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PubMed1984

Correlates of difficult temperament in infancy.

Despite interest in the construct of "difficult temperament" in infancy, little is known about its correlates within the first 2 years of life. In a study of 272 families consisting of 152 adopted and 120 nonadopted infants tested in their homes at 12 and 24 months of age, a parental report of difficult temperament was related to 3 major areas of correlates: (1) infant functioning (parental ratings of temperament, tester ratings using Bayley's Infant Behavior Record, and Bayley Mental Index scores); (2) parental personality (Cattell's 16PF test and a self-report temperament inventory); and (3) measures of the home environment (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment and the Family Environment Scales). No systematic significant relationships were found between difficult temperament and other aspects of infant development, parental characteristics, or the home environment for the entire sample or for a subsample consisting of the 10% most difficult infants. In addition, we found no evidence for significant interactions between parental personality and home environment as they affect difficult temperament nor did interactions of any type emerge as significant. Taken together with other evidence indicating that difficult temperament in infancy fails to predict concurrent or later behavioral problems, these data add to growing doubts about the utility of the construct of difficult temperament and suggest the need to consider specific infant temperaments that parents find difficult.

Adoption↗
PubMed1995

Enhancing self-care parenting.

The interaction between parents and infants is contingent upon the parents' understanding of their infant's behavior and what the infant is trying to communicate through specific behaviors. The Synactive Model of Newborn Behavioral Organization and Development provides a theoretical base to identify and classify infant behaviors. Parents need to have an understanding of sleep/wake states, infant behaviors, and infant cues in order to have a positive parenting experience. The advanced practice nurse has the opportunity to educate parents regarding their infants' behaviors and appropriate interventions, which can lead to increased parental confidence, competence in interacting with their infants, and positive self-care parenting.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The relationship between neonatal characteristics and three-month mother-infant interaction in high-risk infants.

The behavior of 4 groups of infants--healthy term, healthy preterm, sick preterm, and sick full-term--was assessed in the neonatal period using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). At 3 months postterm, infants and their mothers were observed and videotaped in a free-play session. Both the NBAS and mother-infant interaction data were analyzed to assess the effects of maturity (term vs. preterm), illness (sick vs. healthy), and their interaction. Results revealed that illness of the infant affected both NBAS performance and maternal behavior during the interaction at 3 moths. Infants who were ill performed poorly on the NBAS orientation dimension; this dimension was found to be significantly associated with maternal and infant behaviors at 3 months. These data demonstrate an association between early infant characteristics and subsequent mother and child interactive behaviors. They also identify postnatal illness as an important influence on the development of the mother-infant dyad.

Asphyxia Neonatorum↗
PubMed1991

Developmental change of sucking response to taste in infants.

Seventy-one full-term normal newborns were studied at the age of 5-7 days. A 0.1% tartrate or a 0.25% saline solution was given to each infant after 1-2 min of breast or bottle feeding and then the same solutions were once more given to the same subjects. Sucking rhythm was recorded and the infants' behavioral reactions were observed by examiners and analyzed on videotape. There were individual differences in the newborn's response to taste. Infants showed a similar response tendency to tartaric acid and saline solution, when given on two different occasions, respectively. But generally they reacted more strongly to saline than to tartrate. Next, sucking response to taste was studied in 20 infants once a month from birth until 5 months old. Five of them had severe brain damage and the other 15 infants were normal. The methods used were the same as those described in part 1. All 5 infants with severe brain damage initially showed a strong reaction and then a decrease of reaction. Fourteen normal infants were followed until 5 months of age: 12 of them showed a decrease of reaction between 1 and 5 months. Most of them showed decrement between 3 and 5 months. From our results, sucking response to taste in the newborns is assumed to be a subcortical reflex and not a cortically recognizable one. It might be called a primitive sucking response, which gradually decreases like any other primitive reflex does.

Child Development↗
PubMed1990

Biochemical genetic markers of squirrel monkeys and their use for pedigree validation.

Family data for 14 biochemical genetic markers fo squirrel monkeys (genus Saimiri) were derived from 73 pedigreed progeny and both parents of each, as well as from 16 additional progeny and one parent of each. The data for each marker and the phenotypic patterns were consistent with autosomal codominant inheritance. It was concluded from the genetic marker data that the pedigree records of seven progeny were incorrect. Retrospective investigations of colony records followed by typing of animals that might possibly have been a parent enabled five of the pedigree records to be corrected. Although five of the pedigree errors were cases of mistaken paternity, the other two apparently were the consequence of infant swapping between dams shortly after birth. Because squirrel monkeys exhibit a high degree of allomaternal behavior, infant swapping between dams may occur more frequently than in many other nonhuman primate species.

