Preterm behavior,maternal adjustment,and competencies in the newborn period: What influence do they have at 12 months postnatal age?

This article examines whether preterm newborns' behavior and their mother's adjustment to the premature birth and infant hospitalization have an influence on subsequent infant development and behavior, maternal adjustment, and mother–infant relationship. The behavioral competencies of 42 well, singleton preterm infants (mean gestational age=31 weeks) were assessed, as were their mothers' adjustment (depression and coping) and competencies (knowledge of child development). At 12 months of postnatal age, child competencies (development and behavior) were assessed, together with maternal adjustment (parenting stress and depression). Mother–infant interaction also was observed. Regression analyses indicated that in the newborn period, maternal positive reappraisal and a planful coping style, more knowledge of child development, and previous experience with baby‐sitting were associated with better infant development (p=.002), maternal adjustment (p=.012), and mother–child relationship (p=.002) at 12 months. Newborn infant muscle‐tone maturity was predictive of better motor quality at 12 months (p=.011), and being a firstborn infant who was more sleepy and drowsy was associated with subsequent higher maternal parenting stress (p=.007). Social and educational support groups combined with an approach that assists mothers to develop problem‐solving coping styles may have a beneficial influence on infant development.     

GENDER DIVISION OF TASKS BY PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN

The division of parenting tasks between wives and husbands was explored in a sample of 279 Australian families containing a 9–1 1-year-old child, and the children's performance of household tasks was compared with their parents' division of labor. Three parenting factors (domestic care, leisure/enrichment, and psychological), and four child factors (handyman, domestic, maturity, and babysitting) were obtained. Mothers were more active than fathers on all three parenting factors, but significant differences were found between parents of differing SES and cultural backgrounds. Among children, the greatest sex difference was found on the handyman factor, where boys greatly outperformed girls. Boys' performance on this factor was not related to parental division of labor or social background, but girls' performance was higher when they were only children and when they lived in higher SES families. Girls outperformed boys on the domestic and maturity factors. Parenting style, SES, and cultural background also were significantly related to these factor scores. Apart from child's sex, cultural background was the strongest predictor of children's task performance.     

Infant distractibility from social events mediates the relation between maternal responsiveness and infant language outcomes

Research demonstrates that contingent and appropriate maternal responsiveness to infant requests and bids for attention leads to better language outcomes. Research also indicates that infants who are less distracted by irrelevant competing stimulation and attend efficiently to audiovisual social events (e.g., faces and voices) show better language outcomes. However, few studies have assessed relations between maternal responsiveness, infant attention to faces and voices, and distractibility, and how together these factors lead to early language outcomes. A newly developed audiovisual protocol, the Multisensory Attention Assessment Protocol (MAAP; Bahrick et al., 2018), allows researchers to examine individual differences in attention to faces and voices and distractibility, and to assess relations with other variables. At 12 months, infants (n = 79) in an ongoing longitudinal study participated in the MAAP to assess intersensory matching of synchronous faces and voices and attention to an irrelevant competing visual distractor event. They also were observed in a brief play interaction to assess infant bids for attention and maternal responsiveness (accept, redirect, or ignore). At 18 months, receptive and expressive language were assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Several noteworthy findings emerged: 1) mothers were generally responsive, accepting 74% and redirecting 14% of infant bids, 2) infants who had a greater number of their bids redirected by mothers, and who had better intersensory matching of synchronous faces and voices, showed less attention to the distractor, and 3) infants who showed less attention to the distractor had better receptive language. Findings demonstrate that maternal redirecting of infant attention by mothers who are generally responsive may promote better infant attentional control (lower distractibility) which in turn predicts better receptive language in toddlers.     

