Persistent crying in early infancy: a non-trivial condition of risk for the developing mother-infant relationship

Infants between 1 and 6 months of age (mean age 3.6 months) who were referred to the Munich Interdisciplinary Research and Intervention Programme because of persistent crying and their mothers were examined and compared with an age-matched community-based control sample with no current cry problem. Three groups, referred extreme criers, referred moderate criers, and controls, were compared with regard to measures of psychosocial and organic risks, the mothers' perception of her own psychological state and infant temperament, the quality of mother-infant relationship, and intuitive parenting in mother-infant face-to-face interactions. In comparison with general-community samples of infants with persistent crying, the present clinical sample represents a biased group with particularly high levels of infant distress for long periods of time, with problems of sleep-wake organization, neuromotor immaturity, and difficult temperament. Moreover, extreme crying was associated with a cumulation of organic and psychosocial risks, including high rates of prenatal stress and anxiety, maternal psychopathology and partnership conflicts. Mothers in both referred groups scored similarly low on feelings of self-efficacy, and high on depression, anxiety, exhaustion, anger, adverse childhood memories, and marital distress. Mother-infant relationships were more often distressed or disturbed among referred dyads than among controls, and 40% as compared with 19% showed dysregulatory patterns of interactional failures in face-to-face contexts. The findings suggest that factors related to parental care did not cause persistent crying, but functioned as maintaining or exacerbating factors. Dynamic interactions between persistent crying, difficult temperament, and parenting factors which compromise maternal resources and intuitive parenting may put such families at long-term risk for both relationship and behaviour problems.     

Trajectories of externalizing behavior from age 2 to age 9: Relations with gender, temperament, ethnicity, parenting, and rater.

Trajectories of children's externalizing behavior were examined using multilevel growth curve modeling of data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. According to ratings by both mothers and caregivers/teachers when children were 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 years old, externalizing behavior declined with age. However, mothers rated children as higher in externalizing behavior than did caregivers and teachers. Higher levels of age 9 externalizing behavior were predicted by the following factors: child male gender (for caregiver/teacher reports only), infant difficult temperament (for children with harsh mothers only), harsher maternal attitude toward discipline, higher level of maternal depression (for maternal reports only), and lower level of maternal sensitivity (especially for boys). Caregivers and teachers reported higher levels of externalizing behavior in African American children than in European American children, increasingly so over time; mothers' ratings revealed the reverse. The declining slope of externalizing behavior was predicted by infant difficult temperament for mother reports only. Additional analyses suggested that the association between parenting and externalizing behavior was bidirectional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vulnerability to postpartum depression: A prospective multivariate study.

A sample of 115 primiparous women was assessed during pregnancy and the postpartum to identify the predictors and correlates of postpartum depression. The variables considered were marital adjustment, attributional style, life stress, maternal expectations for and perceptions of infant behavior, and blues symptoms. The data obtained at each assessment were submitted to principal-components analyses to identify variable clusters or constructs, which were used to predict both depressive symptom levels and a diagnosis of depression. Concurrently, symptoms and diagnosis were related to mothers' perceptions of their infants as temperamentally difficult. Prospectively, depressive symptomatology was predicted by low marital adjustment and depressed mood during pregnancy, optimistic expectations for infants, prepartum life stress, and early postpartum symptoms of anxiety and cognitive impairment. Although diagnostic status was related to a subset of these variables, results indicate that depressive symptom levels and diagnosis are not synonymous measures of the construct "postpartum depression." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal Self-Efficacy and Experimentally Manipulated Infant Difficulty Effects on Maternal Sensory Sensitivity: A Signal Detection Analysis.

The impact of differences in maternal self-efficacy and infant difficulty on mothers' sensitivity to small changes in the fundamental frequency of an audiotaped infant's cry was explored in 2 experiments. The experiments share in common experimental manipulations of infant difficulty, a laboratory derived measure of maternal efficacy (low, moderate, and high illusory control), and the use of signal detection methodology to measure maternal sensory sensitivity. In Experiment 1 (N = 72), easy and difficult infant temperament was manipulated by varying the amount of crying (i.e., frequency of cry termination) in a simulated child-care task. In Experiment 2 (N = 51), easy and difficult infant temperament was manipulated via exposure to the solvable or unsolvable pretreatment of a learned helplessness task to mirror mothers' ability to soothe a crying infant. In both experiments, only mothers with high illusory control showed reduced sensory sensitivity under the difficult infant condition compared with the easy infant condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal depressive symptomatology over the transition to parenthood: Assessing the influence of marital satisfaction and marital sex role traditionalism.