Alleles↗
PubMed2006

[The measurement of maternal mind-mindedness: its relation to mother-infant interaction in natural settings].

The purpose of this study was to construct an original video-based measurement of maternal mind-mindedness (MM). MM is mother's proclivity to treat her infant as an individual with mind (Meins, 1997). Participants were 38 mothers and their six-month-old infants. The results of assessment suggested that there were large individual differences not only in frequency of maternal mental attributions, but also in the specific contents that mothers read from the filmed infants' behaviors. Moreover, it was revealed that these individual differences in MM were related to mother-infant interaction styles in natural settings, especially maternal comments on infant's internal state and the followings of infant's attention. Finally, the usefulness of this measurement in examining the effect of MM on the child's development of mind understanding was discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Depressed mothers' touching increases infants' positive affect and attention in still-face interactions.

The effects of depressed mothers' touching on their infants' behavior were investigated during the still-face situation. 48 depressed and nondepressed mothers and their 3-month-old infants were randomly assigned to control and experimental conditions. 4 successive 90-sec periods were implemented: (A) normal play, (B) still-face-no-touch, (C) still-face-with-touch, and (A) normal play. Depressed and nondepressed mothers were instructed and shown how to provide touch for their infants during the still-face-with-touch period. Different affective and attentive responses of the infants of depressed versus the infants of nondepressed mothers were observed. Infants of depressed mothers showed more positive affect (smiles and vocalizations) and gazed more at their mothers' hands during the still-face-with-touch period than the infants of nondepressed mothers, who grimaced, cried, and gazed away from their mothers' faces more often. The results suggest that by providing touch stimulation for their infants, the depressed mothers can increase infant positive affect and attention and, in this way, compensate for negative effects often resulting from their typical lack of affectivity (flat facial and vocal expressions) during interactions.

Affect↗
PubMed1977

Newborn dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, minor physical anomalies, and infant temperament.

The authors examined newborn anomaly scores for 193 normal infants in relation to obstetrical history, newborn dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH), and 5-month (N=185) and 1-year (N=123) infant behavior, determined by a questionnaire completed by their mothers. There was no significant relationship between anomaly score and obstetrical history or 5-month infant temperament; low significant correlations were found between newborn DBH and 1) infant irritability and unsociable response and 2) 1-year anomaly scores and reported activity levels. The authors discuss the possible importance of these findings.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1989

Infants of postpartum depressed mothers: temperament and cognitive status.

This study examined the association of postpartum depression with specific infant characteristics. Twenty-five diagnosed depressed and 25 nondepressed mothers and their 2-month-old infants participated in the study. The mothers completed measures of infant temperament and difficulty associated with infant care, and the infants were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Group comparisons indicated that, compared with the infants of the nondepressed mothers, the infants of the depressed women were less competent cognitively and expressed more negative emotions during the testing. The depressed mothers perceived their infants as more difficult to care for and more bothersome than did the nondepressed mothers, but did not attribute these difficulties to the temperament of their infants. These findings suggest that postpartum depression is associated with an identifiable pattern of infant behavior that may exacerbate depressed women's mood.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Interactions between maternal characteristics and neonatal behavior in the prediction of parenting stress and perception of infant temperament.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal cocaine exposure is a marker of developmental risk. Social environmental risk factors may include maternal stress and maternal perceptions of difficult infant temperament. OBJECTIVES: To examine factors that may predict or moderate maternal ratings of parenting stress and difficult temperament in cocaine-exposed (CE) infants. METHOD: Neonatal behavior, infant temperament, parenting stress, and maternal psychopathology were measured in a large sample of infant-mother dyads with prenatal CE and a nonexposed comparison sample. Participants were drawn from an existing longitudinal data set (Maternal Lifestyle Study). RESULT: Relations between neonatal behavior and infant temperament ratings were moderated by mothers' ratings of parenting stress. Relations between neonatal cry and parenting stress were moderated by maternal psychopathology ratings. Results were unrelated to drug exposure history. CONCLUSIONS: For mothers of at risk infants (with or without prenatal CE), psychological distress affects the degree to which infant behavioral characteristics are experienced as stressful or difficult. Implications for treatment and outcome are discussed.

Attitude↗
PubMed1976

Vocalizations and their behavioral contexts in the tamarin Saguinus fuscicollis.

