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.     

Perceptions of maternal and paternal solicitude by birth children and adoptees: Relevance for maternal bonding theory

This study emanated from the long-standing question of whether a maternal bonding process similar to other mammalian species occurs in humans. The perceptions of adult adoptees and a matched sample of non-adoptees about their parents' behaviours towards them were compared on an original Parental Solicitude Scale. As hypothesized, birth children perceived their mothers as the more solicitous parent, but ratings of adoptive mothers showed a unilateral decline. Further, the differential ratings for birth and adoptive mothers occurred mostly for the factors labelled benignity vs abuse and tolerance vs control, rather than caretaking vs neglect, which was congruent to reported effects in prior studies of lack of mother-infant contact during the sensitive period for bonding. An alternative explanation of the data was also tested but not substantiated.     

Sex differences in maternal behaviors of immature rats: The role of emotionality

Immature rats are able to give maternal care to pups and may increase their inclusive fitness by helping newborn siblings. Immature males are generally reported to be more maternal than females. In this research we studied sex differences and the extent to which they may be due to a different emotional response to novelty. We studied maternal response in two groups of immature rats of both sexes: in the naive group, juveniles aged from 18 to 30 days were given one test and showed clear-cut sex differences. The experience group was submitted to repeated tests from 18 to 30 days of age, thus eliminating the effects of novelty: as a result, all differences between sexes disappeared. A second experiment was designed in 24-day-old females to differentiate the effects of repeated handling and exposure to the test situation from that of repeated exposure to pups; moreover, the effects of an anxiety-reducing drug (diazepam) were studied. Exposure to pups is particularly efficient in facilitating maternal response. Diazepam injection was also effective, but its control showed that the injection per se was responsible for the effect. In conclusion, our results stress the importance of response to novelty and suggest that sex differences in maternal behavior of immature rats may be modulated by different emotional responses by males and females. In fact, emotionality competes with, and may exert an inhibitory effect on, the expression of a vast array of behaviors. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Understanding the role and function of maternal touch in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities

During the first years of life, maternal touch can serve different functions including facilitation of child’s gaze orientation to faces which is a key precursor for social attention. Although children with neurodevelopmental disability (ND) may have reduced social skills, the role of maternal touch in contributing to gaze orientation to maternal face has not been explored in previous research. In the present study, we investigate the functions of maternal touch in dyads of mothers and children with ND, compared to dyads of children with typical development (TD). Micro-analytic 2-s coding of maternal touch (i.e., affectionate, playful, facilitating, holding, no touch) and children’s gaze orientation (i.e., mother-oriented, object-oriented, non-oriented) occurred during 5-minute interactions between mothers and their 12-to-24-month-old ND and TD children. Dyads were paired for children chronological age and sex. Mothers of children with ND used more touch – especially facilitating and holding types –, compared to mothers of TD peers. Children with ND exhibited more non-orientated gaze compared to TD counterparts. Playful touch associated with increased mother-oriented gaze in children with ND, whereas affectionate and holding touch associated with greater mother-oriented gaze in TD children. Findings suggest that specific types of touch support children’s attention to social partners.     

The relation between remembered parental acceptance in childhood and self‐acceptance among young Turkish adults

This study examined the relation between young adults' age and remembrances of parental acceptance in childhood, and their current self‐acceptance. The study was based on a sample of 236 young adults in Turkey (139 women and 97 men). The adult version of the Parental Acceptance‐Rejection/Control Questionnaire for mothers and fathers along with the Self‐Acceptance subscale of the Psychological Well‐Being Scale, and the Personal Information Form were used as measures. Results showed that both men and women tended to remember having been accepted in childhood by both their mothers and fathers. Women, however, reported more maternal and paternal acceptance in childhood than did men. Similarly, the level of self‐acceptance was high among both men and women. However, women's self‐acceptance was higher than men's. Correlational analyses showed that self‐acceptance was positively related to remembrances of maternal and paternal acceptance among both women and men. Results indicated that age and remembered paternal acceptance significantly predicted women's self‐acceptance. Age and remembered maternal acceptance made significant and independent contributions to men's self‐acceptance. Men's remembrances of paternal acceptance in childhood did not make significant contribution to their self‐acceptance. Finally, the relation between women's age and self‐acceptance was significantly moderated by remembrances of paternal acceptance in childhood.     

Maternal attachment representations after very preterm birth and the effect of early intervention

Objective

For very preterm infants the mother-infant relationship may be compromised. Maternal attachment representations 18 (corrected) months after very preterm birth and the effect of the post-discharge Infant Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Program (IBAIP) were studied. The IBAIP is designed to assist parents to support and enhance their infant's regulatory competence and development. The intervention consisted of 6-8 home visits during the first 8 months after birth.

