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Biomedical subjects

T Field

Publications and source records attributed to T Field.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Massage and relaxation therapies' effects on depressed adolescent mothers.

Thirty-two depressed adolescent mothers received ten 30-minute sessions of massage therapy or relaxation therapy over a five-week period. Subjects were randomly assigned to each group. Although both groups reported lower anxiety following their first and last therapy sessions, only the massage therapy group showed behavioral and stress hormone changes including a decrease in anxious behavior, pulse, and salivary cortisol levels. A decrease in urine cortisol levels suggested lower stress following the five-week period for the massage therapy group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Under-eating and over-eating concerns among adolescents.

462 adolescents were given a set of scales to determine their concerns about eating (under-eating or over-eating), and perceptions of family and peer intimacy, social support, self-esteem, depression and exercise. Although only 10% stated that they were "underweight" and 21% that they were "overweight", as many as 50% reported having eating concerns. As compared to those who did not have concerns about eating, those who were concerned about undereating felt that they had poorer relationships with their mothers and fathers, less social support, lower self-esteem and low levels of exercise. In contrast, those who were concerned about overeating perceived having an intimacy problem only with their fathers. Like those concerned about undereating, the group concerned about overeating also had lower self-esteem and low levels of exercise. But, unlike the under-eating concern group, the over-eating concern group scored higher on the depression scale.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Mothers touching newborns: a comparison of rooming-in versus minimal contact.

We compared the maternal behaviors of women who had extended and early contact (rooming-in) with their infants with those who had contact only during feedings. Thirty-one young, unmarried, predominantly black, lower-socioeconomic mothers and their infants were observed in the mother's hospital room for 15 minutes after a morning feeding approximately 18 hours after delivery. A time sample unit checklist was used to record each mother's behavior, looking, talking, and touching directed toward their infants and others, as well as watching television and talking on the telephone. Analyses of variance revealed that the rooming-in mothers looked at, talked to, and touched their infants more, watched less television, and talked less on the telephone than mothers with minimal contact with their infants. These findings suggest that increased postpartum contact with infants leads not only to more interaction, but also to more touching as well as touching in more intimate places (face and head), thus highlighting the value of rooming-in arrangements for mothers and infants.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Adolescents' intimacy with parents and friends.

Adolescents' perceived levels of intimacy with their mother, father, and close friend were examined as a function of demographic, family and school, and psychological variables. Students with same-sex friends and greater interest in school reported greater intimacy with their mothers. Students with higher self-esteem, lower depression, and lower risk-taking scores reported greater intimacy with their mothers and fathers. The greatest number of relationships with positive variables involved intimacy with mothers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Massage therapy for infants and children.

Data are reviewed on the effects of massage therapy on infants and children with various medical conditions. The infants include: premature infants, cocaine-exposed infants, HIV-exposed infants, infants parented by depressed mothers, and full-term infants without medical problems. The childhood conditions include: abuse (sexual and physical), asthma, autism, burns, cancer, developmental delays, dermatitis (psoriasis), diabetes, eating disorders (bulimia), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychiatric problems. Generally, the massage therapy has resulted in lower anxiety and stress hormones and improved clinical course. Having grandparent volunteers and parents give the therapy enhances their own wellness and provides a cost-effective treatment for the children.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1994

"Depressed" mothers' perceptions of their preschool children's vulnerability.

"Depressed" mothers who scored in the depression range on the Beck Depression Inventory when their infants were 3-months-old were asked to complete the Vulnerable Child Scale when their children were preschool age. Depressed versus non-depressed mothers rated their preschool children as being more vulnerable (as did an independent observer) as well as having more behavior problems. The vulnerability ratings were significantly related to infancy stage measures including the POMS (mothers' depressed mood), the infants' behavior ratings and heart rate range during interactions with a nondepressed stranger. These measures of the mothers' and infants' behavior tapped during early infancy may have contributed to the mothers having perceived their children as "vulnerable" during the preschool stage.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Adolescents' perceptions of their risk-taking behavior.

A questionnaire comprised of several self-report scales was administered to 440 adolescents to assess differences between high and low sports and danger risk takers on relationship and personality variables. Sports risk takers reported more danger-related risk taking and more drug use but higher self-esteem than did nonrisk takers. Danger risk takers reported greater sports-related risk taking and more drug use as well as less intimacy with their mothers, less family responsibility taking, and less depression than did their nonrisk-taking counterparts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The effects of mother's physical and emotional unavailability on emotion regulation.

