Mutual regulation between infant facial affect and maternal touch in depressed and nondepressed dyads

The ability to regulate affect is important for later adaptive child development. In the first months of life, infants have limited resources for regulating their own affects (e.g. by gaze aversion), and for this reason they are dependent on external affect regulation from their parents. Previous research suggests that touch is an important means through which parents regulate their infants’ affects. Also, previous research has shown that post-partum depressed (PPD) mothers and nonclinical mothers differ in their touching behaviors when interacting with their infants. We examined the affect-regulating function of affectionate, caregiving and playful maternal touch in 24 PPD and 47 nonclinical mother-infant dyads when infants were four months old. In order to investigate the direction of effects and to account for repeated observations, the data were analysed using time-window sequential analysis and Generalized Estimating Equations. The results showed that mothers adapt their touching behaviors according to negative infant facial affect; thus, when the infant displays negative facial affect, the mothers were less likely to initiate playful touch and more likely to initiate caregiving touch. Unexpectedly, only in the PPD dyads, were the mothers more likely to initiate affectionate touch when their infants were displaying negative facial affect. Our results also showed that mothers use specific touch types to regulate infants’ negative and positive affects; infants are more likely to initiate positive affect during periods with playful touch, and more likely to terminate negative affect during periods with caregiving touch.     

Mother-infant responsiveness: timing, mutual regulation, and interactional context

Mutual regulation during the naturalistic interaction of 150 mothers and their 4-month-old infants was investigated from a dynamic systems perspective. Microanalyses of a wide range of behaviors and analysis of contingencies indicated that a 3-s time period best captured contingencies. Both mothers and infants communicated primarily through vocal signals and responses, although maternal touches and infant looks also elicited responses. Although more expressive mothers did not have infants who behaved similarly, levels of contingent responsiveness between partners were significantly associated and occurred within distinct behavioral channels, suggesting coregulated interactional processes in which contingently responsive mothers shape their infants' communications toward mutual similarity. Mothers were more influential than infants over object play, whereas infants were more influential than mothers over expressive behavior. Interactional context consistently influenced contingent responsiveness; there was less mutual responsiveness when the infant was exploring, being held, or looking.     

Synchrony in mother-infant vocal interactions revealed through timed event sequences

This report extends a previous cross-cultural study of synchrony in mother-infant vocal interactions (Bornstein et al., 2015) to immigrant samples. Immigrant dyads from three cultures of origin (Japan, South Korea, South America) living in the same culture of destination (the United States) were compared to nonmigrant dyads in those same cultures of origin and to nonmigrant European American dyads living in the same culture of destination (the United States). This article highlights an underutilized analysis to assess synchrony in mother-infant interaction and extends cross-cultural research on mother-infant vocal interaction. Timing of onsets and offsets of maternal speech to infants and infant nondistress vocalizations were coded separately from 50-min recorded naturalistic observations of mothers and infants. Odds ratios were computed to analyze synchrony in mother-infant vocal interactions. Synchrony was analyzed in three ways -- contingency of timed event sequences, mean differences in contingency by acculturation level and within dyads, and coordination of responsiveness within dyads. Immigrant mothers were contingently responsive to their infants’ vocalizations, but only Korean immigrant infants were contingently responsive to their mothers’ vocalizations. For the Japanese and South American comparisons, immigrant mothers were more contingently responsive than their infants (but not robustly so for South American immigrants). For the Korean comparison, mean differences in contingent responsiveness were found among acculturation groups (culture of origin, immigrant, culture of destination), but not between mothers and infants. Immigrant dyads’ mean levels of responsiveness did not differ. Immigrant mothers’ and infants’ levels of responsiveness were coordinated. Strengths and flexibility of the timed event sequential analytic approach to assessing synchrony in mother-infant interactions are discussed, particularly for culturally diverse samples.     