This longitudinal study examined the importance of the marital context in predicting maternal depressive symptomatology, as assessed with marital satisfaction and the endorsement of traditional sex role beliefs about the marriage, in 142 first-time mothers and their husbands or partners. Data were collected during pregnancy and at 6 weeks and 9 months infant age. Maternal and paternal reports about the marriage were assessed, and analyses were done on the way in which marital context scores interacted with earlier and concurrent levels of maternal depressive symptomatology. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that the final model explained 57% of the variance; marital context contributed 18% of the variance beyond that of earlier symptom levels in predicting mothers' depressive symptoms 9 months after the birth of the first child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregnancy problems, postpartum depression, and early mother–infant interactions.

24 women (mean age 24 yrs) who had received ultrasound examinations and psychological interviews during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy were subsequently divided into a group of 12 Ss who had reported pregnancy problems (marital difficulties and ambivalence about the child) and another group of 12 Ss who had not. Ss were then observed at 3–5 mo postpartum in interactions with their infants and were given the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Nowicki-Strickland Internal–External Control Scale for Adults, measures of mothers' and infants' temperament, and a maternal developmental expectations and childrearing attitudes scale. The mothers who had experienced pregnancy problems were more depressed, anxious, and externalizing postpartum and expressed more punitive childrearing attitudes. These depressed mothers and their infants showed less optimal interaction behaviors. Results suggest that postpartum depression can be predicted from a simple set of questions regarding the mother's negative feelings about her marriage and her expectant child during the prenatal period. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal characteristics measured prenatally are predictive of ratings of temperamental "difficulty" on the Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire.

In several recent reports, the Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire has been criticized as a measure of infant temperament. Instead, the dimensions of temperament and the diagnostic categories (i.e., "easy" vs. "difficult" temperament) derived from maternal responses to the questionnaire items have been associated with maternal demographic and personality characteristics and with maternal child-rearing attitudes assessed before the birth of the infant. In this article, results of previous research are reconsidered in light of suggestions and criticisms offered by several temperament researchers. In two new studies the revision of the Infant Temperament Questionnaire (ITQ) was used to assess infant temperament, and personality and/or attitudinal data from the mother were obtained prenatally. Results were consistent across all studies. Prenatally assessed characteristics of the mother, especially anxiety, significantly distinguish mothers whose responses to the ITQ items result in diagnosis of temperamental difficulty for their infants from those whose infants are diagnosed as temperamentally easy during the first 8 months of life. The data suggest that both the original and revised Carey infant temperament scales fail discriminant validity tests and are therefore of only limited use in identifying temperamentally difficult infants. (67 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' Personality and Infants' Temperament as Contributors to Their Emerging Relationship.

The authors examined the contributions of infant's temperament and parent's personality to their relationship. In Study 1, 102 infants, mothers, and fathers were studied when infants were 7 months; in Study 2, 112 infants and mothers were followed from 9 to 45 months. Infants' temperament (joy, fear, anger, and attention) was observed in standard temperament paradigms. Parents' personality measures encompassed the Big Five traits and Empathy in Study 1 and Mistrust, Manipulativeness, Aggression, Dependency, Entitlement, and Workaholism in Study 2. Parent-child relationship (shared positive affect and parental responsiveness in Studies 1 and 2 and parental tracking of the infant in Study 1) was observed in naturalistic contexts. In Study 1, mothers' Neuroticism, Empathy, and Conscientiousness and fathers' Agreeableness, Openness, and Extraversion related to the relationship with the infants. All measures of infant temperament also related to the emerging relationship. In Study 2, maternal Mistrust, Manipulativeness, Dependency, and Workaholism predicted the relationship with the child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' emotional reactions to crying pose risk for subsequent attachment insecurity.