In summary, emotion dysregulation can develop from brief or more prolonged separations from the mother as well as from the more disturbing effects of her emotional unavailability, such as occurs when she is depressed. Harmonious interaction with the mother or the primary caregiver (attunement) of the mother's physical unavailability were seen in studies of separations from the mother due to her hospitalization or to her conference trips. These separations affected the infants' play behaviors and sleep patterns. Comparisons between hospitalizations and conference trips, however, suggested that the infants' behaviors were more negatively affected by the hospitalizations than the conference trips. This probably related to these being hospitalizations for the birth of another baby--the infants no longer had the special, exclusive relationship with their mothers after the arrival of the new sibling. This finding highlights the critical importance of emotional availability. The mother had returned from the hospital, but, while she was no longer physically unavailable, she was now emotionally unavailable. Emotional unavailability was investigated in an acute form by comparing two laboratory situations, the still face paradigm and the momentary leave taking. The still face had more negative effects on the infants' interaction behaviors than the physical separation. The most extreme form of emotional unavailability, mother's depression, had the most negative effects. The disorganization or emotion dysregulation in this case is more prolonged. Changes in physiology (heart rate, vagal tone, and cortisol levels), in play behavior, affect, activity level, and sleep organization as well as other regulating functions such as eating and toileting, and even in the immune system persist for the duration of the mother's depression. My colleagues and I have suggested that these changes occur because the infant is being chronically deprived of an important external regulator of stimulation (the mother) and thus fails to develop emotion regulation or organized behavioral and physiological rhythms. Finally, individual differences were discussed, including those related to maturity (e.g., prematurity) and temperament/personality (e.g., uninhibited/inhibited or externalizing/internalizing) and those deriving from degree of mother-infant mismatch, such as dissimilar temperaments. Further investigations are needed to determine how long the effects of such early dysregulation endure, how they affect the infant's long-term development, how their effect differs across individuals and across development, and whether they can be modified by early intervention. Eventually, with increasing age, developing skills, and diversity of experience, infants develop individualized regulatory styles. That process, and how it is affected by the mother's physical and emotional unavailability, also requires further investigation.

Affect↗
PubMed1994

Psychosocial stressors among depressed adolescent mothers.

This study sought to determine whether depressed adolescent mothers experience more psychosocial stressors than do nondepressed mothers and which stressors best predict maternal depression. Subjects consisted of 154 adolescent mothers 14 to 21 years of age who were recruited 1 to 3 days postpartum. The Beck Depression Inventory was used to assess severity of depression, and the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers was administered to assess mothers' level of psychosocial functioning. Depressed mothers consistently reported more problems in most areas of psychosocial functioning. Additionally, the best predictors of maternal depression were mental health status, family relations, and social skills.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Children of methadone-dependent women: developmental outcomes.

A group of 20 children was assessed for possible effects at school age of prenatal exposure to methadone. Compared to a control group of 20 nonexposed children on measures of cognitive, social, and emotional development, and of achievement, no significant differences were found on cognitive tests, although methadone exposure was associated with lower IQ scores. Methadone-exposed children exhibited greater anxiety, aggression, and rejection than did those in the control group, and their mothers reported more behavior problems.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1993

Massage effects on cocaine-exposed preterm neonates.

Thirty preterm cocaine-exposed preterm neonates (mean gestational age 30 wks, mean birth weight = 1212 g, mean intensive care unit duration = 18 days) were randomly assigned to a massage therapy or a control group as soon as they were considered medically stable. Group assignment was based on a random stratification of gestational age, birth weight, intensive care unit duration, and entry weight into the study. The treatment group (N = 15) received massages for three 15-minute periods 3 consecutive hours for a 10-day period. Findings suggested that the massaged infants (1) averaged 28% greater weight gain per day (33 vs 26 g) although the groups did not differ in intake (calories or volume), (2) showed significantly fewer postnatal complications and stress behaviors than did control infants, and (3) demonstrated more mature motor behaviors on the Brazelton examination at the end of the 10-day study period.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Factors that predict which preterm infants benefit most from massage therapy.

Ninety-three preterm infants (M gestational age = 30 wks; M birth weight = 1204 g; M ICU duration = 15 days) were randomly assigned to a massage therapy group or a control group once they were considered medically stable. The treatment group (N = 50) received three daily 15-minute massages for 10 days. The massage therapy infants gained significantly more weight per day (32 vs 29 g) than did the control infants. Treatment and control groups were divided into high and low weight gainers based on the average weight gain for the control group. Seventy percent of the massage therapy infants were classified as high weight gainers whereas only 40% of the control infants were classified as high weight gainers. Discriminant function analyses determining the characteristics that distinguished the high from the low weight gainers suggested that the control infants who, before the study, consumed more calories and spent less time in Intermediate care gained more weight. In contrast, for the massage therapy group, the pattern of greater caloric intake and more days in Intermediate care before the study period along with more obstetric complications differentiated the high from the low weight gainers, suggesting that the infants who had experienced more complications before the study benefitted more from the massage therapy. These variables accurately predicted 78% of the infants who benefitted significantly from the massage therapy. Thus, these variables can be used to suggest infants who would benefit most from future massage therapy programs.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1992

Massage reduces anxiety in child and adolescent psychiatric patients.