The role of maternal responsiveness in predicting infant affect during the still face paradigm with infants born very low birth weight

There is limited empirical literature addressing infants' response to a standardized stressor with infants born very low birth weight (VLBW). The purpose of this study was to assess the relative strength of maternal responsiveness in predicting infant affect in response to the Still Face (SF) paradigm in a cross‐sectional cohort of ethnically diverse infants born VLBW and their mothers (N = 50; infants 6–8 months old). Infant affect and maternal responsiveness were coded in 1‐s intervals while dyads participated in the SF. In addition, perinatal medical status, developmental status, and infant temperament were assessed. Findings revealed that positive infant affect during and after the SF stressor were strongly associated with baseline infant positive affect and maternal responsiveness at the reunion episode, respectively. In contrast, when predicting negative infant affect during and after the SF stressor, prior infant negative affect was strongly and uniquely significant. Infant positive affect, negative affect, and maternal responsiveness were not significantly associated with gender, infant perinatal medical history, developmental status, or temperament. Future research is warranted to determine how these findings relate to infants' stress reactions in naturalistic settings and if relationship‐focused interventions may reverse infant negative emotionality, enhance positive emotionality, and thereby improve self‐regulation and longer term social and cognitive developmental outcomes in medically at‐risk infants.     

The relationship between puberty and social emotion processing

The social brain undergoes developmental change during adolescence, and pubertal hormones are hypothesized to contribute to this development. We used fMRI to explore how pubertal indicators (salivary concentrations of testosterone, oestradiol and DHEA; pubertal stage; menarcheal status) relate to brain activity during a social emotion task. Forty‐two females aged 11.1 to 13.7 years underwent fMRI scanning while reading scenarios pertaining either to social emotions, which require the representation of another person’s mental states, or to basic emotions, which do not. Pubertal stage and menarcheal status were used to assign girls to early or late puberty groups. Across the entire sample, the contrast between social versus basic emotion resulted in activity within the social brain network, including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), the posterior superior temporal sulcus, and the anterior temporal cortex (ATC) in both hemispheres. Increased hormone levels (independent of age) were associated with higher left ATC activity during social emotion processing. More advanced age (independent of hormone levels) was associated with lower DMPFC activity during social emotion processing. Our results suggest functionally dissociable effects of pubertal hormones and age on the adolescent social brain.     

What do parents talk about to infants?

The content of parents' talk is studied here as expressing their conception of their developing infant, from the initial symbiotic fusion to an individual situtated in space, time and society. The topics parents introduce in their speech to their infant reflect the perception and expectations they have of their baby. The social and parental status of fathers and mothers, and the anticipated role and status of the child- and adult-to-be, and in particular the age and gender of the infant, mediate the choice of topics. Parents' spontaneous speech to 3-month- and 9-month-old infants was studied during a diapering episode, before leaving the day-care centre. Five minutes of such a speech was recorded, and each utterance was assigned to a semantic category (e. g. greetings, comments on diapering, on mood). Sex-typing is already noticeable as early as 3 months of age: comments on the present situation and state are more frequent for girls, and comments about absent persons or events more frequent with boys. Both parents contribute to this effect, fathers more than mothers. With age parents become less concerned with immediate problems and more aware of the infant's own performances. First names are used more for boys than for gilrs. As a whole, boys are considered as individuals earlier than girls.     

Imitation promotes affiliation in infant macaques at risk for impaired social behaviors

Parental responsiveness and synchronization during early face‐to‐face interactions between mother and infant have been theorized to affect a broad spectrum of positive developmental outcomes in social and cognitive infant growth and to facilitate the development of a sense of self in the baby. Here we show that being imitated can significantly affect the behavior of nursery‐reared infant monkeys, which are at an increased risk for developing aberrant social behaviors. Infants look longer and lipsmack more at an experimenter both during imitation and after being imitated. These results demonstrate that from early in life imitation might be used as a privileged form of communication by adults to enhance infants' visual engagement and their social communication. Imitation may therefore be useful to counteract the negative effects of early social adversities.     

