Infant behavioral responses to infant-directed singing and other maternal interactions

Seventy, 6–9-month-old infants were videotaped during six interactions: mother sings assigned song, “stranger” sings assigned song, mother sings song of choice, mother reads book, mother plays with toy, and mother and infant listen to recorded music. Infant-directed (ID) singing conditions elicited moderately positive cognitive behavior, low levels of positive physical behavior and minimal amounts of vocal behaviors, mostly negative. Across all conditions, cognitive scores remained positive at low to moderate levels. Physical responses were most positive during book and toy, most negative during recorded music, and differed by gender, especially during ID singing. Vocally, infants responded positively to toy, and 8-month-old infants vocalized more than younger infants, particularly during ID singing conditions. ID singing appears just as effective as book reading or toy play in sustaining infant attention and far more effective than listening to recorded music, while interactions involving objects may provide opportunity for shared attention

Responses to infant-directed singing in infants of mothers with depressive symptoms

► Infant gaze responses to infant-directed singing from mother and stranger were not influenced by mothers’ depression. ► Infants of depressed mothers did not demonstrate a depressed interaction style with their mother or with a stranger during ID singing. ► During infant-directed singing, infants could distinguish their mother from stranger, regardless of mother's depression status. ► ID singing appeared to enhance face-to-face interaction such that infants could have meaningful experiences in self-regulation, even when mothers had depression. This study explored responses to infant-directed (ID) singing in infants of mothers with and without depressive symptoms under two conditions: mother sings to infant, and stranger sings to infant. Sixteen, 3–9-month-old infants of mothers with depression were matched by age and gender to sixteen infants of mothers without depression. Infant gaze responses toward each singer were coded from video and ranged from most negative to most positive, in the order of roaming, averted, neutral, intermittent and sustained. Mothers’ depression status had no effect on infant gaze response toward ID singing from mother or stranger. During ID singing from mother, infants displayed high levels of either neutral or sustained gaze. In response to ID singing from strangers, infants demonstrated sustained gazes more than any other gaze type. Infants also showed significantly more roaming and neutral gaze toward mother than stranger, and used significantly more averted and sustained gaze with stranger than mother. Findings indicate that infants of depressed mothers did not display a depressed interaction style with their mother or with a stranger during ID singing. Additionally, infants in both groups appeared capable of discriminating their mother from a stranger. ID singing appears to enhance face-to-face interaction such that infants can experience self-regulation, even when mothers have depression. Findings support the idea of combining ID singing and interaction coaching as a therapeutic intervention for mothers with depression and their infants

Fonds Francine Lancelot - Les sociétés de farandole en Provence et en Languedoc : Jeunes membres de la société de farandole “L’Etoile” de Saint-Jean-de-Valériscle (verso)

Dépôt du fichier TIFF numérisé en 300 dpi.14cmx9cm. Photographie de groupe. Le verso de la photographie porte un tampon de la société de farandole “L’Etoile” de Saint-Jean-de-Valériscle, le nom du studio de photographie "Photo Pradeilles" ainsi que la date "1947" manuscrite

Fonds Francine Lancelot - Les sociétés de farandole en Provence et en Languedoc : Jeunes membres de la société de farandole “L’Etoile” de Saint-Jean-de-Valériscle

Dépôt du fichier TIFF numérisé en 300 dpi.14cmx9cm. Photographie de groupe. Le verso de la photographie porte un tampon de la société de farandole “L’Etoile” de Saint-Jean-de-Valériscle, le nom du studio de photographie "Photo Pradeilles" ainsi que la date "1947" manuscrite

Acoustic parameters of infant-directed singing in mothers of infants with down syndrome

This study compared the acoustic parameters and degree of perceived warmth in two types of infant-directed (ID) songs − the lullaby and the playsong − between mothers of infants with Down syndrome (DS) and mothers of typically-developing (TD) infants. Participants included mothers of 15 DS infants and 15 TD infants between 3 and 9 months of age. Each mother’s singing voice was digitally recorded while singing to her infant and subjected to feature extraction and data mining. Mothers of DS infants and TD infants sang both lullabies and playsongs with similar frequency. In comparison with mothers of TD infants, mothers of DS infants used a higher maximum pitch and more key changes during playsong. Mothers of DS infants also took more time to establish a rhythmic structure in their singing. These differences suggest mothers are sensitive to the attentional and arousal needs of their DS infants. Mothers of TD infants sang with a higher degree of perceived warmth which does not agree with previous observations of “forceful warmth” in mothers of DS infants. In comparison with lullaby, all mothers sang playsong with higher overall pitch and slower tempo. Playsongs were also distinguished by higher levels of spectral centroid properties related to emotional expressivity, as well as higher degrees of perceived warmth. These similarities help to define specific song types, and suggest that all mothers sing in an expressive manner that can modulate infant arousal, including mothers of DS infants