Infant Characteristics Questionnaire Research Articles

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF PRENATAL COCAINE USE: 6-MONTH OUTCOME RELATED TO AMOUNT OF EXPOSURE. 1531

We report the 6-month results from a longitudinal study of the effects of prenatal cocaine use on the medical and neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants. Over 2,000 women from rural health departments consented to the study's interviews and urine screens, from which 154 were identified as cocaine users and matched on risk level of prenatal care, race, parity, and socioeconomic status to 154 consenters verified as non-cocaine users. Drug screening was done at study enrollment and delivery. Psychosocial/drug histories were taken at each trimester and follow-up visit. The 6-month measures included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, the Family Support Scale, and a detailed drug-use history from the child's primary caregiver who was also asked to complete the Bates Infant Characteristics Questionnaire. The child was administered the Bayley Scales, the Fagan test, and measured for height, weight, and head circumference. There were no group differences for the caregiver/family measures. The infants did not differ in size, having caught up in weight and head circumference since birth. Caregiver rated temperament and the child's visual recognition memory as tested by the Fagan were also the same between groups. The singular finding was a significantly lower Bayley PDI in the cocaine-exposed infants (105.4 ± 14.3 vs. 109.7± 13.4). Six- month growth measures were not related to the amount of cocaine used during pregnancy as calculated from the detailed interviews. However, the amount of cocaine used during the second trimester was significantly positively correlated with Bayley MDI score.

Development and Treatment of Infants With Biliary Atresia

Fourteen infants (under age 3) with biliary atresia were examined prior to transplant surgery to determine if they were at risk for developmental and temperament problems. Results indicate that the infants had significantly lower Mental Developmental Index scores on the Bayley (1969) Scales of Infant Development compared to the standard norms. They also had significantly lower Psychomotor Developmental Index scores. They were rated by their mothers as significantly less responsive on the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ; Bares, Bennett-Freeland, & Lounsberry, 1979). There was a significant correlation between galactose elimination rate and the total ICQ score. These results suggest that there may be behavioral indicators of hepatic failure. Furthermore, infants and toddlers with biliary atresia may be at increased risk for developmental delays. Therefore, developmental status should be carefully monitored.

Pregnant African American teenagers' expectations of their infants' temperament: Individual and social network influences

Factors associated with pregnant teenagers' expectations of their infants' temperament were examined. A total of 126 pregnant African American teenagers were included in the study, all of whom were expecting their first baby. The teenagers' expectations for their infants' temperament was assessed using Mebert and Kalinowski's (1986) modified version of the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ). Pregnant teenagers who were anxious and/or depressed tended to expect their infants to have more difficult temperaments. In addition, those teenagers who were more satisfied with current support resources and perceived their maternal relationships as more warm and accepting tended to have more positive expectations of their infants' temperament. Finally, expectant teens who held more accurate beliefs and knowledge about infant development and milestones had more positive expectations of their infants. Implications of these findings for future research and intervention are discussed.

Temperamental consequences of infant difficultness

Two central issues pertaining to the construct of infant temperamental “difficultness” were investigated in this longitudinal project. First, the cross-time convergent validity of two parent-report measures of temperament was examined. Second, the temperamental consequences of difficultness during infancy were studied by prospectively following children from infancy to adolescence. Additionally, using MANOVA and structural equation modeling, gender comparisons were conducted to determine whether or not the construct of difficultness was similar for males and females. Analyses were based on parent reports ( Ns=96−110) of infant difficultness on the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ) when children were 18 months of age. The nine temperament dimensions of the New York Longitudinal Study model were also assessed by parent report inventories when children were 2, 3, 3.5, 5, 8, 10, and 12 years old. Results showed no pervasive evidence of gender differences in infant difficultness. Convergent validity between the ICQ and subsequent temperament measures was evidenced by significant cross-time canonical correlations reaching to moderate magnitude and significant bivariate correlations between infant difficultness and specific temperament dimensions. Temperamental difficultness during infancy predicted subsequent adverse temperamental qualities such as unadaptability and negative mood at every age from 2 through 12 years.