Sex differences and parallels in the development of externalizing behaviours in childhood: Boys’ and girls’ susceptibility to social preference among peers

This study examined whether being poorly preferred by peers may partially explain why boys with oppositional behaviour develop more conduct problems than girls. Children from the general Dutch population attending regular elementary schools (N = 759, 50.3% boys) were followed annually from age 7 to 10 years. Teachers-rated externalizing behaviour and peer-nominated social preference was assessed across four waves. Autoregressive cross-lagged models indicated that oppositionality predicted increases in conduct problems. Above and beyond this direct link, oppositionality predicted low social preference in subsequent years, which in turn predicted an increase in conduct problems. In this latter pathway, sex differences were found. That is, oppositional boys were as likely as oppositional girls to show an increase in low social preference one year later. However, boys who had low social preference scores showed stronger increases in conduct problems one year later, compared to girls who had low social preference scores. Hence, developmental models of externalizing behaviour should consider the possible sex-differential impact of troublesome peer-relationships to understand the development of milder to more severe externalizing behaviours.     

Parent and actometer measures of motor activity level in the young infant

Motor activity level is one dimension of infant temperament for which parental judgment can be validated against a truly independent criterion. Two studies were conducted, the first involving a 27-min sample of behavior in a structured, attention-getting situation, and the second involving a 24-hr sample of in-home behavior. In both studies, parent perception of the 3- or 4-month-old as measured by the Activity Level (AL) scale of the Rothbart Infant Behavior Questionnaire was compared to the composited readings from four mechanical motion recorders (actometers) worn, one per limb, by the infant. The AL scale did not correlate with the actometer measure, r=.05 and R=.00, and the expected convergence of the 3-month version of the IBQ activity scale with its mechanical counterpart was not found. In the 24-hr study, birth order and ponderal index were significantly correlated with 24-hr actometer scores; first-borns and thin infants were most active.     

Genetic and environmental influences on pubertal development: longitudinal data from Finnish twins at ages 11 and 14

To study sources of individual differences in pubertal development, the authors fit a sex-limitation common factor model to data reported, at ages 11 and 14 years, by 1,891 twin pairs on items that comprise the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS; A. C. Petersen, L. Crockett, M. Richards, & A. Boxer, 1988). The model divides variation into a general pubertal factor and item-specific variation and, in addition, decomposes it into constituent sources. In both boys and girls, genetic influences made the largest contribution to variance common to PDS items. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variation specific to PDS items in boys, whereas for girls, common environmental influences were added for growth spurt and menarcheal status. For both common and item-specific variation, genetic effects were partially sex specific. Subsidiary analyses found accelerated maturation in both boys and girls who at age 14 were reared in father-absent homes.     

Adults' evaluations of children caring for a baby: The effects of gender and behavior

In this study adult subjects evaluated the behavior of a 5- or 8-year-old child interacting with his or her baby “sibling.” The adults saw a 5-minute videotape in which the child interacted in a minimal or active fashion with the baby. The eight tapes consisted of all possible combinations of older child and infant sex and behavior style. The adults evaluated the active interaction with the infant very differently than the minimal interaction, but found each behavioral style equally typical of girls and boys in this age range. The active children were seen as more positive, more expressive, more intstrumental, more active, and more tender. The gender of the subject and older child played small roles in some of the evaluations.     

Father absence, menarche and interest in infants among adolescent girls

In this study we examined the relationship between menarche and interest in infants among adolescent girls, and the effects of early environment, particularly of father absence from home, on both variables. Eighty-three girls ranging in age from between 11 and 14 years served as study participants. Interest in infants was assessed through their preferences for photos and silhouettes of animal and human faces of infants versus adults. Information on menarche and the early family environment was obtained with questionnaires and interviews. Variation in menarcheal status or timing of menarche was associated with some differences in interest in infants. There was little or no evidence, however, that suggested a direct causal relationship between these variables. Instead, both menarche and interest in infants were independently associated with early father absence from home such that father-absent girls exhibited earlier menarche and greater attraction to infant visual stimuli than father-present girls. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that father absence is associated with a developmental trajectory characterized by earlier readiness for reproduction and parenting.     

