The effect of infant irritability on mother-infant interaction: A growth-curve analysis.

Abstract

To further understanding of temperament-interaction relationships, patterns of interactive behavior were observed longitudinally (at 1,2, 3,4,5, and 6 months) in 30 lower-class dyads (15 irritable, 15 nonirritable). Frequency data were analyzed by using multilevel analysis to assess the changing nature of the behaviors. Findings revealed that irritable infants differ from nonirritable infants both in amount and growth trajectory of positive and negative emotionality and in amount of environmental interest. Mothers of irritable infants differ from those of nonirritable infants in both amount and growth trajectory of visual contact, effective stimulation, physical contact, soothing, noninvolvement, and responsiveness to positive signals. Maternal behavior was systematically more positive in nonirritable compared with irritable infants. Findings are discussed in terms of current temperament theories that stress the possibility of developmental changes in the expression of early temperament. Individual differences in temperament, that is, variation in behavioral style, is one of the factors thought to influence children's interactions with their environments. Despite a continued lack of consensus on denning dimensions of individuality (Bates, 1987; Goldsmith & Campos, 1986), the expression of emotionality plays a prominent role in all current conceptualizations of temperament (Belsky, Fish, & Isabella, 1991). Considerable attention has been focused on negative emotionality, and in the neonatal and early infancy periods, temperament is denned primarily in terms of negative emotionality and is indexed by irritability and amount of fuss/cry behavior (Crockenberg, 1981; Crockenberg & Smith, 1982; Fish, Stifter, & Belsky, 1991). That links can be found between children's temperamental characteristics and interactions with particular others has been established in studies showing, for example, that difficult scores of infants are related to maternal unresponsiveness (Campbell, 1979;Milliones, 1978) and to negative maternal responses (Kelly, 1976). Yet, the findings are not wholly consistent. Vaughn, Taraldson, Crichton, and Egeland (1981) and Bates, Olson, Pettit, and Bayles (1982) found few relations between infants' temperament and mother-child interactions. Such a situation, in which findings are inconsistent, de