Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Infant Behavior”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,513 records · Page 84Linked to original sources

Neonatal characteristics and mother-infant interaction in two observational situations.

134 mothers and their newborn infants were studied in order to evaluate the realtionship's between neonatal characteristics and mother-infant interaction. The procedure included a newborn assessment with the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale and 2 mother-infant interaction observations, 1 carried out during feeding and the other during a semistructured situation. The results indicated that there were consistent relationships between infant and maternal behavior; more alert and responsive infants had more responsive and sensitive mothers. These consistencies were found for both infants and mothers across the different situations. Both infant and maternal responsiveness to a variey of social stimuli were noted.

Adolescent↗

A comparison of temperament and maternal bother in infants with and without colic.

This descriptive, retrospective study compared the temperament styles of 25 4- to 8-month-old infants who had colic with the temperament styles of 30 infants of similar age without colic. Infant temperament style was characterized by the mother's ratings of her infant's behavioral style. The degree of bother that the mother experienced in relationship to her infant's temperament also was examined. Results indicated that mothers of infants with colic rated their infants' temperaments differently than mothers of infants without colic in the temperament dimensions of activity and mood. Mothers of infants with colic were more bothered by the infants' temperament dimension of mood than were mothers of infants without colic. More infants in the colic group were characterized as difficult than were infants in the noncolic group. Individual temperament characteristics should be considered in the differential diagnosis of primary excessive crying (colic) during the newborn and infant periods.

Adult↗

Imitation and language development: issues and clinical implications.

The relationship between imitation and language learning is of both theoretical and clinical interest. While current psycholinguistic accounts give imitation only a limited role in language learning, learning theorists and others continue to refer to imitation as a major factor in the child's acquisition of language. Clinicians deal with imitation in modeling procedures as well as in counseling parents about how to promote children's language development. A review of theory and research on the nature and development of imitation reveals wide variation in terminology, definitions, and explanations. The clinical use of imitation procedures have greater significance for the acquisition of communication skills than for the development of linguistic structure.

Child↗

Use of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning for the assessment of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The psychological assessment is an important component of the diagnostic evaluation in young children suspected of having an Autism Spectrum Disorder but can be hampered by behavioral difficulties. Overt behaviors during administration of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning were coded in 22 preschoolers with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and 20 age-matched typically developing children. Children in the Autism Spectrum Disorder group required less time to complete the assessment but spent proportionally more time exhibiting off-task behaviors and less time engaged with the assessment. Scores obtained on the Mullen Scales were positively correlated with level of engagement and negatively correlated with off task behaviors.

Autistic Disorder↗

Classification of young children's sleep problems: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines videotaped sleep in infancy in an attempt to predict the development of disturbed sleep during toddlerhood. In addition, a tentative classification scheme that quantifies night waking and sleep onset problems in young children is proposed. METHOD: The sleep patterns of 33 children were assessed at two points in time. At 12 months of age (time 1), sleep was videotaped on two consecutive nights. A self-soothing/signaling index for 12-month-olds was constructed. At time 2 (mean age = 39 months), a follow-up telephone interview assessed current sleep patterns and the presence or absence of sleep problems. RESULTS: The data suggest that the self-soothing/signaling index obtained at 12 months of age predicts night waking approximately 2 years later. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary classification scheme for night waking and sleep onset problems in young children warrants further study. Night waking in toddlers might be predictable from sleep behaviors at 1 year of age.

Child Behavior↗

Understanding sleep-wake behavior and sleep disorders in children: the value of a model.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sleep-wake problems such as night wakings, excessive crying, or difficulties in falling asleep are frequent behavioral issues during childhood. Maturational changes in sleep and circadian regulation likely contribute to the development and maintenance of such problems. This review highlights the recent research examining bioregulatory sleep mechanisms during development and provides a model for predicting sleep-wake behavior in young humans. RECENT FINDINGS: Findings demonstrate that circadian and sleep homeostatic processes exhibit maturational changes during the first two decades of life. The developing interaction of both processes may be a key determinant of sleep-wake and crying behavior in infancy. Evidence shows that the dynamics of sleep homeostatic processes slow down in the course of childhood (i.e., sleep pressure accumulates more slowly with increasing age) enabling children to be awake for consolidated periods during the day. Another current topic is the adolescent sleep phase delay, which appears to be driven primarily by maturational changes in sleep homeostatic and circadian processes. SUMMARY: The two-process model of sleep regulation is a valuable framework for understanding and predicting sleep-wake behavior in young humans. Such knowledge is important for improving anticipatory guidance, parental education, and patient care, as well as for developing appropriate social policies.

