex-role attitudes, career centrality, full-time employment, and marital satisfaction predicted fathers' work adaptation. Parents' family focus, marital satisfaction, and responsive parenting correlated with a cohesive triadic process. Discussion considered the impact of nuclear- and extended-family living arrangements on the emerging work and family roles in young couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Regulatory Effects of Infant Nondistress Vocalization on Maternal Behavior.

This study investigated the social regulatory function of infant nondistress vocalization in modulating maternal response. Thirteen infants and their mothers were observed weekly in a face-to-face interaction situation from 4 to 24 weeks. After the occurrences and the speech quality of infant nondistress vocalization were identified, maternal contingent responses to these vocalizations were also coded. Each responsive action was further classified by the change processes involved. Results showed that it was the occurrence of infant nondistress vocalization rather than its speech quality that regulated maternal verbal response concurrently and that infant nondistress vocalization was more likely to be synchronized with maternal facial expression and touch than with head movements. Developmentally, significant individual differences were found in the linear growth patterns of overall maternal response and within the individual modalities when responding to speechlike vocalizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smile intensity and warm touch as thin slices of child and family affective style.

The authors investigate the claim that thin slices of expressive behavior serve as reliable indicators of affective style in children and their families. Using photographs, the authors assessed smile intensity and tactile contact in kindergartners and their families. Consistent with claims that smiling and touch communicate positive emotion, measures of children’s smile intensity and warm family touch were correlated across classroom and family contexts. Consistent with studies of parent–child personality associations, parents’ warm smiles and negative facial displays resembled those of their children. Finally, consistent with observed relations between adult personality and positive display, children’s smiling behavior in the classroom correlated with parent ratings of children’s Extraversion/Surgency. These results highlight the utility of thin slices of smiling and touch as indicators of child and family affective style. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Mother-Infant Relationship in Single, Cohabiting, and Married Families: A Case for Marriage?

Single-mother, cohabiting 2-parent, and married 2-parent families with infants were compared on maternal and infant behavior, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores, and infant's security of attachment. Married mothers and their infants demonstrated more positive behavior and received higher HOME scores when the infant was 6 and 15 months old than did their cohabiting and single counterparts. Married families were also better off than single and cohabiting families on several demographic, parent personality, financial, and social context measures. Single and cohabiting families were similar across most measures. Selection variables (maternal age, ethnic group, and education) explained much, but not all, of the family structure differences in the mother-infant relationship and the HOME. Maternal psychological adjustment, attitudes about child rearing, income, and social support explained little of the family structure variation, suggesting that characteristics that preceded marriage and conception were important determinants of family structure differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of premature birth on the development of the infant in the family.

This article describes effects of the birth of a premature infant on the family system and focuses on how problems associated with premature birth such as infant illness, hospitalization, and immaturity can place the family at risk. New data are presented describing differences in the behavior of preterm and full-term infants and in the feelings of mothers toward their infants at 12 months. Mothers of preterm infants reported feeling overprotective toward them, were less willing to leave them with sitters, and believed that their birth had an initially negative effect on the family. Preterm infants showed less exploratory play and stayed closer to their mothers during free play. The fact that these differences are not reflected in patterns of attachment, a key measure of the mother–infant relationship, is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal self-efficacy, knowledge of infant development, sensory sensitivity, and maternal response during interaction.

When their infants were 6 months of age, mothers were assessed for self-efficacy (low, moderate, and high illusory control) and knowledge of infant development to determine their impact on mothers' behavioral sensitivity and affect during a feeding task at 9 months (N=70). Mothers' sensory sensitivity to digital images of infants' negative and positive expressions assessed in a signal detection task at 6 months was hypothesized to mediate this relation. Mothers with moderate illusory control exhibited greatest behavioral sensitivity and positive affect. Low knowledge was associated with reduced sensitivity for mothers with low illusory control only. When viewing the negative expression, mothers with moderate illusory control and high knowledge exhibited greatest sensory sensitivity, and mothers with high illusory control and moderate/high knowledge were least sensitive. Although sensory sensitivity was not a mediating variable, its relation to both illusory control and subsequent maternal measures during feeding was informative. Although greater sensory sensitivity predicted more sensitive behavior and more positive affect, only for maternal affect was the relation independent of illusion of control effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relations of maternal social support and family structure with maternal responsiveness and child outcomes among African American families.

The social support networks and family structure of 62 low-income African American mothers were related to proximal and distal measures of the mother's parenting style and to the children's social and cognitive development. Women with larger support networks tended to be more responsive in interactions with their infants and to provide more stimulating home environments than mothers with smaller social networks. Activity level was the only infant outcome significantly related to social support. Family structure was not associated with either maternal or child outcomes in these analyses. These results support a systems model of parenting behavior and child development by indicating that maternal caregiving may be positively influenced by supportive social networks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternally modulated infant separation responses are regulated by D2-family dopamine receptors.

