Roles of living arrangements and grandmother social support in adolescent mothering and infant attachment.

Examined the roles of social support from adolescents' mothers and living arrangements in 197 adolescent mother–infant pairs. Major observational measures were teaching interactions, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores, and infant attachment security. Adolescents living with neither mothers nor partners had better teaching interactions but lower HOME scores compared with those living with mothers. High mother support was associated with more secure infant attachment only for those adolescents living with partners. When mother support was low, adolescents living alone had more secure infants than adolescents living with partners. Although parenting scores were related to differences in demographics and personal resources (intelligence and social skills), these did not appear to be responsible for the major findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Birth-order and social-experience differences in infant–peer interaction.

Compared peer social interaction of 32 firstborn (F) and 32 second-born infants who have a preschool-aged sibling. F Ss were more likely to interact with one another, and these interactions involved longer turn-taking sequences. F Ss were also more likely to approach, gesture, use objects socially, and engage in agonistic acts with one another. In addition, differences associated with exposure to other children were found in social interaction. F Ss who were frequently around preschoolers were less likely to interact with a peer than were F Ss who were rarely with preschoolers. Frequent exposure to toddlers was also related to fewer and briefer interactions with peers. The effect of experience with infant peers, however, was in the opposite direction: Ss with age-mate experience were more successful at initiating interactions with infant peers than were their less experienced counterparts. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vulnerability and mother-child interactions. Illustration of the necessary but insufficient conditions for the efficacy of early intervention

The present study evaluates the impact of an early stimulation program for 24 mother-infant (0-6 months) vulnerable dyads from the Montérégie region. These dyads participate in a series of ten stimulation workshops. Twenty four other dyads form a witness group. The program's major objective aims at developing positive interactions for the mother and stimulative interactions for the infant. The hypotheses state that at the end of the program, the mother from the intervention group will feel less isolated, possess a higher level of knowledge on the development of their child, perceive more positively the temperament of their child and have behaviors that are more contingent to their infants as well as more functional to this development. The two first hypotheses are not confirmed. However, at the end of the program, the mothers of the intervention group perceive the temperament of their child as foreseeable. Also, they imitate more frequently the verbal and facial behaviors of their infant and emit more vocalizations when they are interacting with the child. The discussion of results bears on the importance of modifying conditions in which the parent-child interactions are held to prevent deficits in the development of the children.     

Same-sex and opposite-sex best friend interactions among high school juniors and seniors

Eighteen adolescents were videotaped during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions in the eleventh and twelfth grades. In both grades, females felt more comfortable during same-sex interactions than during opposite-sex interactions, and they rated their same-sex partners more positively than did males. Females in both grades and males in eleventh grade showed more peer intimacy than did males in twelfth grade. Eleventh-grade females showed the most playful behaviors (the most engaged state). More synchrony (matching of behavior) was found for the animated state in the twelfth grade as compared with the eleventh grade.     

Primary socialization theory: the etiology of drug use and deviance. I

The fundamental theorem of primary socialization theory is that normative and deviant behaviors are learned social behaviors, products of the interaction of social, psychological, and cultural characteristics, and that norms for social behaviors, including drug use, are learned predominantly in the context of interactions with the primary socialization sources. During adolescence, learning of social behaviors is frequently dominated by interactions with peer clusters. There are a number of additional postulates: 1) The strength of the bonds between the youth and the primary socialization sources is a major factor in determining how effectively norms are transmitted. 2) Any socialization link can transmit deviant norms, but healthy family and school systems are more likely to transmit prosocial norms. 3) Peer clusters can transmit either prosocial or deviant norms, but the major source of deviant norms is usually peer clusters. 4) Weak family/child and/ or school/child bonds increase the chances that the youth will bond with a deviant peer cluster and will engage in deviant behaviors. 5) Weak peer bonds can also ultimately increase the changes of bonding with deviant peers. Primary socialization theory is consistent with current research, has strong implications for improving prevention and treatment, and suggests specific hypotheses for further research.     

Short- and long-term effects of repetitive mother–infant separations on social development in rhesus monkeys.

Rhesus monkey mother–infant dyads were each subjected to 16 4-day physical separations between the infants' 3rd and 9th mo of life. Infants displayed protest behavior following each separation but only minimal signs of despair. Their protest diminished somewhat over repeated separations. The mothers' separation reactions were considerably milder (and changed little) over repeated separations. The separations appeared to retard the development of normal mother–infant relationsips: Relative to nonseparated control dyads, separated infants displayed excessive levels of infantile behaviors, although their mothers did not differ from control mothers in levels of any behavior. Near the end of their 1st yr, all infants were permanently separated from their mothers and housed as peer groups. Over the next 30 wks during peer housing, few behavioral differences emerged between previously separated and control Ss. However, when exposed to their mothers during preference tests, previously separated Ss seemed to avoid their mothers in sharp contrast to the mother-seeking activity displayed by control infants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between smile type and play type during parent-infant play.