Adolescent↗

Maternal responsiveness and children's achievement of language milestones.

This prospective longitudinal study examined the contribution of dimensions of maternal responsiveness (descriptions, play, imitations) to the timing of five milestones in children's (N = 40) early expressive language: first imitations, first words, 50 words in expressive language, combinatorial speech, and the use of language to talk about the past. Events-History Analysis, a statistical technique that estimates the extent to which predictors influence the timing of events, was used. At 9 and 13 months, maternal responsiveness and children's activities (e.g., vocalizations, play) were coded from videotaped interactions of mother-child free play; information about children's language acquisition was obtained through biweekly interviews with mothers from 9 through 21 months. Maternal responsiveness at both ages predicted the timing of children's achieving language milestones over and above children's observed behaviors. Responsiveness at 13 months was a stronger predictor of the timing of language milestones than was responsiveness at 9 months, and certain dimensions of responsiveness were more predictive than others. The multidimensional nature of maternal responsiveness and specificity in mother-child language relations are discussed.

Achievement↗

Control role of an adult male in a captive group of lowland gorillas.

An adult male gorilla was removed from the social group in which it had resided for 27 months. There was an immediate increase in aggressive behaviors among the remaining adult females, as well as an intensification of mother-infant social behaviors. The return of the male resulted in an immediate rise in male aggression and a decline in female aggression, with a gradual return to baseline levels in most behaviors. The control role of the male in the group through aggressive behaviors is suggested.

Aggression↗

Parent education project. III: Increasing affection and responsivity in developmentally handicapped mothers: component analysis, generalization, and effects on child language.

We evaluated the effects of a parent training program consisting of verbal instruction, modeling, and feedback on the affection and responsivity of 3 developmentally handicapped mothers towards their children. The results indicated the following: First, the training package increased maternal physical affection, praise, and imitation of child vocalizations. These parenting skills increased to levels found in comparison groups of nonhandicapped mothers. Second, the training package was more effective than verbal instruction alone, the latter being the predominant method presently used by social service workers. Third, most maternal gains were maintained over a 3- to 18-month follow-up period, although one mother required a reinforced maintenance procedure. Fourth, instructing mothers to generalize served to increase the generalization of newly acquired skills from play times (the training context) to child-care tasks (e.g., diapering, feeding). Fifth, teaching the parents to imitate child vocalizations was related to gains in both the frequency and quality of verbal behavior of the two language delayed children as measured by standardized developmental tests and in vivo comparisons with age-matched children (who had nonhandicapped parents). These results show that behavioral instruction can improve important child-rearing skills of developmentally handicapped mothers, with corresponding benefits to their children.

Adult↗

Imitation of live and televised models by children one to three years of age.

The results of these studies indicated that children younger than 1 year possess the cognitive capability of translating a perception of a novel action into their own behavior. However, the likelihood of imitation varied as a function of the nature of the target behavior. For example, actions requiring direct social commerce with the examiner were imitated less frequently than simple motor behaviors with objects, and reproducing gestures was more common than vocalizations. Moreover, imitation seemed to depend upon the child's level of mental development--the imitation of coordinated sequences, which requires the child to associate two external events, lagged behind the imitation of single-unit behaviors. There was no evidence for individual traits of general imitativeness, at least not until symbolic relations were involved. Live models were imitated more than TV models but only prior to age 3. While children under 2 years of age were not facile at imitating sequences of behaviors or delaying performance at short time after modeling, older toddlers readily and accurately imitated televised sequences even after a 24-hour delay. Whereas socially extroverted and fearless children imitated live models more than shy children, TV imitation was not related to temperament, home TV viewing habits, or parental education. Finally, the experience of being imitated may facilitate the social cognition of influencing another person.

Age Factors↗

Comparison of temperaments of children with and without baby bottle tooth decay.