Maternal, infant, and occupational characteristics that predict postpartum employment patterns

This longitudinal study examined maternal, infant, and occupational characteristics that predicted maternal employment in the postpartum period as a function of plan. Women were assessed at birth, 3, and 6 months postpartum. Comparison groups consisted of 91 women who planned to remain home and did so (home/home), 30 women who planned to remain home and were employed outside the home at 6 months postpartum (home/outside), 56 women who planned to work outside the home and did so (outside/outside), and 10 women who planned to work outside the home and remained home at 6 months (outside/home). Employment-related separation concerns from the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale were higher in the home/home group than the outside/outside and home/outside groups, and there were no effects of parity, infant sex, or time of measurement on separation anxiety scores. Women in the outside/outside group scored higher on the Autonomy subscale of the Personality Research Form-E than women in the home/outside group. There were no main effects of group on infant temperament as assessed by the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire, but significant interactions showed that ratings of unpredictability by women in the outside/outside group decreased from 3 to 6 months postpartum. Infants were also rated as less dull over time. Stress and coping factors related to maternal employment and parenting may have influenced temperament ratings. Occupational characteristics did not distinguish the groups: Women cited different occupational characteristics that facilitated making their personal decision of whether to work outside the home postpartum.

Four-year follow-up of a sample of regulatory disordered infants

In this prospective descriptive study, the developmental outcomes of 9 untreated infants with moderate to severe regulatory disorders were examined at 8 to 11 months and again at 4 years of age and compared with 13 normal infants. Regulatory disordered infants were defined as being behaviorally difficult, exhibiting disturbances in sleep, feeding, state control, self-calming, and mood regulation and evidencing poor sensory processing. Eight of the nine regulatory disordered children had developmental, sensorimotor, and/or emotional and behavioral deficits at 4 years. Group differences were found in atten tion and activity level, emotional maturity, motor coordination, and tactile sensitivity at 4 years. For normal infants, ratings of difficultness on the Bates Infant Characteristics Questionnaire and higher baseline cardiac vagal tone were related to better developmental outcomes and behavioral organization respectively at 4 years. In contrast, ratings of difficultness and higher baseline cardiac vagal tone in regulatory disordered infants were associated with poorer developmental outcomes and behavioral difficulties at 4 years. At the time the study was conducted, the clinical significance of regulatory problems was not known, therefore treatment was not considered. The results of this study suggest that untreated regulatory disordered infants may not outgrow behavioral difficulties over time.

Stability and correlates of change of early temperament in preterm and full-term infants

A behavioral assessment of infant temperament was used to measure the effects of perinatal high-risk factors on infant temperament and on temperament change over time. Seventy-nine infants (full-term and preterm infants with and without intraventricular hemorrhage or IVH) were studied. Infant temperament was measured behaviorally at 3 and 7 months. At 3 months, the Bates Infant Characteristic Questionnaire was also filled out by the infant's mother. Various effects of prematurity, IVH, and days of hospitalization and ventilation were observed at 3 and 7 months. Moderate stability was observed for sociability, soothability, and neutral responses, but different patterns of correlations were observed within the groups, and for girls and boys. Grade of IVH and days on a ventilator were related to the change observed between 3 and 7 months on sociability, irritability, and approach. We conclude that high-risk factors contribute to initial individual differences in infant temperament and suggest that change over time might be influenced by the recovery process from perinatal insult.

The Relationship Between Maternal Confidence and Mother-Infant Behaviors in Premature Infants

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between maternal confidence in mothers of premature infants, maternal behaviors and skills, and infant temperament. The relationship between certain prenatal and background variables and maternal confidence also was assessed. The sample consisted of 49 mother--infant pairs from low socioeconomic backgrounds who were followed for 8 months. Maternal behaviors were assessed in the neonatal intensive care unit and during 4- and 8-month follow-up visits at home. Infant temperament was assessed using the Bates Infant Characteristics Questionnaire. The results revealed that maternal confidence was related to education, income, and parity as well as the presence and severity of intraventricular bleed. There was no relationship between observed maternal behaviors and skills and perceived confidence by mothers. Maternal confidence was related to infant temperament ratings.