Vocal imitation between mothers and infants

The aim of the present mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal study was to observe and describe some aspects of vocal imitation in natural mother-infant interaction. Specifically, maternal imitation of infant utterances was observed in relation to the imitative modeling, mirrored equivalence, and social guided learning models of infant speech development. Nine mother-infant dyads were audio-video recorded. Infants were recruited at different ages between 6 and 11 months and followed for 3 months, providing a quasi-longitudinal series of data from 6 through 14 months of age. It was observed that maternal imitation was more frequent than infant imitation even though vocal imitation was a rare maternal response. Importantly, mothers used a range of contingent and noncontingent vocal responses in interaction with their infants. Mothers responded to three-quarters of their infant's vocalizations, including speech-like and less mature vocalization types. The infants’ phonetic repertoire expanded with age. Overall, the findings are most consistent with the social guided learning approach. Infants rarely imitated their mothers, suggests a creative self-motivated learning mechanism that requires further investigation.     

Mother-infant interaction and children's socio-emotional development with high- and low-risk mothers

Charting the dynamic character of mother-infant interaction requires using observational systems of sequential coding in real time. A longitudinal study was designed to approach maternal sensitivity in a more complex way using sequential analysis. The study was conducted with 20 high- and 20 low-risk mothers and their infants (aged: 3, 12 and 15 months) to examine the relation among mothers' risk status for physical abuse and their maternal interactive profiles, using micro-social sequential analyses, and the subsequent quality of attachment developed by their children at 15 months of age. Results showed significantly different timings in maternal responses in high- and low-risk groups, that the high-risk mothers were less sensitive: more intrusive and less discriminate regarding their infant's behavior. Significant differences between groups were also found after infant difficult behavior. High-risk mothers' infants were significantly more likely to develop insecure attachment. Sensitivity is proposed as a constellation of timings in early mother-infant interaction.     

Some Personality Characteristics of the Culturally Disadvantaged

The relationship between sensitive maternal behavior and mother-infant vocalization during feedings was examined in an effort to determine this situational meaning of Ainsworth's concept of sensitivity. Ss were 28 white, middle-class mothers and their infants. Excerpts of home feedings videotaped at 6 and 9 months were coded for frequency of contingent vocal interaction and quality of vocal affect. Sensitive mothers were distinguished from insensitive mothers at each age period by differing vocal patterns. At 6 months, infants of sensitive mothers vocalized significantly less than did infants of insensitive mothers. Mothers in both groups responded to their infants' vocalizations equally as often. At 9 months, infants in both groups vocalized the same amount, while sensitive mothers vocalized more often in response to their infants than did insensitive mothers. The only significant difference in vocal affect was found in the greater positive affect among sensitive mothers at 9 months.     

Maternal and infant touching behaviours during perturbed interactions: Associations with maternal depressive symptomatology and infant crying

Touch is an important means through which mothers and infants co-regulate during periods of stress or perturbation. The present study examined the synchrony of maternal and infant touching behaviours among 41 mother-infant dyads, some of whom were deemed at-risk due to maternal depressive symptomatology. Mothers and their 4-month-old infants participated in the Still-Face (maternal emotional unavailability; SF) and Separation (maternal physical unavailability; SP) procedures. Infant crying was examined across procedures and investigated as a brief period of perturbation. Results revealed that mothers and infants displayed a positive pattern of tactile synchrony (coordinated, analogous changes in touch) during infant crying episodes. However, dyads in the high depression group displayed significantly less affectionate touch during instances of infant crying. Furthermore, more depressive symptoms were associated with less maternal and infant touch and lower rates of infant crying. This group of dyads may be less expressive via touch, be less affected by disruptions in their interactions, have impaired regulatory abilities, or simply require minimal amounts of touch to mutually regulate following social stressors and during brief perturbation periods. These findings enrich our limited knowledge about the dynamic interplay of maternal and infant touch and inform preventative intervention programs for at-risk groups.     

