Infant stress reactivity and Home Cultural Ecology of Italian infants and families

Abstract

Although it is well known that maternal behavior with infants and cultural ecology of family life varies widely both across and within cultures, the effects of these variations on infant responses to stress are not well understood. In this report, North Italian infants and their mothers were observed longitudinally at 5 and 12 months during routine pediatric vaccinations. We interviewed mothers when babies were 8 months regarding how they organize their family daily routines, how they respond to their babies, and their cultural models about baby care. The main results were: (a) infants quiet faster at 12 than at 5 months; (b) more maternal responsive soothing at 5 months is concurrently and predictively associated with longer Infant Quieting; (c) the best predictor of individual differences in speed of Infant Quieting at 12 months are variations in Infant Home Cultural Ecology; (d) variations in infant care and ecology of the family can modify individual developmental patterns of stress reactivity between 5 and 12 months. Italian cultural models of parenting and variations in the organization of the daily routine were assessed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Eighteen features characterizing Italian home and family culture are identified and described which influence Infant Quieting, including patterns of close parental proximity to the baby, strong family support for caretakers, and cultural goals preferring a “vivace” (lively, socially engaged) infant.