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PubMed1989

Infantile anorexia nervosa: a developmental disorder or separation and individuation.

Infantile anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that has its onset during the early developmental stage of separation and individuation between the ages of six months and three years. Infantile anorexia nervosa is characterized by food refusal and leads to failure to thrive. The infant refuses to eat in an attempt to achieve autonomy and control with regard to the mother, a maneuver that serves to involve the mother more deeply in the infant's eating behavior and to meet the infant's need for attention. Mother and infant become embroiled in a battle of wills over the infant's food intake. The infant's feeding is directed by his emotional needs instead of physiological sensations of hunger and satiety, and he fails to develop somatopsychological differentiation. The infant's temperament and maternal conflicts over control, autonomy, and dependency appear to contribute to this eating disorder. Treatment is aimed toward helping the parents understand and promote the developmental process of somatopsychological differentiation. Initially, a behavioral-cognitive approach is used; however, parents who struggle with unresolved issues around dependency and control require further psychotherapy.

Anorexia Nervosa↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The limits of genetic influence: a behavior-genetic analysis of infant-caregiver relationship quality and temperament.

This report presents data on 9-month-old twin pairs (n(MZ)=172; n(DZ)=333) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, demonstrating that the role of genetic variation among infants is trivial and the shared and nonshared environment is substantial in accounting for the observed quality of infant-caregiver relationships. In contrast, maternal reports of temperament were best accounted for by genetic variation and nonshared environmental influences. Interestingly, however, shared environmental effects were documented for observations of temperament. Consistent with a growing database, the current study calls into question the ubiquity of heritability effects in all domains of psychological inquiry. It also bolsters consensus in the field of developmental psychology that shared environmental effects are not as elusive as had once been thought.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health beliefs and parenting attitudes influence breastfeeding patterns among low-income African-American women.

OBJECTIVE: To describe breastfeeding initiation among 210 urban African-American mothers with inadequate prenatal care. METHODS: This study is a case-control study of postpartum mothers recruited from four large urban hospitals. RESULTS: Mothers who chose to breastfeed were more educated, employed before birth, married, and using contraception postnatally. Regression model analysis controlling for demographic differences revealed that breastfeeding was significantly associated with a higher perception of severity of illness and higher confidence in the ability of health care to prevent illness. Breastfeeding mothers were less likely to reverse parent-child roles and had a lower perception of hassle from their infant's behavior. When comparing mothers who breastfed longer than 8 weeks to those who did not breastfeed, breastfeeding mothers had high scores related to empathy toward infants on the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory as well as a low perception of hassle on the Parenting Daily Hassle. The perception of existing formal or informal social support did not influence breastfeeding behavior. CONCLUSION: Personal attributes of low-income urban mothers such as health beliefs and parental attitudes may play a role in the initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Low-income African-American mothers may be influenced in their choice to breastfeed by supportive messages from physicians and nurses delivering care to mothers and their newborns. Emphasis should be placed on the role breastfeeding can play in preventing childhood illnesses.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Maternal stress and social support: effects on the mother-infant relationship from birth to eighteen months.

Mothers' perceived stress and social support were found to be significant predictors of maternal attitudes and the quality of interaction with their infants, when measured concurrently across an 18-month period. However, long-term predictions were poor, as stability of maternal stress and support factors was only moderate. The quality of infants' interactive behavior was also affected by maternal stress and support, but only during the early measurement periods of one and four months.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Security of attachment and infant-sibling relationships: a laboratory study.

The relation between infant-sibling affective involvement and the attachment security of each child to the mother was examined in the present laboratory investigation. In mothers' presence, securely attached infants were less likely to protest and aggress against mothers and older siblings when mothers played only with the older child. In mothers' absence, more secure older siblings were more likely to respond to infant distress with caregiving than were less secure older siblings. Although infant attachment behavior to older siblings was rare, it occurred only when the older sibling was more secure. Sibling dyads with a secure infant and a more secure older child appeared to be most likely to develop nonantagonistic relationships, whereas sibling dyads with an insecure infant and a less secure older child appeared least likely to do so. These findings were discussed in terms of the putative role of attachment security in shaping sibling bonds.

Affect↗
PubMed1987

Infant readjustment from rural hospital to home.

This descriptive study examined parental perceptions of postdischarge behavioral changes in infants hospitalized for short-term treatment of respiratory problems. The sample consisted of 50 infants, aged 6 weeks to 12 months, who were hospitalized due to respiratory problems. Parents were interviewed in the home setting within 48 hours of the infants' discharge from the hospital. Results of the study indicated that behavioral changes in infants and changes in the parent-infant interaction were frequent after short-term hospitalization. The findings also provide direction for intervention in reducing parental anxiety through provision of support and anticipatory guidance to parents before the discharge of their infant from the hospital.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Maternal behavior is related to prepartum urinary estradiol levels in red-bellied tamarin monkeys.

