Mothers' responses to the cries of normal and premature infants as a function of the birth status of their own child

Mothers of premature and full-term infants viewed and heard videotapes of premature and full-term infants. The onset of crying by both infants elicited physiological arousal (evident in blood pressure, skin conductance, and heart rate increases) in the adults. The mothers of premature infants responded with especially marked arousal to the infants' cries. These mothers also reported that they were more attentive and alert while the infant was crying. The subjects responded similarly to the cries of full-term and premature infants. Mothers who described their own baby as easy exhibited a lower increase in diastolic blood pressure and heart rate, and reported being more alert, attentive, and willing to interact with the stimulus babies than those whose own baby appeared "difficult."Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24438/1/0000711.pd

Biological and social determinants of responsiveness to infants in 10-to-15-year-old girls

Subjects filled out questionnaires and were individually observed interacting with an 8-to-12-month-old infant in a waiting room. Hidden observers recorded the frequency of ignoring, responsiveness to infant bids, and of social bids to the infant. Analyses revealed that older girls ignored more, made fewer bids, and responded less than younger girls did. However, chronological age was highly correlated with measures of biological and social maturity. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine which of these factors best predicted the developmental decline in baby responsiveness. Multiple regressions showed that social maturity was the best predictor of the number of bids to the infant, followed by the development of secondary sex characteristics and menarcheal status ( R =.44). Social maturity, babysitting experience, and menarcheal status were the significant predictors of ignoring ( R =.48), while menarcheal status, development of secondary sex characteristics, and babysitting experience predicted responsiveness ( R =.49). Possible reasons for the decreased interest in infants are discussed, as are the implications for research using baby responsiveness as a measure of sex-role-related changes in adolescence.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45570/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00287271.pd

Fathers' and mothers' responses to infant smiles and cries

Forty-eight mother--father pairs watched a 6-minute videotape presentation of an infant during which time their skin conductance and blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) were monitored. Mood scales were also administered. Half of the subjects saw a crying baby, while the other half viewed a smiling infant. The baby was labeled as "normal," "difficult," or "premature," to equal proportions of the sample. All parents completed standard questionnaires concerning their own child. The smiling infant triggered positive emotions and negligible changes in autonomic arousal, whereas a crying infant was perceived as aversive and elicited diastolic blood-pressure and skin-conductance increases. Skin-conductance increases were especially apparent when the infant was described as "premature." Mothers and fathers did not differ either in their responses to the stimulus baby or in their perception of their own child.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22718/1/0000273.pd