Links between maternal emotional reactions to crying (anger and anxiety) and infant attachment security were examined in 119 mother-infant dyads. Mothers rated the intensity of their emotional responses to videotapes of crying infants prenatally. Maternal sensitivity was observed during infant exposure to emotion eliciting tasks at six and 16 months postpartum and mothers' self-reported on their responses to their infant's negative emotions at 16 months. Infant attachment security was assessed using the Strange Situation at 16 months postpartum. Results indicated that observed sensitivity was associated with fewer avoidant and resistant behaviors and prenatal maternal anger and anxiety in response to infant crying predicted the developing attachment system independent of observed sensitivity, but in different ways. Maternal anxiety in response to crying was positively associated with resistant behaviors as a direct effect. Maternal anger in response to crying was associated with avoidant behaviors indirectly through mothers' self-reported punitive and minimizing responses to infant distress at 16 months. Theoretical, applied, and methodological implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure and dimensions of maternal perceptions of Japanese infant temperament.

Using a new temperament inventory (the Japanese Temperament Questionnaire) developed from the free response of Japanese mothers asked to describe their infants' behavioral styles, mothers (N?=?469) rated behaviors observed in their 1-, 3-, or 6-mo-old baby. The ratings were factor analyzed and the dimensions generated by the factor analysis were labeled by an independent maternal group. Results support the conclusions that mothers' perceptions of infant temperament were both pancultural and culture specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Caretaking behaviors by adolescent children of mothers with and without a history of depression.

In a sample of 72 mothers with and without a history of depression and their adolescent children, maternal depression history, current maternal depressive symptoms, intrusive and withdrawn parental behavior, and adolescent caretaking behaviors were examined as predictors of adjustment in these youth. Two types of caretaking behaviors were examined: emotional (e.g., caring for a parent's emotional distress) and instrumental (e.g., looking after younger siblings). Although adolescents of mothers with and without a history of depression were comparable on levels of both types of caretaking, caretaking was associated with adolescents' reports of anxiety–depression and mothers' reports of social competence only for adolescents of mothers with a history of depression. Moreover, regression models showed that among children of mothers with a history of depression, emotional, but not instrumental, caretaking was related to adolescents' anxiety–depression symptoms and social competence after controlling for current parental depressive symptoms and stressful parenting behaviors. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual model for maternal behavior among polydrug cocaine-using mothers: The role of postnatal cocaine use and maternal depression.

This study examined the association between maternal cocaine use and maternal behavior and tested a conceptual model predicting maternal insensitivity during mother-infant interactions. Participants included 130 mother-infant dyads (68 cocaine-exposed and 62 noncocaine-exposed) who were recruited after birth and assessed at 4-8 weeks of infant age. Results of model testing indicated that when the effects of prenatal cocaine use were examined in the context of polydrug use, maternal psychopathology, maternal childhood history, and infant birth weight, only postnatal cocaine use and maternal depression/anxiety were unique predictors of maternal insensitivity during mother-infant interactions. (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)     

Developmental trajectories of anxiety symptoms among boys across early and middle childhood.

This study examined the developmental trajectory of anxiety symptoms among 290 boys and evaluated the association of trajectory groups with child and family risk factors and children's internalizing disorders. Anxiety symptoms were measured using maternal reports from the Child Behavior Checklist (T. M. Achenbach, 1991, 1992) for boys between the ages of 2 and 10. A group-based trajectory analysis revealed 4 distinct trajectories in the development of anxiety symptoms: low, low increasing, high declining, and high-increasing trajectories. Child shy temperament tended to differentiate between initial high and low groups, whereas maternal negative control and maternal depression were associated with increasing trajectories and elevated anxiety symptoms in middle childhood. Follow-up analyses to diagnoses of preadolescent depression and/or anxiety disorders revealed different patterns on the basis of trajectory group membership. The results are discussed in terms of the mechanisms of risk factors and implications for early identification and prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment, maternal sensitivity, and infant temperament during the first year of life.

Families were examined at 6, 9, and 12 months in an intensive longitudinal study that included Home Behavior Attachment Q-sorts, laboratory Strange Situation assessment, home observations of infant temperament behavior on 24 occasions, observations of maternal parenting sensitivity on 12 occasions, and maternal reports of infant temperament. Maternal sensitivity was modestly related to Q-sort security and unrelated to Strange Situation classification. In contrast, observed infant temperament was more strongly related to both maternal sensitivity and Q-sort security. The relation between home and laboratory assessment of attachment security, which was at the level found in prior work ( e.g., B. E. Vaughn & E. Waters, 1990 ), remained after the effects of observed and mother reported infant temperament were partialed. Our data highlight the need to consider other factors besides maternal sensitivity in the explanation of variability in the attachment status of l-year-olds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal emotional availability at bedtime predicts infant sleep quality.