This is the first study in a primate, the red-bellied tamarin (Saguinus labiatus), to demonstrate a correlation between urinary estradiol during late pregnancy and postpartum infant-directed behavior. Females were defined as good (N = 6) or poor (N = 6) mothers, and were selected so that both groups contained 3 females with and 3 without prepubertal experience with infants. Females with prepubertal experience of infants were defined as good or poor mothers if 2 or less than 2 infants survived one week, respectively; females without such experience were defined as good or poor mothers if at least 1, or 0 infants survived one week, respectively. Five of the six good mothers had 2 surviving infants; 10 of the 13 infants of poor mothers died at day 0. Prepartum urinary total estradiol concentrations were constant in good mothers (5-4 weeks prepartum: 32.29 +/- 3.65 micrograms/mg creatinine; 1 week prepartum: 33.76 +/- 5.02 micrograms/mg CR.; p greater than 0.98), but declined significantly in poor mothers (5-4 weeks prepartum: 38.34 +/- 7.07 micrograms/mg Cr.; 1 week prepartum: 18.35 +/- 4.72 micrograms/mg Cr.; p less than 0.0004). At 1 week prepartum, estradiol was significantly higher in good mothers (p less than 0.03). When analysed separately, only good and poor mothers without prepubertal experience of infants had significantly different urinary estradiol concentrations. In the 2-hour postpartum period, good mothers spent more time lick-cleaning (p less than 0.02), carrying and nursing infants; poor mothers rubbed off clinging infants more, their infants spent less time being carried (p less than 0.03), and apparently starved because they had no opportunity to suckle.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Crying and behavior pattern in breast- and formula-fed infants.

Breast- and formula-fed infants were compared with regard to behavior patterns, especially crying behavior. A diary concerning seven behaviors was completed by 188 mothers of breast- and formula-fed infants at the well baby clinic. Breast-fed infants were fed more frequently with longer feeding duration. They slept more, but their long bouts were shorter than those of formula-fed infants. The crying pattern of formula-fed infants was different from that of breast-fed infants in that they displayed an evening cluster and a 7-week peak of crying. Since the educational level of the formula group mothers was higher and there are more later born babies in that group, it is speculated that these mothers have a Westernized tendency in their caretaking style and, as a result, the crying pattern of formula-fed infants are similar to that of Western babies. In multivariate analysis, contact, play, sleep durations and mothers' education contributed significantly to cry duration. These results imply that contact with the mother and other caretaking practices are closely associated with infants' crying.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Prevention of iron deficiency and psychomotor decline in high-risk infants through use of iron-fortified infant formula: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of iron-fortified infant formula in preventing developmental delays and abnormal behavior. DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Urban hospital clinic. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 283 healthy, bottle-fed infants from very low income families. Children with prematurity, low birth weight, and major anomalies and those who had received more than 2 weeks of evaporated-milk feedings were excluded. The groups were similar for sociodemographic background variables. Fifty-eight infants (20.5%) dropped out before any outcome data were gathered; 225, 204, 186, and 154 remained at 6-, 9-, 12-, and 15-month assessments, respectively. INTERVENTION: Iron-fortified formula (12.8 mg iron per liter) versus regular formula (1.1 mg iron per liter). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Iron status was measured on venous blood by determination of hemoglobin, serum iron and iron-binding capacity, serum ferritin, and free erythrocyte protoporphyrin values. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (mental and psychomotor indexes) and two factors of the Infant Behavior Record (test affect and task orientation) were the outcomes of interest. RESULTS: All measures of iron status were significantly different between groups (p < 0.001). Psychomotor development patterns differed between groups (F3,520, 3.4; p = 0.02) with time. Mean values were similar at 6 months but differed at 9 and 12 months of age (p < 0.001), with a decline of 6.4 points in the regular-formula group. By 15 months of age the differences were no longer significant (p = 0.23). Mental development and behavior were not affected. CONCLUSIONS: Iron-fortified formula significantly reduced iron deficiency in a high-risk group of infants and prevented a decline in psychomotor development quotients. This effect may be transient, and its long-term significance needs further study.

Developmental Disabilities↗
PubMed2004

Deficit in attachment behavior in mice lacking the mu-opioid receptor gene.

Endogenous opioid binding to micro receptors is hypothesized to mediate natural rewards and has been proposed to be the basis of infant attachment behavior. Here, we report that micro-opioid receptor knockout mouse pups emit fewer ultrasonic vocalizations when removed from their mothers but not when exposed to cold or male mice odors. Moreover these knockout pups do not show a preference toward their mothers' cues and do not show ultrasonic calls potentiation after brief maternal exposure. Results from this study may indicate a molecular mechanism for diseases characterized by deficits in attachment behavior, such as autism or reactive attachment disorder.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Parental influences on children's eating behavior and relative weight.