Linkages between childhood executive functioning and adolescent social functioning and psychopathology in girls with ADHD

We followed an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of preadolescent girls with ADHD (n = 140) and matched comparison girls (n = 88) over a period of 5 years, from middle childhood through early/midadolescence, with the aim of determining whether childhood levels of executive function (EF) would predict adolescent multi-informant outcomes of social functioning and psychopathology, including comorbidity between externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. Predictors were well-established measures of planning, response inhibition, and working memory, along with a control measure of fine motor control. Independent of ADHD versus comparison group status, (a) childhood planning and response inhibition predicted adolescent social functioning and (b) childhood planning predicted comorbid internalizing/externalizing disorders in adolescence. Subgroup status (ADHD-Combined, ADHD-Inattentive, and comparison) moderated the relationship between childhood planning and adolescent internalizing/externalizing comorbidity, with the combined type revealing particularly strong associations between baseline planning and adolescent comorbidity. Mediation analyses indicated that adolescent social functioning mediated the prediction from childhood EF to comorbidity at follow-up; in turn, in the girls with ADHD, adolescent comorbidity mediated the prediction from childhood EF to social functioning at follow-up. We conclude that childhood interventions should target EF impairments in addition to behavioral symptoms.     

Culture,carrying, and communication: Beliefs and behavior associated with babywearing

Ethnographic research suggests mother-infant physical contact predicts high levels of maternal responsiveness to infant cues, yet it is unclear whether this responsiveness is driven by the act of physical contact or by underlying beliefs about responsiveness. We examine beliefs and behavior associated with infant carrying (i.e., babywearing) among U.S. mothers and experimentally test the effect of mother-infant physical contact on maternal responsiveness. In Study 1 (N = 23 dyads), babywearing mothers were more likely to interact contingently in response to infant cues than non-babywearing mothers during an in-lab play session. In Study 2 (N = 492 mothers), babywearing predicted maternal beliefs emphasizing responsiveness to infant cues. In Study 3 (N = 20 dyads), we experimentally manipulated mother-infant physical contact in the lab using a within-subjects design and found that babywearing increased maternal tactile interaction, decreased maternal and infant object contact, and increased maternal responsiveness to infant vocalizations. Our results motivate further research examining how culturally-mediated infant carrying practices shape the infant’s early social environment and subsequent development.     

Individual and relational contributions to parallel and joint attention in infancy

Objective

This study examined the contributions of maternal bids for joint attention, relationship quality, and infant characteristics, to individual differences in infants’ parallel and joint attention.

Method

Fifty-two 10-month-olds and their mothers were assessed in order to investigate concurrent predictors of infant parallel attention, responding to joint attention, and initiating joint attention.

Results

Parallel attention was predicted by infants’ higher mental development, low expression of negative emotionality, and maternal entertaining behaviors. Responding to joint attention was marginally predicted by total maternal bids for joint attention. Initiating joint attention was predicted by the infants’ low expression of negative emotionality, as well as marginally predicted by fewer maternal teaching behaviors.

Conclusion

These results further the understanding of the factors influencing infant parallel as well as joint attention.     

Modification of preschool sex-typed behaviors by participation in adult-structured activities

Earlier studies have shown the girls spend more time than boys in activities that are highly structured by adults. Structured activities may encourage feminine sex-typed behaviors such as compliance to adults; low-structure activities may encourage masculine sex-typed behaviors such as independence and assertiveness. In the present study the effects of high or low levels of adult structuring on children's social behavior during preschool free-play activities were tested in a field experiment carried out during an entire semester in one preschool classroom. For the first 15 minutes of free play, children were assigned to high- or low-structure activities. As predicted, when children were in high-structure activities, they exhibited high rates of bids for recognition and compliance to adults; in low-structure activities, they exhibited peer-directed leadership, bids for recognition, and compliance. There were no generalized effects of these treatments on their subsequent free choice of activities or social behavior. The study demonstrates powerful effects of naturally occurring variations in children's play activities on sex-typed social behaviors.     