In the present study, linkages were examined between parental behaviors (maternal practices) at bedtime, emotional availability of mothering at bedtime, and infant sleep quality in a cross-sectional sample of families with infants between 1 and 24 months of age. Observations of maternal behaviors and maternal emotional availability were conducted independently by 2 sets of trained observers who were blind to data being coded by the other. With infant age statistically controlled, specific maternal behaviors at bedtime were unrelated to infant sleep disruptions at bedtime and during the night. By contrast, emotional availability of mothering at bedtime was significantly and inversely related to infant sleep disruption, and, although these links were stronger for younger infants, they were significant for older infants as well. Maternal emotional availability was also inversely linked with mothers' ratings of whether their infants had sleep difficulties. These findings demonstrate that parents' emotional availability at bedtimes may be as important, if not more important, than bedtime practices in predicting infant sleep quality. Results support the theoretical premise that parents' emotional availability to children in sleep contexts promotes feelings of safety and security and, as a result, better-regulated child sleep. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of family subsystems to adolescent depression: Implementing a new family assessment strategy.

A multitrait-multimethod (or more precisely, a multidyad-multiperspective) approach to family assessment is used to investigate the relation of conflict, cohesion, and expressiveness in family subsystems to depression in a sample of 107 high school students. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling revealed that (1) mothers' reports tended to be more reliable and adolescents' reports tended to be less reliable than others; (2) substantial differences existed between family dyads, thus calling into question the utility of global family constructs; (3) effects of marital conflict and cohesion on adolescent depression were entirely mediated by the parent–adolescent relationships; (4) father–adolescent conflict and cohesion were more strongly related to adolescent depression than were mother–adolescent conflict and cohesion; and (5) expressiveness was unrelated to adolescent depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital conflict, gender, and children's appraisals and coping efficacy as mediators of child adjustment.

The role of children's perceptions and appraisals in the impact of marital conflict was examined for 51 9- to 12-yr-olds from intact families. Gender differences were found in the cognitions and coping processes related to marital conflict and child adjustment. Appraisals of coping efficacy and the threat posed by marital conflict predicted adjustment in boys, whereas self-blame was linked with internalizing problems for girls. The appraised destructiveness of conflict was significantly related to perceived threat in boys and self-blame in girls. Boys appeared more attuned or, alternatively, less shielded from marital conflict, as reflected by the higher correlations with mothers' reports of marital conflict for boys than for girls. The significance of boys' appraisals to adjustment was suggested by the fact that boys' perceptions were better predictors of adjustment outcomes than were mothers' reports. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality change during the transition to parenthood: The role of perceived infant temperament.

Examined the effects of 70 parents' (mean age 28.69 yrs) perceptions of infant temperament on their own personality during the transition to parenthood. Two assessments were made about 16 wks apart for 22 primiparous couples (mean time prebirth 6.5 wks and mean time postpartum 10.5 wks) and for 13 childless couples. Ss were administered both global/trait and situation-specific/state measures, including the Eight-State Questionnaire and the Perception of Baby Temperament Instrument, in order to assess efficacy expectations, personal control, anxiety, and depression. New parents rated their infant's temperament along 4 dimensions: activity, rhythmicity, adaptability, and positive mood. The parent group showed greater change than the nonparent group on a number of measures. New parents who perceived their infant as having an easier temperament experienced more positive change, whereas new parents who perceived their infant as more difficult experienced more negative change, especially in personal control. Differential results were found for the 4 temperament dimensions, with adaptability and positive mood most frequently related to personality changes. The findings also indicate that fathers showed personality change in relation to their infant's temperament more often than mothers. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of infant-related stressors in postpartum depression.

This study examined infant-related stressors as well as life event stress and social support as predictors of postpartum depression. A sample of 25 depressed and 24 nondepressed, married, middle-class primiparous women was selected according to Research Diagnostic Criteria at between 6 and 8 weeks postpartum. These subjects were assessed on measures of life event stress, neonatal risk status, infant temperament, and social support. Contrary to expectation, life event stress and social support were not related to postpartum depression. Infant-related stressors (medical complications and maternal perceptions of infant temperament) discriminated between the two groups and accounted for roughly 17% of the variance in severity of depression. These data underscore the importance of infant-related stressors in postpartum depression and may have clinical implications for the developing mother–infant relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)