Method

Seventy-eight mothers of very preterm infants (<32 weeks and/or <1500 g) were interviewed, who participated in a randomized controlled trial: 41 from the intervention group and 37 from the control group. Maternal attachment representations were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI). The interviews resulted in a classification of the attachment representations into balanced or non-balanced.

Results

30% of the mothers had non-balanced attachment representations. Qualitative content analysis of the answers showed that negative feelings when first seeing their baby and negative or ambivalent feelings in the first weeks at home with their baby are related to non-balanced attachment representations. The WMCI revealed no differences between the intervention and control group.

Conclusion

Early support for mothers of very preterm born infants to develop a healthy mother-infant relationship is recommended especially for mothers who report negative first experiences.     

The association between observed non-verbal maternal responses at 12 months and later infant development at 18 months and IQ at 4 years: a longitudinal study

Background

An infant's early environment has an important influence on their development. For example, the sensitivity and warmth of a mother's responses towards her infant is associated with the infant's later socio-emotional development. However, it is less clear whether maternal responses are associated with the infant's later cognitive development.

Method

We used data from a large UK cohort study to investigate the association between non-verbal maternal responses and later infant development and IQ. Maternal responses were rated at 12 months during an observed mother–infant interaction. Infant development was assessed using the Griffiths scales at 18 months and IQ at 4 years was assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI). Data on the infant's developmental level at 6 months (prior to the maternal response ratings) was also available. The complete case sample comprised 732 mother–infant pairs.

Results

There was evidence for an association between positive maternal responses and infant development at 18 months. After adjusting for infant developmental level at 6 months and other confounders, we found a difference of 0.25 standard deviations (coef 2.0, 95% CI (0.8–3.2), p = 0.002) on the Griffiths scales between infant's whose mothers showed positive compared to neutral non-verbal responses at 12 months. However, an association between positive maternal responses and IQ at 4 years diminished following adjustment for maternal educational attainment.

Conclusion

The results provide evidence that positive maternal responses are associated with improved development in infants at 18 months. However, the association between maternal response and IQ at 4 years may be explained by higher educational attainment in mothers who show positive responses. Future studies are needed to explore the influence of maternal responses on different aspects of infant development as well as the role of maternal factors such as education.     

The expression and regulation of anger in toddlers: relations to maternal behavior and mental representations

Anger is an intense and adaptive approach emotion that undergoes significant development during the toddler years. We assessed the expression of anger and the strategies toddlers use to regulate it in relation to maternal behavior and mental representations. Seventy-four toddlers were observed in three anger-eliciting paradigms: toy removal (TR), still-face (SF), and delayed gratification (DG). Anger expression and three clusters of regulatory behaviors were micro-coded: putative regulatory behaviors, attention manipulation, and play behaviors. Maternal relational style was coded for sensitivity and intrusiveness, and mental representations of the mother-child relationship were assessed for joy and anger. Children expressed the most anger during the TR, less during the SF, and minimally during the DG. Use of putative regulatory behaviors was highest during the SF, whereas during the TR children employed newly acquired skills, such as focused attention and substitutive play, in the service of anger regulation. Anger expression and regulation were differentially related to the negative and positive components in the mother's behavior and representations, and maternal intrusiveness moderated the relations between angry representations and the degree of child anger during the SF. Results are consistent with dynamic models of emotions and accord with perspectives that emphasize the role of sensitive parenting in facilitating emotion regulation.     

Maternal sensitivity during distressing tasks: a unique predictor of attachment security

The extent to which maternal sensitivity during a non-arousing free play task and during distressing tasks at 6 months predicted infant-mother attachment security was examined. When considered simultaneously, only maternal sensitivity during distressing tasks predicted subsequent attachment security. Infant temperament was unrelated to attachment security.     

Infant behaviors influence mothers’ provision of responsive and directive behaviors

Mother–infant interactions are important to infant development because they are predictive of infants’ social, cognitive, and language development (0070 and 0150). Because maternal responsive and directive behaviors are associated with differential infant outcomes, it is important to investigate influences on mothers’ provision of responsive and directive behaviors. Yet, the dyadic interaction literature is predominantly unidirectional from maternal behavior to infant outcomes. Therefore, the current study examined infant initiating behaviors and consequent maternal responses in a sample of 26 13-month-old infants and their mothers, videotaped during 5 min of free-play. Findings revealed that infants produced a variety of initiatives, and that these different infant initiatives prompted differential patterns of maternal responsive versus directive behaviors. Further, results of analyses of divergent types of maternal directive behaviors – Responsive Directives, ReDirectives, and Intrusive Directives – also may help clarify major discrepancies in the current literature regarding the positive and negative effects of maternal directiveness.