The effects of polydrug use with and without cocaine on mother-infant interaction at 3 and 6 months

The face-to-face interactions of 43 polydrug-with-cocaine-using mothers and their infants at 3 and 6 months were compared to 17 non-cocaine-but other-drug-using mothers and 21 mothers who used no drugs during their pregnancy. Coders blind to mothers' drug use status scored 3 min of face-to-face interactions for 16 measures of maternal and infant interactive behaviors. A principal component of 7 behaviors formed a measure of maternal attentiveness; a principal component of 5 behaviors formed a measure of mother-infant dyadic organization; and a principal component of 4 behaviors formed a measure of infant readiness to interact. A measure of maternal interruption was computed as the mean standard score of 3 additional interruptive behaviors. At 3 and 6 months, polydrug-with-cocaine-using mothers were less attentive to interactions, and polydrug-with-cocaine-using mothers and their infants engaged in fewer dyadic interactions than either non-cocaine or non-drug-using mothers. Compared to 3 months, polydrug-with-cocaine-using mothers at 6 months were less attentive to interactions and more frequently interrupted interactions by looking away, redirecting the infant, or withdrawing, whereas non-cocaine-using and non-drug- using mothers showed no change or an improvement in attentiveness to interactions and a decrease in interruptions. No differences emerged in the interactive behaviors of the infants of polydrug- with-cocaine-using, non-cocaine-using, or non-drug-using mothers. Cocaine use represents a significant risk for diminished parental attentiveness and responsiveness to infants and for diminished interactiveness in infants.     

Trait vulnerability and coping strategies in the transition to motherhood

Using a prospective design, we explored the role of approach and emotional/avoidance-coping strategies in the relations between dependent and self-critical trait vulnerabilities and postpartum depressive symptoms among first-time mothers. It was assumed that dependency and self-criticism associate with approach and emotional/ avoidance strategies respectively, and that approach-coping strategies moderate trait vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms after childbirth. One hundred forty-six first pregnancy participants were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and eight weeks postpartum. Dependency was found to associate positively with high approach and low emotional/avoidance-coping strategies, while self-criticism was found to correlate positively with high emotional/avoidance and low approachcoping strategies. In addition, approach-coping scores were found to moderate selfcritical trait vulnerability, reducing self-critical participants' depressive symptoms, thus confirming the coping effectiveness hypothesis. Results suggest that personality dispositions may affect the selection of coping processes, but that specific coping strategies are effective beyond personality characteristics, moderating the association between trait vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms. We propose a model in which self-criticism functions as vulnerability to depressive symptoms in the childbearing period. Our results illustrate the need to distinguish dependent and selfcritical personality traits, and point to the need to integrate personality and contextual factors in the study of childbirth depressive symptoms.     

Trait vulnerability and coping strategies in the transition to motherhood

Using a prospective design, we explored the role of approach and emotional/avoidance-coping strategies in the relations between dependent and self-critical trait vulnerabilities and postpartum depressive symptoms among first-time mothers. It was assumed that dependency and self-criticism associate with approach and emotional/ avoidance strategies respectively, and that approach-coping strategies moderate trait vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms after childbirth. One hundred forty-six first pregnancy participants were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and eight weeks postpartum. Dependency was found to associate positively with high approach and low emotional/avoidance-coping strategies, while self-criticism was found to correlate positively with high emotional/avoidance and low approachcoping strategies. In addition, approach-coping scores were found to moderate selfcritical trait vulnerability, reducing self-critical participants' depressive symptoms, thus confirming the coping effectiveness hypothesis. Results suggest that personality dispositions may affect the selection of coping processes, but that specific coping strategies are effective beyond personality characteristics, moderating the association between trait vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms. We propose a model in which self-criticism functions as vulnerability to depressive symptoms in the childbearing period. Our results illustrate the need to distinguish dependent and selfcritical personality traits, and point to the need to integrate personality and contextual factors in the study of childbirth depressive symptoms.     

The beginning of conversation: Early patterns of mother-infant vocal responsiveness

Microanalytic techniques were used to characterize the structure of the prespeech communication of 4-month-old infants and their mothers. Two observers continuously recorded the interactive behavior of mothers and their infants during hour-long observations in the homes of 25 families. Loglinear models were used to examine the extent to which the vocal behavior of one person was conditional upon the vocal behavior of the partner. Within the limits of this microanalytic approach, analyses indicated that patterns of mother-infant vocal exchange were structurally similar to patterns of adult conversation. Initial vocal responses were followed by suppression of vocalization, allowing the partner to join the conversation. The comparative effectiveness of vocal behavior as an elicitor of vocalization and as a response to vocalization was shown for mothers and infants relative to the other behaviors observed. Vocalization served as a modulator of visual attentiveness: When the partner was not visually attentive, vocalization elicited visual attention.     