A 30-minute back massage was given daily for a 5-day period to 52 hospitalized depressed and adjustment disorder children and adolescents. Compared with a control group who viewed relaxing videotapes, the massaged subjects were less depressed and anxious and had lower saliva cortisol levels after the massage. In addition, nurses rated the subjects as being less anxious and more cooperative on the last day of the study, and nighttime sleep increased over this period. Finally, urinary cortisol and norepinephrine levels decreased, but only for the depressed subjects.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1991

Tactile-kinesthetic stimulation effects on sympathetic and adrenocortical function in preterm infants.

The purpose of our study was to investigate the neuroendocrine response in preterm infants to a pattern of tactile-kinesthetic stimulation that facilitates their growth and development. Preterm infants (mean gestational age 30 weeks, mean birth weight 1176 gm) received normal nursery care or tactile-kinesthetic stimulation for three 15-minute periods at the start of three consecutive hours each day for 10 days. On day 1 and day 10 of the study, a 24-hour urine sample was collected for norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, cortisol, and creatinine assay and a blood sample was taken by heel stick for cortisol and growth hormone assay. Urine norepinephrine and epinephrine values increased significantly only in the stimulated babies. Urine dopamine and cortisol values increased in both groups, and serum growth hormone decreased in both groups. Individual differences in urine norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, and cortisol values were highly stable across the 10 days despite a 10-fold range of values among the infants. The results of this study suggest that tactile-kinesthetic stimulation of preterm infants has fairly specific effects on maturation and/or activity of the sympathetic nervous system. In addition, this study has defined catecholamine and cortisol secretion across gestational age in normal preterm infants. Finally, these data suggest that highly stable individual levels of catecholamine and cortisol secretion are established by birth in humans.

Creatinine↗
PubMed1991

Quality infant day-care and grade school behavior and performance.

Relations between attendance in stable high-quality day-care programs and grade school behavior and performance were determined using 2 longitudinal data sets. The first sample included grade school children who had received stable, full-time infant day-care and preschool day-care until they reached school age in the same high-quality day-care center. In this sample the amount of time (months) spent in full-time center care was positively related to the number of friends and extracurricular activities of the children. In addition, more time in the center was positively related to parents' ratings of the children's emotional well-being, leadership, popularity, attractiveness, and assertiveness and negatively related to aggressivity. Study 2 sampled sixth graders who had also received varying amounts (months) of stable full-time day-care, but this group attended a variety of quality day-care centers. In this sample the amount of time in day-care was related to the teachers' ratings of their emotional well-being, attractiveness, and assertiveness. In addition, children with more time in high-quality day-care showed more physical affection during peer interactions, were more often assigned to the gifted program, and received higher math grades.

Aggression↗
PubMed1990

Aerobics enhances cardiovascular fitness and agility in preschoolers.

Investigated effects of aerobic exercise on a sample of 24 preschoolers. Thirty minutes of aerobic exercises were provided daily for a period of 8 weeks for a group of 12 children while the remaining 12 children engaged in freeplay on the school playground. The children were given pretests and posttests on the following measures: a submaximal exercise test on a pediatric bicycle (baseline and three workloads), an agility test, a health knowledge test, a self-esteem scale, and an observational measure of their gross-motor activity. Despite comparability on pretests, significant group X repeated measures effects suggested that the aerobic exercise group showed decreases in heart rate at all three workloads as well as increases in agility and self-esteem following the exercise program. These findings suggest that cardiovascular fitness, agility, and self-esteem can be facilitated in preschoolers by an aerobic exercise program.

Arousal↗
PubMed1990

Alleviating stress in newborn infants in the intensive care unit.

Potentially stressful features of the neonatal intensive care environment, including factors such as continuous high-intensity noise and bright light, have generated concern. Some neonatal researchers have speculated that the intensive care nursery constitutes a source of sensory deprivation, whereas others have suggested that the preterm infant is overestimated or experiences an inappropriate pattern, rather than an excessive amount, of stimulation. This article examines some of the sources of stress in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Humans↗