Pretty in pink: The early development of gender‐stereotyped colour preferences

Parents commonly dress their baby girls in pink and their baby boys in blue. Although there is research showing that children prefer the colour blue to other colours (regardless of gender), there is no evidence that girls actually have a special preference for the colour pink. This is the focus of the current investigation. In a large cross‐sectional study, children aged 7 months to 5 years were offered eight pairs of objects and asked to choose one. In every pair, one of the objects was always pink. By the age of 2, girls chose pink objects more often than boys did, and by the age of 2.5, they had a significant preference for the colour pink over other colours. At the same time, boys showed an increasing avoidance of pink. These results thus reveal that sex differences in young children's preference for the colour pink involves both an increasing attraction to pink by young girls and a growing avoidance of pink by boys.     

Differential Effects of Mother’s and Father’s Parenting on Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior: Child Sex Moderating

The current study examined the differential effects of maternal and paternal parenting on prosocial and antisocial behavior during middle childhood, and the moderating role of child sex. Parents of 96 boys and 107 girls (mean age?=?92.42?months, SD?=?3.52) completed different questionnaires to assess parenting and child behavior. All participants were Caucasian from south of Spain. Multiple hierarchical regressions (enter method) were performed to determine significant predictors of prosocial and antisocial behavior. The results showed that maternal and paternal hostility predicted an increase of externalizing problems in boys and girls (p?<?.001 in both sex groups). As well, Warmth/Induction of both parents predicted an increase in adaptive skills in boys and girls (p?<?.001 in both sex groups). On the other hand, differential effects of fathers’ and mothers’ parenting were found: both for boys and girls, maternal inconsistency positively predicted externalizing problems and negatively adaptive skills (p?<?.001 in both sex groups) and paternal overprotection positively predicted externalizing problems and negatively adaptive skills (p?<?.05 in both sex groups). Finally, maternal coercion negatively predicted adaptive skills in boys and girls (p?<?.05 in both sex groups); however, it increased externalizing problems only in girls (p?<?.05), whereas maternal permissiveness only increased these problems in boys (p?<?.01 in both cases). The discussion highlighted the importance of considering both parents’ and children’s sex to further knowledge of parenting styles affecting children’s behaviors.     

The First Man in Her Life: Father Emotional Responsiveness During Adolescence and College Women's Sexual Refusal Behaviors

Few empirical studies have examined how fathers influence daughters’ sexual interactions with male peers. We hypothesized that paternal emotional responsiveness would empower daughters to refuse unwanted sex. Female undergraduates (N = 144) and their fathers completed measures of paternal responsiveness during adolescence; daughters also reported their global self-worth, acceptance of male partner dominance, and sexual refusal behaviors. As expected, paternal responsiveness promoted daughters’ refusals of unwanted sex. Paternal responsiveness predicted daughters’ self-worth, partially explaining daughters’ increased sexual assertiveness. Perceived paternal responsiveness also negatively predicted daughters’ acceptance of male dominance. These results suggest that positive paternal relationships promote daughters’ sexual agency.     

Self-Esteem, Teasing and Quality of Life: African American Adolescent Girls Participating in a Family-Based Pediatric Overweight Intervention

Two studies investigated overweight in African American girls. First, African American adolescent girls (BMI was ≥ 85th percentile) and their mothers participated in focus groups addressing weight and eating. Although mothers and daughters shared some similar views on these issues, there were important discrepancies, with mothers expressing greater doubt about the potential success of a healthy weight program. The second study evaluated baseline data from 39 African American girls participating in a weight management program; mothers' reports were also analyzed. In both studies, adolescents reported significant teasing, and in the second study, teasing was inversely associated with social quality of life (β=.55, t=3.01, p=.007). Motivation to participate was positively associated with teasing (r=.50, p < .01). Self-esteem was inversely related to positive health habits (all p < .05). Mothers who viewed their daughters as having higher self-esteem were less concerned about their daughters' weight. Differences in mothers' and daughters' perceptions highlight the importance of a family approach in pediatric overweight interventions. Results provide evidence that overweight African American girls face significant weight stigmatization and suggest areas to target regarding intervention implementation.