This study examined the relationship between smile type and play type during parent–infant interactions in the home. Thirty-six mother–infant and father–infant dyads were videotaped playing for 10 min. Smile type (basic, Duchenne, and duplay smiles) and play type (object, physical, vocal, and book reading) were coded. Results of loglinear analysis indicated that different types of smiles occur during different types of play more often than expected if distributed equally. In addition, different smile-type and play-type patterns occurred for father–infant dyads compared with mother–infant dyads. Qualitative analyses were used to generate hypotheses about the reasons why different types of smiles occurred during various play activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal Regulation of Infant Reactivity From 2 to 6 Months.

Previous research has investigated the effect of maternal soothing behaviors on reducing infant reactivity but not the differential effects of specific maternal behaviors on infant stress responses. The present study investigated maternal regulation of 2- and 6-month-olds' responses to an inoculation and found a significant decline with age in both the intensity and duration of infants' crying. Maternal affection and touching decreased from 2 to 6 months, whereas maternal vocalizing and distraction behaviors increased. At both ages, the combination of maternal holding/rocking and vocalizing was associated with decreases in all levels of infant reactivity. Neither strategy alone, however, was found to be effective. Feeding/ pacifying behaviors were effective only when initial distress was at a low or moderate level, which suggests that the effectiveness of maternal regulatory behaviors may depend on the intensity of infants' crying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

HIV prevention among drug users: Outcome of a network-oriented peer outreach intervention.

A network-oriented HIV prevention intervention based on social identity theory and peer outreach was implemented for HIV positive and negative drug users. A community sample of 250 were randomly assigned to an equal-attention control condition or a multisession, small-group experimental condition, which encouraged peer outreach; 94% of participants were African American and 66% used cocaine or opiates. At follow-up, 92% of participants returned, and experimental compared with control group participants were 3 times more likely to report reduction of injection risk behaviors and 4 times more likely to report increased condom use with casual sex partners. Results suggest that psychosocial intervention emphasizing prosocial roles and social identity, and incorporating peer outreach strategies, can reduce HIV risk in low-income, drug-using communities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant birth weight among women with or at high risk for HIV infection: The impact of clinical, behavioral, psychosocial, and demographic factors.

The purpose of these analyses was to provide a prospective examination of the impact of HIV on birth weight using clinical, behavioral, psychosocial, and demographic correlates. 319 HIV-positive and 220 HIV-negative pregnant women matched for HIV risk factors (i.e., drug use and sexual risk behaviors) were interviewed during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum. Medical chart reviews were also conducted for the HIV-seropositive pregnant women to verify pregnancy-related and birth outcome data. In a logistic regression analysis, controlling for parity and gestational age, women who were HIV seropositive were 2.6 times more likely to have an infant with low birth weight. Black women and those who did not live with their partners were more than 2 times as likely to have infants with low birth weight, and those who smoked were 3.2 times more likely to have infants with low birth weight. Knowing that women with HIV, those who are Black, and those not living with a partner are at highest risk for adverse birth outcomes can help those in prenatal clinics and HIV specialty clinics to target resources and develop prevention interventions. This is particularly important for women with HIV because birth weight is associated with risk of HIV transmission from mother to child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal chunking: Memory and inference in ongoing interaction.

We propose that people simplify their perceptions of their interactions by organizing them into discrete causal chunks. Once formed, these chunks presumably influence the extent to which people are aware of their influence on others, as well as their impressions of others. We anticipated that people would form self-causal chunks when they possessed an offensive set and other-causal chunks when they possessed a defensive set. We also expected that a self-causal chunking strategy would make salient people's influence on their partners and thereby discourage them from concluding that their partners' behaviors reflected underlying dispositions. In contrast, we anticipated that an other-causal chunking strategy would obscure people's influence on their partners, thereby encouraging them to infer that their partners' behaviors reflected underlying dispositions. We tested these hypotheses by inducing participants to develop either a defensive or an offensive set prior to interacting with another person in a simulated arms race. After the interactions, we assessed the manner in which participants chunked their interactions, as well as their impressions of partners. The results supported our predictions. Implications for understanding conflict and misunderstanding in interpersonal relations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural and educational variations in maternal responsiveness.

Two separate studies examined the following hypotheses: (1) that maternal responsiveness is affected by cross-cultural differences in conventions of conversational interaction and (2) that maternal responsiveness is affected by intracultural differences in mothers' levels of formal education. The 1st study compared mother–infant interactions among the Gusii of Kenya with those in suburban Boston, Massachusetts. The 2nd study, carried out in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca, examined variations in mother–infant interactions by maternal schooling within a local sample of low-income mothers of similar cultural backgrounds who had attended school from 1 to 9 yrs. The 2 studies together indicate that maternal responsiveness during infancy, particularly in the verbal mode, is influenced by the mother's cultural background and school attendance (i.e., by factors that reflect her history of participation in institutionalized systems of communication and education). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Adolescent Friends, Romantic Partners, and Siblings in the Emergence of the Adult Antisocial Lifestyle.