We investigated the relationship between selected parent behaviors, child mealtime behavior, and infant relative weight. Subjects were 7 male and 7 female children varying in age from 12 to 30 months (mean = 23.9 months). Each subject and parents were observed during the dinnertime meal on two occasions using the BATMAN (Bob and Tom's Method of Assessing Nutrition). The children spent 58% of the mealtime eating. They spent very little time making active decisions about what and how much they ate (food requests = 2% of the time; food refusals = 1% of the time). We found significant correlations between child relative weight and (a) parental prompts to eat (r = .81, p less than .001), (b) parental food offers (r = .51, p less than .05), and (c) parental encouragement to eat (r = .82, p less than .001). Thus, the present study suggests a relationship between certain parental variables and the relative weight of their children.

Body Weight↗
PubMed2001

How do mothers signal shared feeling-states to their infants? An investigation of affect attunement and imitation during the first year of life.

The present study examined how mothers signal shared feeling-states to their infants. Affect attunement and imitation were investigated cross-culturally in 39 mother-infant dyads from Sweden (N = 22) and the former Yugoslavia (N = 17) during the first year of life. Video-recordings of playful interaction between mothers and their infants were analysed using the Affect Attunement Protocol. A significant negative association between imitation and age was found, while there was a significant positive association between affect attunement and age. Single occurrences of affect attunement appeared already at two or three months of age, and by 6 months of age episodes of affect attunement were more common than imitation. Frequencies of imitation and affect attunement were similar cross-culturally and in terms of gender, although there was a significant interaction between age and gender. The results suggest that the signalling of shared feeling-states is not a static process. Mothers do not signal shared feeling-states in the same manner at different ages. Imitation is the most important process during the earliest months, but is superseded by affect attunement earlier than previously thought. The functional implications of this developmental variation are discussed.

Affect↗
PubMed1996

Infant behaviour in response to a change in body position from side to prone during sleep.

UNLABELLED: The consequences of provoking a change in the sleeping position from side to prone during quiet (non-REM) and active (REM) sleep in young infants were studied in terms of ability to turn the face away from the mattress within 3 min, and in terms of ventilatory and heart rate responses in those who remained face down. Twenty-six infants were exposed to repeated tilts from the side to prone at 2.5 months, and 20 at 5 months of age. Eighteen infants were tested on both occasions. A computer-aided multichannel system was used for polysomnographic recordings. Approximately 66% of the infants did not rotate the face away from the mattress on at least one occasion. There were no significant differences in the rate of face down outcome between sleep states or ages, and no consistent pattern of final face position following repeated tilts. The face to side position was commonly accomplished after considerable difficulties involving vigorous body movements, particularly if the arm became positioned between the body and the mattress or alongside the trunk after the tilt. Apnoeas of 3-14 s in immediate response to the tilt were observed in 75% of the infants monitored electronically. In 13% of the infants, all in a face down position, the test was terminated because of increases in heart and respiratory rates, drop in oxygen saturation, or marked pallor. CONCLUSIONS: The observed difficulties of obtaining a face to side position when suddenly exposed to the prone position during sleep, may render some young infants at risk of sudden infant death (SID).

Apnea↗
PubMed1998

Social contagion, adolescent sexual behavior, and pregnancy: a nonlinear dynamic EMOSA model.

Nonlinear dynamic modeling has useful developmental applications. The authors introduce this class of models and contrast them with traditional linear models. Epidemic models of the onset of social activities (EMOSA models) are a special case, motivated by J. L. Rodgers and D. C. Rowe's (1993) social contagion theory, which predict the spread of adolescent behaviors like smoking, drinking, delinquency, and sexuality. In this article, a biological outcome, pregnancy, is added to an earlier EMOSA sexuality model. Parameters quantify likelihood of pregnancy for girls of different sexuality statuses. Five different sexuality/pregnancy models compete to explain variance in national prevalence curves. One finding was that, in the context of the authors' simplified model, adolescent girls have an approximately constant probability of pregnancy across age and time since virginity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Infant thresholds with enhanced attention to the signal in visual reinforcement audiometry.

Experimental data show a discrepancy between adult auditory thresholds and best estimates of infant thresholds. The source of the discrepancy has not been determined. Attentional differences between infants and adults and procedural differences to accommodate infant attentional behavior may account at least in part for the discrepancy. A standard operant procedure, Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA), was modified to enhance infant attention to impending auditory signals. Results on 16 infants evaluated with conventional VRA and modified VRA revealed an average 5.5 dB improvement in threshold with the modified technique. Correction for adult performance in similar tasks indicated a 3.3 dB attentional effect between infant and adult thresholds. The shift in threshold reflects on the adequacy of VRA as a threshold procedure.

Adult↗