Several demographic studies have been done to identify children at risk for Baby Bottle Tooth Decay (BBTD). Discussions have described these children with Baby Bottle Tooth Decay as strong tempered, cranky, restless, and fussy. The parents of these children have acknowledged these behaviors. To determine whether there were differences in temperament, children with Baby Bottle Tooth Decay were compared with children without Baby Bottle Tooth Decay by assessing the nine temperament components described by the Toddler Temperament Scale (TTS) questionnaire. Parents completed the temperament questionnaire and ninety-two children between twelve and thirty-six months old were studied. Scores for the nine temperament components were tabulated and temperament difficulty was determined as defined by the authors of the toddler Temperament Scale. At-test comparison between the two groups revealed no significant difference for the nine temperament components. There was also no difference when comparing clusters of the nine components. The conclusion is that there is no difference in the temperaments between the group of children with Baby Bottle Tooth Decay and the comparison group of children without Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Infant and maternal factors in the development of breastfeeding behaviour and breastfeeding outcome in preterm infants.

A wide range in incidence of breastfeeding has been reported in preterm infants. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of infant and maternal factors on the development of preterm infants' breastfeeding behaviour and breastfeeding outcome. The sample consisted of 71 preterm infants born after a gestation of 26-35 wk. A descriptive, prospective design was used, with direct behavioural observation as data collection method, based on mothers' assessments according to the Preterm Infant Breastfeeding Behavior Scale (PIBBS), in which higher scores indicate higher competence. Multiple regression analyses revealed that variables associated with efficient infant performance included higher birthweight, less need of ventilator and oxygen treatment, higher haemoglobin level, absence of bottle-feeding, no need of apnoea treatment with Theophylline, and no suspicion of infection. A short gestation was associated with high PIBBS scores during weeks 32-37. Maternal characteristics associated with higher infant competence were breastfeeding experience and low educational level. Fifty-seven infants were discharged with full breastfeeding and 10 infants with partial breastfeeding. Infants with a short gestation period achieved full breastfeeding at low postmenstrual and high postnatal age. Infants with Theophylline treatment, low haemoglobin level, and a longer period of separation from their mothers established full breastfeeding at higher postmenstrual and postnatal age. In conclusion, low gestational age at birth was associated with early emergence of efficient breastfeeding behaviour and a high incidence of full breastfeeding.

Breast Feeding↗

Hearing and behavioral responses to sound in full-term newborns.

This article, addressed to clinicians caring for and interacting with newborns, summarizes information from the research literature about newborn infants' hearing and behavioral responses to sound. While the emphasis is on current knowledge, older studies show how the investigators' assumptions have influenced the questions they have asked. Although these studies do not make up a neat package of information for clinicians, they do reveal broad outlines of newborn hearing abilities and the affects of sound on sleeping, quieting from crying, habituating, and paying attention. The newborn's responses to and preferences for particular sounds such as speech, music, and heartbeats are reviewed. These studies present the term newborn as an active listener and learner who, despite a somewhat immature auditory system and a limited repertoire of behavioral responses, is highly discriminating regarding the sounds of speech and whose efforts at sleeping, quieting, and paying attention may be hindered by noise such as that commonly found in hospital nurseries.

Habituation, Psychophysiologic↗

The roles of child reactivity and parenting context in infant pain response.

This study examined the relative importance of and developmental changes in biologically-based child variables (infant vagal tone and infant difficultness) and parental contextual variables (maternal behavior during pain and maternal sensitivity) in the prediction of infant pain behavior during immunization. Sixty infant-mother dyads were assessed when infants were approximately 6 or 18-months of age. During the first session, mothers completed a measure of infant difficultness, infants' resting EKG signals were recorded, and maternal sensitivity was rated. During the second session, infants' immunizations were video-recorded and maternal vocalizations and infant pain behavior were rated. At 6-months of age, 44% of the variability in infant pain behavior was predicted by infant difficultness and mothers' vocalizations during immunization. At 18-months of age, 35% of the variability in infant pain behavior was predicted by maternal sensitivity and infant vagal tone level. Children's emotion regulation skills and socialization histories may underlie age-related changes in the predictors of their pain.

Adaptation, Psychological↗