This study investigated the contribution of social processes in boys' adolescent relationships in 3 key domains--same-sex friends, cross-sex romantic partners, and younger siblings--to continued association with delinquent peers in young adulthood and, therefore, to continuance of an antisocial lifestyle. It was hypothesized that levels of negative interaction and antisocial talk observed during problem-solving discussions would be associated across the 3 domains. The influences of negative interactions and antisocial talk in the adolescent relationships on young-adult delinquent peer association were compared in 2 mediational models. It was posited that antisocial talk would be more predictive of continued association with delinquent peers than would negative interactions. Hypotheses were tested on an at-risk sample of young men (the Oregon Youth Study). Findings were generally in keeping with the hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Caregiving and infant behavior in day care and in homes.

Social interaction and play behavior were compared in community-based day care and at home for 2 matched groups of 18-mo-olds (30 Ss). Adult–infant, infant–peer, and infant–toy interaction were time sampled. More adult–infant play, tactile contact, and reciprocal smiling were found in day care. More infant verbal responsiveness to maternal talking, more infant crying, and more maternal restrictiveness were found at home. Developmental level of play with toys was higher in day care, a difference associated with interaction with peers. The importance of the infant in shaping the environment emerged clearly from the data; day care/home differences in adult–infant interaction were often a function of differences in infant as well as adult behavior. No adverse effects of daily mother–infant separation were noted in the daily social and play behavior of the day-care group. The importance of peers as social objects for the toddler emerged from this study. Peers seemed to contribute to the high levels of play and to the positive affect noted in day care and also seemed to facilitate separation from adult caregivers. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and hormonal responses to separation in infant rhesus monkeys and mothers.

Examined the effects of social stimuli on behavioral and physiological responses in 9 infant rhesus monkeys, 8 Ss at 4–6 mo (Exp I) and 7 of the original Ss and an additional S at age 8–10 mo (Exp II). Infants and mothers were removed from the social group and housed as dyads. Following this period, infants were removed and separated under 4 counterbalanced conditions: (a) totally isolated—placed in a holding cage for 24 hrs; (b) mother present, no contact—housed in a single cage in view of their mother, no contact; (c) mother present, contact—similar to above, with mother in proximity to the infant; and (d) peer present—separated but in proximity to a peer. In Exp I, infants rarely vocalized when totally isolated but showed high rates of vocalization in the presence of the mother, both with and without contact. In the mother-present conditions, they failed to show a plasma cortisol response. In contrast, totally isolated infants showed a significant elevation in plasma cortisol. In Exp II, these infants were separated for 3 days under 2 conditions: mother present and totally isolated. Results support and extend the findings of Exp I, indicating that age was not a factor in modulating response to separation. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intimate partner violence moderates the association between mother–infant adrenocortical activity across an emotional challenge.

This study examined the relationship between mother and infant adrenocortical levels and reactivity to an emotion eliciting task. The impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on these relationships was assessed as a moderator. The sample (n = 702 mother–infant dyads) was racially diverse and from predominantly low-income, rural communities. During a home visit, the dyad’s saliva was sampled before, 20 min, and 40 min after standardized tasks designed to elicit the infant’s emotional arousal and later assayed for cortisol. Mothers completed self-report measures of their partner’s violence, and parenting behaviors were assessed via structured interview and mother–child interactions. In response to the task, infants had positive, and mothers had negative, cortisol slopes. Contrary to expectations, there were no IPV-related differences in mean pretask cortisol levels or reactivity in the mothers or infants. Mother–infant dyads from households characterized by either (1) violence or (2) restrictive and punitive parenting behaviors exhibited correlated cortisol reactivity measured in response to the infant challenge task. The findings suggest that social contextual features of the early caregiving environment may influence individual differences in the coordination between maternal and infant adrenocortical reactivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self- and peer perceptions and attributional biases of aggressive and nonaggressive boys in dyadic interactions.

This study assessed differences in self-perceptions, peer perceptions, and attributions of relative responsibility for 20 aggressive and 18 nonaggressive boys. Subjects completed semantic differential ratings of themselves and of their peer partners following a brief competitive dyadic discussion, and research assistants also rated videotapes of the interactions. The four experimental cells consisting of aggressive and nonaggressive subjects interacting with similar and opposite-status peers were found to be appropriately comparable on actual behavior during the interaction task. The results indicate that aggressive boys' perceptual and attributional biases do operate in actual social interactions. In comparison with nonaggressive boys, aggressive boys minimized their perceptions of their own aggressiveness and perceived their peer partners as more aggressive than they themselves were. An opposite pattern was found for nonaggressive boys. The differences in perceptions and attributions were significantly evident only in dyads of boys with different behavioral status. The implications of this attributional pattern for perceived responsibility are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)