Infantile colic: Acoustic cry characteristics, maternal perception of cry, and temperament

Mothers ( N = 160) participating in a longitudinal study were interviewed to determine if their infants had colic. Infants with colic had to meet the criteria for excessive crying (crying for more than 3 hours a day, 3 days a week, for 3 weeks) plus show the following during episodes of colic: paroxysmal onset of cry, distinctive, high-pitched pain cry, infant is inconsolable and hypertonic. Sixteen 1- to 4-month-old infants who met the criteria for colic were compared with matched controls ( N = 16) on the acoustic analysis of the infant's cry, on parent's perception of cry using eight standard rating scales, and on the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire measure of temperament. The cries of colic infants had a higher and more variable pitch and showed more turbulence. Parents rated the cries of these infants as more urgent, grating, piercing, and felt more sad and aroused by the cries. On the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire, colic infants scored higher on the fussy-difficult temperament dimension. Infants with colic show distinctive acoustic cry characteristics that are perceived by parents; parents rate these infants as having a more difficult temperament. Colicky infants appear to be a subset of infants with excessive crying and can be identified using clinical criteria.

The relationship between maternal confidence and mother–infant behaviors in premature infants

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between maternal confidence in mothers of premature infants, maternal behaviors and skills, and infant temperament. The relationship between certain prenatal and background variables and maternal confidence also was assessed. The sample consisted of 49 mother--infant pairs from low socioeconomic backgrounds who were followed for 8 months. Maternal behaviors were assessed in the neonatal intensive care unit and during 4- and 8-month follow-up visits at home. Infant temperament was assessed using the Bates Infant Characteristics Questionnaire. The results revealed that maternal confidence was related to education, income, and parity as well as the presence and severity of intraventricular bleed. There was no relationship between observed maternal behaviors and skills and perceived confidence by mothers. Maternal confidence was related to infant temperament ratings.

Attachment in Surinam-Dutch Families: A Contribution to the Cross-Cultural Study of Attachment

A study on attachment in indigenous Dutch families and in families who came to the Netherlands from Surinam-a former Dutch colony in South America is described. Sixty-five mothers and their infants participated, including 26 mothers who had immigrated from Surinam. Attachment behaviours and maternal responsiveness were recorded in the Strange Situation and in free play. The Infant Characteristics Questionnaire, and a questionnaire on child-rearing attitudes were completed. In the Surinam-Dutch group, maternal responsiveness was related to quality of attachment, although the Surinam-Dutch mothers scored significantly lower on the responsiveness scale than the Dutch mothers. The attachment classification distribution of the Surinam-Dutch dyads did not significantly differ from Dutch or global distributions. However, Surinam-Dutch mothers appeared to be more anxious about child-rearing than Dutch mothers. Surinam-Dutch mothers who had recently arrived in Holland tended to show less responsiveness, and were more anxious about child-rearing than Surinam-Dutch mothers who had immigrated several years ago. These data may reflect strains that arise from the transition from one culture to another.

Stability and change in parents' perceptions of infant temperament: Early pregnancy to 13.5 months postpartum

Five times between early pregnancy and 13.5 months postpartum, 29 primiparous and 40 multiparous parents completed the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ). Stability was evident for all factors within pregnancy, especially for Factors I and II within the postpartum period, and most consistently for Factors II and IV between pregnancy and postpartum phases. All significant correlations were between .46 and .89. Differences between multiparous and primiparous parents, and between mothers and fathers, in the magnitude and pattern of stability coefficients were found.

