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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

The effects of varying environmental demands on maternal and infant behavior.

3 groups of macaque mother-infant dyads were observed while each lived in ecological settings that differed in their level of foraging demand and, hence, the amount of work each mother was required to perform to obtain her daily rations. 2 groups (LFD and HFD) lived in stable low- and high-demand environments, respectively. The third group (VFD) lived in a variable-demand environment in which 2-week periods of HFD and LFD conditions were alternated, without external cues. Observations suggested that VFD subjects were unable to predict or rapidly adapt to the biweekly changes in food availability. Whereas LFD adults scored lowest in dominance-related behaviors and highest in affiliative behavior (social grooming), VFD adults showed the highest levels of dominance patterns and the lowest levels of grooming. VFD infants showed the most sustained clinging to mother, the lowest levels of social play and exploration, the highest levels of affective disturbance, and repeated evidence of depression as the study progressed. These findings suggest that in monkeys, as in humans, when, because of competing demands, mothers are psychologically unavailable to their infants, attachments are less secure, normal development is disrupted, and psychopathological patterns are more likely to emerge.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Sex differences in parent and infant behavior in the home.

Observations were made in the homes of 32 families, each with a child aged around 12 or 24 months. 16 of the children were boys and 16 girls. Boys showed more active play, play with transportation toys, and play generally forbidden by parents. Girls played more with soft toys and dolls. On questionnaire responses many parents rated these and other behaviors as sex appropriate. However, actual sex differences in immediate parental response to children were few or undetected. Sex differences in children's behavior did not appreciably increase from 12 to 24 months. Also, there was no correlation with how stereotyped parents' questionnaire responses were and the degree to which their children exhibited sex-typed behavior.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1999

Preterm infant behavioral and heart rate responses to antenatal phenobarbital.

The effects of antenatal phenobarbital on behavioral state and heart rate (HR) were examined in a randomized sample of 49 preterm infants > 24 and < 34 weeks postconceptional age. Behavioral state and HR observations were made during a routine care giving procedure on Days 1, 2, and 3 of life. There were no differences in behavioral state and HR responses between control and experimental subjects, suggesting that antenatal phenobarbital did not have a sedative effect on experimental subjects. Infants in both study groups responded to caregiving with changes to fussy/cry behavior and increases in HR. Older infants and nonventilated infants were more often in fussy/cry states during care giving than younger infants and ventilated infants. The HR increases were not clinically important, but the behavioral changes were, suggesting that behavioral response may be a more sensitive sign of distress than HR in very young preterm infants.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

B. F. Skinner's legacy to human infant behavior and development.

B. F. Skinner's legacy to human behavioral research for the study of environment-infant interactions, and indeed for the conception of development itself, is described and exemplified. The legacy is largely the practicality, the efficiency, and the comparative advantage--relative to diverse other behavioral and nonbehavioral approaches--of using the operant-learning paradigm to organize and explain many of the sequential changes in behavior patterns conventionally thought to constitute infant development.

Behaviorism↗
PubMed1978

Nutrition and infant behavior: a replication study in the Katmandu Valley, Nepal.

As a cross cultural comparison with an earlier study done in West Bengal, behavioral observations were made in the Katmandu Valley of 36 well-nourished and 38 undernourished children, 7 to 18 months of age, and their mothers. Undernourished children showed lowered levels of exploratory activity and attachment behavior, especially distance interaction, and a heightened need for physical closeness to the mother. Moreover, among the undernourished children the level of intellectual performance and the overall time spent in play were decreased, while time spent sucking at the breast was increased. In contrast to the West Bengali study, maternal behavior showed no differences between the two nutritional groups, and the intercorrelations between maternal and child scores showed similar or parallel patterns of reciprocity for the well-nourished and the undernourished children. No sex or age differences were found. The findings were interpreted to support Levitsky and Barnes' hypothesis of "functional isolation" as a mechanism between undernutrition and environmental stimulation to produce long-term behavioral changes. In addition, hunger as a motivational state, expressed as increased sucking, may interfere with other motivational determinants that might lead to exploration and/or increased social contacts.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1981

The relationship between physical growth and infant behavioral development in rural Guatemala.

The present study investigated the relationship between a number of anthropometric indices and behavioral development during the first 2 years of life in rural Guatemala. Length and weight were the indices most strongly correlated with behavioral development. If the effect of the infant's length and weight was statistically controlled for, none of the other anthropometric variables explained a significant proportion of the variance in behavioral development. Controlling the length (or weight) assessed at the same age as the behavioral assessment, length (or weight) for younger ages was not significantly correlated with behavioral development. Changes in length or weight over time correlated with changes in behavioral performance. We were unable to explain the association between physical growth and behavioral development by a number of variables including gestational age, nutrient intake, prevalence of disease, and familial characteristics.

Body Height↗
PubMed1979

Infant behavior and maternal adaptations in the first six months of life.

This study explored the relationship among infant temperament, maternal concern, and adjustment during early infancy, and the stability of these variables over time. Infants identified as difficult were found to change considerably across three time points (between five weeks and six months), suggesting the need for caution in prognostication with respect to temperament difficulties in infancy. Further implications for the care of young infants and their families are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Decreasing dangerous infant behaviors through parent instruction.

One adult and three adolescent mothers with 1-year-old infants were taught to reduce their infants' potential for injury in the home. After being taught to increase their positive interactions with their infants, the mothers were taught to child-proof the home, to use playpen time-out for potentially dangerous behaviors, and to give positive attention for safe behaviors. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to evaluate functional control. Potentially dangerous behaviors, observed during 10 min of free play, decreased from variable and, at times, high rates during baseline to stable near-zero rates after treatment. These target behaviors remained low at a 7-month follow-up assessment.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMed1976

Nutrition, infant behavior, and maternal characteristics: a pilot study in West Bengal, India.

Free activities and mother-child interaction in a standard setting were observed among undernourished and well-nourished children between the ages of 7 and 18 months in West Bengal. The undernourished boys showed less vigor in play activity, less attachment behavior toward the mother, especially in interaction across a distance, and maintained close physical contact with her more frequently than did the well-nourished boys. The mothers of the undernourished boys had lower scores in four of six measures of maternal behavior. Correlations between child and maternal scores revealed a high reciprocity in mother-child interaction for the well-nourished boys, but a lack of reciprocity for the undernourished boys. The developmental quotient and activity scores of the well- and undernourished boys were not different. However, the correlations between these and the maternal scores showed a divergent pattern of relationships for the two nutritional groups.

Anthropometry↗