The characteristic calls of Saguinus fuscicollis are described and illustrated with sound spectrograms. Each call type and its associated behavior is listed together with motor and vocal responses usually observed for a given context. Many of the call types are highly specific to social contexts while others appear to reflect changes in excitation level. Call types form two categories when related according to their acoustic structural similarity. Information in the 'group vocabulary" is discussed under five functional categories: spatial cohesion; alerting; aggressive behavior; infant calls, and adult vocalization during infant calls.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Infant temperament and postpartum depression: a review.

Although limited in number, reported research studies indicate a relationship between maternal perceptions of infant temperament and postpartum depression. Excessive crying in particular and the extent of adaptability and predictability have been implicated as infant behavioral indices. In this article, we present the results of a review of the literature linking early infant temperament to postpartum depression. Measurement issues for both infant temperament and depression are discussed. Recommendations for future research are offered.

Crying↗
PubMed1981

Maternal affectionate behavior and infant-mother attachment patterns.

Four categories of affectionate behavior were identified in the 23 mothers of Ainsworth's longitudinal sample whose infants were observed in the strange situation at age 12 months. Mothers of babies classified as showing pattern A (anxiously attached and avoidant) in terms of their strange situation behavior were found to emphasize kissing proportionally more than the other mothers, and hugging/cuddling proportionally less. This is congruent with the previous finding that such mothers are averse to close bodily contact. Since mothers of pattern-A babies had also been found to be more rejecting, the findings suggest that rejection does not necessarily imply an absence of affectionate behavior but a different mode of expression.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1993

Behavioral development in children prenatally exposed to drugs and alcohol.

Empirical research on the behavioral consequences to the offspring of use of recreational and addictive drugs and alcohol by pregnant women is reviewed. The current epidemic of cocaine use has raised the specter of a host of "cocaine babies" whose prenatally induced impairments will interfere with social and academic functioning and constitute an immense social burden. In fact, examination of effects of drug exposure on infant behavior and subsequent development suggests a much more subtle and complicated process which must take into account not only the child's prenatal exposure but the various other environmental factors which contribute to eventual outcome. These other factors include caregiving competence and social environment.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Mother- and father-preterm infant relationship in the hospital preterm nursery.

The relationships of Israeli mothers and fathers with their 38 preterm infants during hospitalization were traced in a short-term longitudinal study. Parent-infant interactions were observed and self-reports of parental feelings and perceptions were assessed twice: at the beginning and end of the nursery period. Mothers engaged in more caregiving, talking, and holding during initial contacts, but the disparity in maternal and paternal interactions decreased with time. Except for caregiving, in which mothers still surpassed fathers, fathers equaled mothers in all other activities at the time of the infants' discharge from the hospital. Fathers consistently surpassed mothers in playing and stimulating. Mothers perceived their infants to be more difficult than did fathers but reported enjoying them more. With time, parents were less disappointed and concerned over the infants' well-being but perceived them as more difficult. The data also demonstrated an association between infant behavioral states, parental feelings and perceptions, and parental behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Common behavioral problems in infants and children.

Primary care physicians can serve as important sources of behavioral information to patients of infants, toddlers, school-aged children, and adolescents. Behavior results from a blend of biologic qualities, such as gender and temperament, and social experiences, such as attachment and family experiences. Common problems include disorders of sleep, crying, feeding and diet, discipline and sexuality, aggression and biting, toilet training, and school avoidance. Family physicians should be aware of the management of behavioral problems and provide anticipatory or responsive guidance or reference information.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Reorganization in coping behavior at 1 1/2 years: dynamic systems and normative change.

By the age of 1 year toddlers demonstrate distinct coping habits for dealing with frustration. However, these habits may be open to change and reorganization at subsequent developmental junctures. We investigated change in coping habits at 18-20 months, a normative age for major advances in social cognition, focusing on the dynamic systems principles of fluctuation and novelty at transitions. Specifically, we asked whether month-to-month fluctuation, novel behavioral habits and real-time variability increased at the age of a normative transition, despite individual differences in the content of behavior. Infants were given frustrating toys while their mothers sat nearby without helping, on monthly visits at 14-25 months (before, during and after the hypothesized transition). State space grids representing patterns of behavioral durations were constructed for each episode and compared over age. As predicted, month-to-month fluctuation in grid patterns increased temporarily between 17 and 20 months, partly independently of a concurrent peak in distress, and new behavioral habits replaced old ones at the same age. Coping habits changed differently for high-and low-distressed toddlers. However, changes in real-time variability did not generally meet our expectations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