Maternal perception of infant intentionality at 4 and 8 months

This study examines the degree to which mothers perceive infants as intentional and the relations among perception of intentionality, background variables, maternal emotional adjustment, and maternal interactive style. Forty mother-infant dyads were assessed when the infants were 4 months old, and 34 were retested at 8 months. Parent perception of infant intentionality (PPII) was measured via a rating of videotaped segments of infant behavior and an interview. Intentionality scores showed acceptable internal consistency and were positively intercorrelated at each age and across age. The two measures were aggregated to form an index of PPII at each age. Higher educational attainment was associated with lower PPII scores, experience with infants was associated with higher PPII scores, and academic knowledge about child development was not related to PPII. Mothers with more symptoms of anxiety had lower PPII scores, but high maternal separation anxiety was associated with higher PPII scores. Maternal symptoms of depression had a complex relation to PPII scores. Mothers rated as sensitive in mother-infant interactions had higher PPII scores. These variables accounted for 34% of the variance in PPII at 4 months and 49% at 8 months. There were also group differences: Mothers of 8-month-olds had higher PPII scores than mothers of 4-month-olds, mothers of girls had higher PPII scores than mothers of boys, and mothers attributed more intentionality in episodes with girls than in episodes with boys. The results are discussed in relation to mechanisms whereby PPII interacts with aspects of the parent and infant.     

Cortisol reactivity and negative affect among preterm infants at 12 months during a mother-infant interaction task

The purpose of this study was to investigate correlates of preterm (PT) infant’s cortisol reactivity and the association to infant negative affect, during a mother-infant interaction procedure. Participants included 48 infants born prematurely (gestational age < 37 weeks) and their mothers, assessed when infants were 12 months old corrected for prematurity. The examined variables comprised both neonatal and environmental dimensions including maternal interactive behavior. Infant negative affect and maternal interactive behavior were assessed with a standardized mother-infant interaction task. A baseline infant saliva sample was collected before the interaction began, and a second sample after the interaction episodes ended. Results revealed that decrease of infant’s cortisol concentration was significantly associated with the exposure to more sensitive, and less intrusive maternal behaviors. However, once controlled for neonatal risk, family SES and maternal psychological distress, the associations were rendered non-significant. Although the association between cortisol reactivity and negative affect trended toward significance, maternal intrusiveness was the only significant predictor of observed infant negative affect. Findings suggest the importance of primary relational experiences on PT infants' early regulatory competencies.     

The social environments of early infancy in Japan and the United States

The social environments of early infancy in Japan and the United States were compared in terms of the context of caregiving and the quality of the month-infant interaction. Mothers of 17 Japanese infants and 17 infants in the United States were interviewed in their homes about the experiences that they provided for their 4-month-old infants, and mother-infant interactions were recorded on videotape. Levels of parents' education were similar in both countries. The context of the infant's development varied substantially with culture. Mothers in the United States provided a greater variety of experiences on the HOME and care of Japanese infants tended to be more exclusively provided by mothers whereas care of infants in the United States was shared by fathers and other caregivers to a greater extent. Examination of behaviour frequencies during mother-infant interaction indicated that mothers in Japan provided their infants with more vocal input and more physical play than mothers in the United States and Japanese mothers were more vocally responsive to their infants' vocalizations.     

Chronic stress in the mother-infant dyad: Maternal hair cortisol,infant salivary cortisol and interactional synchrony

Stress physiology is shaped by early experience, with enduring effects on health. The relation of chronic maternal physiological stress, as indexed by hair cortisol, to infants’ stress systems and to mother-infant interaction quality has not been established. We examined maternal hair and salivary cortisol, six-month-old infants’ salivary cortisol, and mother-infant interaction in 121 mother-infant dyads. High maternal hair cortisol was related to higher infant average salivary cortisol concentration. Maternal hair cortisol and bedtime salivary cortisol were both uniquely related to infant bedtime salivary cortisol. Mothers with higher hair cortisol were more intrusive and had lower positive engagement synchrony with their infants. Maternal intrusiveness moderated the association of maternal hair cortisol and infant salivary cortisol, such that maternal hair and infant average salivary cortisol were related only when mothers were more intrusive. Maternal chronic physiological stress may upregulate infants’ developing stress systems, particularly in the context of lower mother-infant interaction quality.     