Behavioral characteristics and early temperament of premature infants with intracranial hemorrhage

Behavioral characteristics of 12 full-term and 44 premature infants with and without intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) were studied. Cranial ultrasonography prospectively documented Grade I-II ICH in 14, Grade III-IV in 19 and no ICH in 11 premature infants. Examination at corrected age of 40 ± 2 weeks using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale showed that infants in the ICH groups had lower levels of arousal and more abnormal reflexes than full-terms. Infants with ICH III-IV displayed less optimal motor responses than full-term infants and diminished orientation responses, especially to visual stimuli. Thus, lower level of arousal, immature motoric processes, and poor visual orientation differentiated premature with ICH from full-term infants, although premature infants without these sequelae, did not differ significantly from full-term infants. The above may represent early manifestations of visual-perceptual and motor problems noted in the follow-up of ICH infants. Further, neonatal behavior was found to affect parent ratings of infant temperament (via the Bates Infant Characteristics Questionnaire) at 3 months corrected age, and the relationships between neonatal behavior and parental ratings differed depending upon the infant's gestational age and severity of hemorrhage. We conclude that neonatal behaviors are less optimal in premature infants, and least optimal in premature infants with severe intracranial hemorrhage when compared to fullterm infants.

Measuring Attachment Security: Concurrent and Predictive Validity of the Parental Attachment Q-set

Abstract In this study, concurrent and predictive validity of Waters and Deane's (1985) Attachment Q-set was tested. We hypothesized that outcomes of the Attachment Q-set would converge with Strange Situation behavior and classification and that maternal responsiveness would correlate with security (as measured through the Attachment Q-set) but temperamental characteristics would not have a direct relation to security. Thirty-nine children (M = 18 months) and their mothers participated in the Strange Situation procedure and in a free play session in which maternal responsiveness was measured. Mothers completed the Attachment Q-set twice and also filled out Bates' Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (Kohnstamm, 1984). Results indicated a lack of concurrent validity: Strange Situation and Attachment Q-set outcomes did not converge. Although responsiveness was related to attachment as measured through the Strange Situation, it showed no overlap with security as measured through the Attachment Q-set. Security also appeared to be related in an unexpected way to difficultness and adaptability as measured through the ICQ. Therefore, we were unable to establish the predictive validity of the Attachment Q-set.

Behavioral Responsiveness in Preterm Infants With Intraventricular Hemorrhage

Preterm infants with varying degrees of intraventricular hemorrhage (none, n = 21; grade I to II, n = 22; grade II to IV, n = 24) and a group of full-term infants (n = 21) were compared with regard to behavioral responsiveness and parental reports of the infant's temperament. Behavioral responsiveness was assessed during the presentation of 15 visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli at 3 months of age (corrected age for preterm infants). Summary scores for positive and negative responsiveness, as well as sociability, soothability, and overall activity levels, were derived from behavioral observations by coders who were unaware of the infant's characteristics. The Bates Infant Characteristic Questionnaire was completed by the main care giver and scored on four summary variables: fussy-difficult, unadaptable, dull, and unpredictable. Preterm infants, regardless of the presence or severity of intraventricular hemorrhage, showed less positive responses and less overall activity in response to stimulation. Infants with grade I to II intraventricular hemorrhage were less sociable and more difficult to soothe than full-term control infants. Individual differences in positive, negative, sociability, and soothability were related to the questionnaire scores of fussy-difficult and unadaptability. Both prematurity and degree of intraventricular hemorrhage affect behavioral responsiveness and these individual differences are related to parental reports of the infant's temperament.

Parents' expectations and perceptions of infant temperament: “Pregnancy status” differences

At approximately 16 weeks of pregnancy, 41 couples (14 primiparous and 27 multiparous, 13 of whom anticipated a cesarean delivery) completed Bates, Freeland, and Lounsbury's (1979) Infant Characteristic Questionnaire (ICQ), modified to ask about expectations of infant characteristics. Significant group differences were found in three of the four ICQ factors. The multiparous parents expecting a vaginal delivery had the lowest scores, indicating expectations of temperamentally “more optimal” babies. A similar pattern of results was obtained from late pregnancy and 3–4 months postpartum administrations of the ICQ. In general, factor scores of the primiparous and cesarean parents did not differ. Significant correlations were obtained in comparisons of the scores from the two prenatal administrations and, for the multiparous parents, in the prenatal to postpartum comparisons. The results indicate that parity and childbirth experience affect parents' expectations and perceptions of infant temperament.

