Abstract
Several studies have reported that interactions of mothers with preterm infants show differential characteristics compared to that of mothers with full-term infants. Interaction of preterm dyads is often reported as less harmonious. However, observations and explanations concerning the underlying mechanisms are inconsistent. In this work 30 preterm and 42 full-term mother-infant dyads were observed at one year of age. Free play interactions were videotaped and coded using a micro-analytic coding system. The video records were coded at one second resolution and studied by a novel approach using network analysis tools. The advantage of our approach is that it reveals the patterns of behavioral transitions in the interactions. We found that the most frequent behavioral transitions are the same in the two groups. However, we have identified several high and lower frequency transitions which occur significantly more often in the preterm or full-term group. Our analysis also suggests that the variability of behavioral transitions is significantly higher in the preterm group. This higher variability is mostly resulted from the diversity of transitions involving non-harmonious behaviors. We have identified a maladaptive pattern in the maternal behavior in the preterm group, involving intrusiveness and disengagement. Application of the approach reported in this paper to longitudinal data could elucidate whether these maladaptive maternal behavioral changes place the infant at risk for later emotional, cognitive and behavioral disturbance.
Highlights
Understanding and predicting human behavior has been a central question in the history of mankind
Prematurity is not an illness and does not unconditionally cause a developmental delay; preterm babies are at risk of impaired cognitive and social development [3,4,5]
Because the explanatory power of these approaches was found to be weak, research focus turned toward caregiver-infant interactions which have been found to contribute to the developmental outcome through complex transactions between infant characteristics and caregiver behaviors [8,9,10]
Summary
Understanding and predicting human behavior has been a central question in the history of mankind. To gain new insights into one of the most fundamental parts of human activities, we compare preterm and full-term babies’ and mothers’ behaviors in dyadic situations. Prematurity is not an illness and does not unconditionally cause a developmental delay; preterm babies are at risk of impaired cognitive and social development [3,4,5]. A preterm infant’s developmental prospects depend on risk- and protective factors. Understanding and predicting the long-term outcome of development have been addressed by applying perinatal risk scales [6] and by analyzing environmental factors such as socio-economic status and the quality of life [7]. A growing amount of evidence suggests that maternal behaviors toward preterm babies may have differential characteristics, which are either adaptive or maladaptive in light of the preterm baby’s atypical needs [11]
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