Contingency experiences of 3-month-old children and their relation to later developmental achievements

In this study, the authors investigated the relation between early social contingency experiences and infants' competencies to detect nonsocial contingencies. In this study of 87 three-month-old infants, the authors operationalized early social contingencies as prompt, contingent maternal responses and coded microanalytically on the basis of video-recorded mother-infant interactions. The authors assessed competence to detect nonsocial contingencies by 2 methods: (a) the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm, which focuses on detecting contingencies between the infants' actions (kicking) and nonsocial consequences (mobile moving) and (b) the visual expectation paradigm, which focuses on detecting contingencies between 1 event (a smiley face projected on a screen) that was followed by a 2nd event (a complex picture projected on the other side of the screen). The results showed that early social contingencies are related to the competency to detect nonsocial action-consequence contingencies in the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm.     

Unresolved states of mind, disorganized attachment relationships, and disrupted interactions of adolescent mothers and their infants

The links between unresolved maternal attachment status, disrupted maternal interaction in play situations, and disorganized attachment relationships were examined in a study of 82 adolescent mother-infant dyads. Maternal interactive behavior was measured using the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification coding system. Additional rating scales were developed to correspond to the 5 dimensions of disrupted maternal behavior outlined by E. Bronfman, E. Parsons, and K. Lyons-Ruth (1999). A robust association was observed between disrupted maternal behavior and disorganized attachment. Ratings of disrupted maternal behavior revealed that disorganized attachment relationships were strongly related to ratings of fearful/disoriented behavior. Moreover, mothers who were unresolved were more likely than not-unresolved mothers to show disrupted patterns of interaction with their infants. Regression analyses suggested that disrupted behavior statistically mediated the association between unresolved status and disorganized attachment relationships.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: validity and psychological correlates in a clinical sample

This study sought to compare the original and revised scoring systems of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) and to assess the construct validity of the Dependent and Self-Critical subscales of the DEQ in a clinically depressed sample. Subjects were 103 depressed inpatients who completed the DEQ, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hopelessness Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The original and revised scoring systems of the DEQ evidenced good concurrent validity for each factor scale, but the revised system did not sufficiently discriminate dependent and self-critical dimensions. Using the original scoring system, self-criticism was significantly and positively related to severity of depression, whereas dependency was not, particularly for males. Factor analysis of the DEQ scales and the other scales used in this study supported the dependent and self-critical dimensions. For men, the correlation of the DEQ with the MMPI scales indicated that self-criticism was associated with psychotic symptoms, hostility/conflict, and a distress/exaggerated response set, whereas dependency did not correlate significantly with any MMPI scales. Females, however, did not exhibit a differential pattern of correlations between either the Dependency or the Self-Criticism scales and the MMPI. These findings suggest possible gender differences in the clinical characteristics of male and female dependent and self-critical depressive subtypes.     

The Relation Between Coordinated Interpersonal Timing and Maternal Sensitivity in Four-Month-Old Infants

The relation between mother–infant coordinated interpersonal timing, an automated microanalytic measure of dyadic vocal coordination, and maternal sensitivity was explored. Thirty-five mothers and their developmentally normal 4-month-old infants were audio-recorded during a 20-min laboratory vocal interaction session, that was later analyzed for degree of vocal coordination. Maternal Sensitivity ratings (Ainsworth & Bell, 1969) were based on a video-taped 45-min unstructured laboratory interaction period. A significant curvilinear relation between the degree to which mother coordinated her noninterruptive co-occurring speech to that of her infant was found and revealed that mothers highest in sensitivity were characterized by moderate levels of coordination. Examining mother-infant interaction at the specific behavioral level, while incorporating tests of nonlinear trends, may provide important information about the nature of sensitive parenting.