Although dopamine is necessary for mammalian adult pair-bond formation and maternal behavior, its function in infant social behavior and attachment has been less thoroughly explored. The vocalization rate of an isolated rat pup is influenced by recent social contact. Interactions with the dam potentiate vocalization rate. Interactions with littermates or adult males do not. Systemic administration of the D2-family agonist quinpirole specifically blocked maternal potentiation at doses that did not alter vocalization rate in an isolation prior to dam contact. This result was not explained by quinpirole's effects on body temperature or locomotion. The results are consistent with a role for dopamine in infant social behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sleeping position, orientation, and proximity in bedsharing infants and mothers

The impact of mother-infant bedsharing on infant sleeping position, orientation, and proximity to the mother was assessed in 12 breast-feeding Latino mother-infant pairs. Six routinely bedsharing and six routinely solitary-sleeping pairs slept 3 nights in the sleep laboratory. The first night matched the routine home condition, followed by 1 bedsharing night and 1 solitary-sleeping night in random order. During bedsharing infants were never placed prone, regardless of their routine sleeping condition. On the bedsharing night, mothers and infants spent most of the night oriented toward each other; seven of 12 infants remained oriented toward their mothers the entire night. While sleeping in a face-to-face orientation, most pairs slept most of the time less than 30 cm apart with appreciable amounts of time at less than 20 cm. This orientation and proximity should facilitate sensory exchanges between mother and infant which, we hypothesize, influence the infant's sleep physiology and nocturnal behavior. We conclude that bedsharing minimizes the use of the prone infant sleeping position, probably in part to facilitate breast feeding. By promoting nonprone positions, bedsharing may protect some infants from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), since prone sleeping is a known risk factor for SIDS. The large percentage of the night that mothers spent oriented toward their infants suggests that a higher degree of maternal vigilance may also result from bedsharing.     

La socialisation des émotions chez le nourrisson: Le r?le du langage maternel.

Investigated the impact of maternal language on infant emotional development during the 1st year. 41 mother-infant dyads participated in 4 episodes of face to face interaction when infants were 1, 2, 6, and 9 mo of age. Analyses of mothers' language indicate that a large proportion of their utterances pertained to infant emotional expressions or states. The referents of maternal language were related to infant behavior at each age level. However, only a few significant correlations were found between mothers' language at 1 and 2 mo and infant emotional expressions at 6 and 9 mo. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonexpert ratings of family and parent–child interaction.

Observational methods benefit the study of family process, but many expert rating systems are costly and time-consuming. This study examined the utility of using small groups of eight to ten nonexperts to rate family conflict and maternal sensitivity. Videotaped triadic interactions of 39 families were drawn from Lindahl (1998), and 22 mother–toddler free-play interactions were drawn from Baker, Messinger, Lyons, and Grantz (2010). Sixty undergraduates rated interactions from these samples in real time using computer-assisted technology. Nonexpert ratings of family conflict were reliable, demonstrated high concordance with expert ratings, and replicated a key finding from Lindahl (1998). Nonexpert ratings of maternal sensitivity replicated a relevant finding from Baker, Messinger et al. (2010). Concordance was lower for maternal sensitivity, however, because of the tendency of nonexperts to overattend to sensitive structuring compared with emotional supportiveness. A second study indicated that as few as six nonexperts could effectively rate maternal sensitive structuring, but that nonexperts were unable to accurately rate emotional supportiveness. Implications for research methods and for our understanding of these important family constructs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mother– and father–infant attachment: Families in context.

This study examined associations among family type (single-earner vs. dual-earner families of sons and daughters), parent sensitivity, marital adjustment, infant emotionality, infant–mother attachment, and infant–father attachment. Participants included 77 families who were observed in the laboratory at 4, 12, and 13 months. Similar to several previous studies, results indicated that boys from dual-earner families were more likely to have insecure attachments with their fathers but not with their mothers. In addition, fathers of sons in dual-earner households were less sensitive at 4 months and reported less affection in their marriages than did fathers in several other groups; sons were more negatively emotional toward mothers whereas infants in dual-earner families were more negatively emotional toward fathers during still-face at 4 months. Finally, family type moderated the effect that maternal sensitivity had on infant–mother attachment and the effect that infant negative emotionality had on infant–father attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postpartum adjustment in first-time mothers: Relations between mood, maternal attitudes, and mother-infant interactions.

Self-report data were obtained from a middle-income sample of first-time mothers during pregnancy and at 1 and 3 months postpartum, and behavioral interactions between the mother and her infant were observed at 3 days and 1, 3, and 16 months postpartum. The main analyses revealed that pregnancy and postpartum mood states together explain a high proportion of the variance in mothers' maternal attitudes during the postpartum, although postpartum mood has the greater predictive power. Additionally, prior experience with children is significantly associated with maternal attitudes at all time points. Moreover, at both 1 and 3 months postpartum, depressed mothers, relative to nondepressed mothers, exhibit fewer affectionate contact behaviors toward their infants and are less likely to respond to infant vocalizations by vocalizing themselves, and, at 3 months, a higher proportion of the depressed mothers had started bottle-feeding their infants. Finally, differences in maternal behavior between depressed and nondepressed mothers during the early postpartum period were no longer apparent at 16 months postpartum. The implications of these findings are discussed with particular reference to the interrelations between prior child-care experience, mood, and maternal responsiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal adjustment and infant outcome in medically defined high-risk pregnancy.

Biological and psychosocial risk factors in high-risk pregnancy and their relation to infant developmental outcomes were explored in a sample of 153 pregnant Israeli women who had pregestational diabetes melfitus, gestational diabetes mellitus, or were nondiabetic. Questionnaires on coping and resources as well as well-being and distress during the 2nd trimester were administered. Estimates of maternal fuels (HbAlc and fructosamine) were obtained throughout pregnancy. At 1 year, offspring were administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and mother-infant interactions were observed. Infants of mothers in the diabetic groups scored lower on the Bayley Scales and revealed fewer positive and more negative behaviors than did infants of mothers in the nondiabetic group. Infant outcomes in the maternal diabetic groups were associated with maternal metabolism. Maternal coping and resources differed in the 3 groups and differentially predicted infant development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)