Measuring Difficult Temperament in Infancy

Thirty-four couples rated their 6-month-old first-born infants' temperaments with Bates' Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ) and Carey's Infant Temperament Questionnaire (ITQ). Mothers and infants were videotaped in their homes during feedings on two consecutive days to assess mother and infant behavior. Results indicated that parents had moderate agreement about their own infant's temperament on the ICQ. There was little convergence between the ICQ and the ITQ measures of infant difficulty. ICQ parent-rated unpredictable infants were rated by observers as less responsive during the feedings. These results are discussed in the context of the meaning and measurement of infant temperament.

Mother-child interaction at age two years and perceived difficult temperament.

The current study investigated a hypothesized link between early child temperament and later problem behavior. Early temperament was assessed at ages 6, 13, and 24 months via mother ratings on age-appropriate versions of the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire. The 24-month form was developed in this study. Factor analyses of the questionnaire indicated a clear difficultness factor that was similar in content across all 3 ages. The 6-, 13-, and 24-month difficultness factors were correlated with home observation measures of mother-toddler interaction at age 24 months. Home observation indexes focused on situations where the mother tried to control the toddler's "trouble" behavior. Children rated by their mothers as difficult at 24 months were found to approach "mild trouble" more frequently than children perceived as easy or average. Furthermore, their mothers used intrusive control tactics more frequently than mothers of easy or average children. Analysis of behavior sequence variables showed that difficult children resisted their mothers' control attempts significantly more often than easy or average children, that is, had more conflict with the mothers. The 6- and 13-month difficultness scores predicted both the 2-year-old difficultness rating and the observed conflict indexes. It is suggested that the conflict observed in the interaction between the difficult 2-year-olds and their mothers is conceptually similar to the conflictual behavior characteristic of older, clinically referred, socially aggressive children and their mothers. Thus, the conflicted interactions found at age 2 years may represent an empirically based link between difficult infant temperament and the development of childhood problem behavior.

Continuity of Individual Differences in the Mother-Infant Relationship from Six to Thirteen Months

The current study searched for continuities in mother-infant interaction observed at home, maternally perceived infant difficultness, and infant developmental competency. Also assessed were the possible moderator variables of maternal report of satisfaction with adjustment to the infant and background characteristics, for example, SES, presence of other young children, and infant gender. 128 dyads were assessed at ages 6 and 13 months. Many of the variables used to evaluate continuity were composites based on factor analysis. Bivariate correlations between 6- and 13-month variables produced a complex picture. In broad overview, as predicted by the prior literature, they indicated some degree of stability for mother variables and markedly less for the infant variables. Canonical correlation analysis yielded 3 significant canonical variates, producing a more integrated picture. The dimensions of continuity revealed by these variates were (1) Affectionate, Intellectually Stimulating Mothering, which had modest-to-moderate links to the indexes of infant competence; (2) Infant Temperamental Difficultness, which was determined mainly by consistency in mother report on 2 age-adjusted versions of the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire but which also contained loadings for objectively observed infant fussing, crying, and social demandingness; and (3) an unnamed dimension which resembles a pattern of intense involvement, both positive and negative, seen in older, clinically referred families.

Measurement of Infant Difficultness

The Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ) was developed as a short, factor-analytic screening device for difficultness. Responses of 322 mothers of 4-6-month-old infants suggested that they regard the fussy, hard-to-soothe, labile infant as difficult. Mother report on the ICQ, particularly on the main fussy-difficult factor was found to have adequate reliability over time and convergence with the Carey Survey of Temperamental Characteristics, with father report on the ICQ, and, to a lower degree, with home data collected by independent observers. It was also found that mother characteristics may affect perceptions of infant difficultness: multiparous, extraverted mothers tended to rate their infants as easy.