Infant Emotional Development Research Articles

The Neurobehavioral and Social–Emotional Development of Infants and Children

The Neurobehavioral and Social–Emotional Development of Infants and Children

The nurse-family partnership: An evidence-based preventive intervention.

Pregnancy and the early years of the child's life offer an opportune time to prevent a host of adverse maternal, child, and family outcomes that are important in their own right, but that also reflect biological, behavioral, and social substrates in the child and family that affect family formation and future life trajectories. This article summarizes a 27-year program of research that has attempted to improve early maternal and child health and future life options with prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses. The program is designed for low-income mothers who have had no previous live births. The home-visiting nurses have three major goals: to improve the outcomes of pregnancy by helping women improve their prenatal health, to improve the child's health and development by helping parents provide more sensitive and competent care of the child, and to improve parental life course by helping parents plan future pregnancies, complete their education, and find work. The program has been tested in three separate large-scale, randomized controlled trials with different populations living in different contexts. Results from these trials indicate that the program has been successful in achieving two of its most important goals: (a) the improvement of parental care of the child as reflected in fewer injuries and ingestions that may be associated with child abuse and neglect and better infant emotional and language development; and (b) the improvement of maternal life course, reflected in fewer subsequent pregnancies, greater work-force participation, and reduced dependence on public assistance and food stamps. The impact on pregnancy outcomes is equivocal. In the first trial, the program also produced long-term effects on the number of arrests, convictions, emergent substance use, and promiscuous sexual activity of 15-year-old children whose nurse-visited mothers were low-income and unmarried when they registered in the study during pregnancy. In general, the impact of the program was greater on those segments of the population at greater risk for the particular outcome domain under examination. Since 1996, the program has been offered for public investment outside of research contexts. Careful attention has been given to ensuring that organizational and community contexts are favorable for development of the program, to providing excellent training and guidance to the nurses in their use of the program's visit-by-visit guidelines, to monitoring the functioning of the program with a comprehensive clinical information system, and to improving the performance of the programs over time with continuous improvement strategies.

Against the odds: An account of filming an infant observation in rural Nepal

This article is about the making of an observation video of a Nepalese baby during the first six months of its life and the technical and cultural issues raised (Barnett & Leng, 2004). The project was undertaken in collaboration with Lynn Barnett, as part of her series of cross-cultural observation videos on the emotional development of infants and young children (Barnett, 1975–2005, 1996–1999, 1996).

Preterm Birth and the Visual System

Author Disclosure Drs Madan and Good did not disclose any relationships relevant to this article. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Chart the development of the structures of the eye. 2. Describe the primary visual problems seen in preterm neonates. Despite several interventions, preterm birth remains one of the major causes of poor perinatal outcome. It is estimated that approximately 57,000 preterm infants weighing less than 1,500 g, comprising 1.5% of all live births in the United States, are born each year. (1) Considerable advances in neonatal intensive care in the 1990s, including use of surfactant replacement therapy for preterm infants and antenatal steroid use for women in preterm labor, has led to the increased survival of these infants. However, despite improvements in survival, preterm infants, particularly extremely low-birthweight infants whose birthweights are less than 1,000 g, continue to be at increased risk for abnormal cognitive function, visual-perceptual, visuomotor, and tactile-perceptual skills; cerebral palsy; blindness; and deafness. (2) Many severely handicapped infants have multiple impairments. Cortical visual impairment has emerged as the major cause of visual impairment in the United States. It is well known that appropriate procession of sensory cues is an important requirement for normal motor, mental, and emotional development in infants, and the association between vision problems and neurologic and mental disability is well recognized in several studies. (3) An increased understanding of the impact of extrauterine stimuli on visual development along with improved methods of detecting vision problems can help in prevention, early diagnosis, and rehabilitation of visual impairment in infants. (4) In this article, we review current knowledge of visual development in the preterm infant and the spectrum of visual disturbances seen in preterm infants. Visualization of an image requires refraction of light emanating from the object passing through the lens onto …

The old one-two

This paper looks at how the capacity for separateness arises, and some of the ways in which gender is thought about in relation to this. A link is made with technical considerations about the stance we as therapists take with our patients. In particular, therapists often choose or are prodded into a role that is more empathic or more interpretative, and these stances have often been described as either more maternal or more paternal. Some case material goes on to connect this with more recent understandings of infant mental and emotional development. It is suggested that recent child development research might point us towards a more ‘integrated’ stance, in which these maternal and paternal roles are not seen as so polarized.

Emotional Expressions of Young Infants and Children

Research on emotional development in infancy has benefited greatly from the use of videotape technology and coding systems that allow detailed coding of facial movements. Today we know that a core set of human facial expressions, composed of specific movements in the brow, eye/cheek, and mouth regio

Breastfeeding policies and the production of motherhood: a historical-cultural approach.

This paper revisits some of the aspects that allow us to situate historically the process that has been called the 'politicization of women's breasts'. It is part of a broader research project being undertaken in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, which is studying information from the educational material used in the National Campaign for the Incentive of Breastfeeding. The methodological approach used is cultural analysis, and its theoretical basis is informed by feminist studies and cultural studies, from a poststructuralist perspective. Knowledges and practices that produce notions of maternity are problematized to argue that current political and economic arrangements have necessitated a redefinition of motherhood. This re-signification of motherhood has transferred to women the duty of solving an array of problems that were previously considered government's responsibility, in particular those related to the physical and emotional development of infants.

A strength-based and early relationship approach to infant mental health assessment.

This paper presents a strength-based assessment process that focuses on infant emotional development within the family context. The assessment model, developed over the past five years within a preventive mental health program, represents a shift from deficit to strength-based principles that are consistent with appropriate developmental practice. The strength-based assessment process presented achieves an understanding of the infant's competencies and areas of need, and considers the negative impact that maternal mental illness has on the infant's emotional development.

La socialisation des émotions chez le nourrisson: le rôle des expressions faciales contingentes des mères

Bien que l'on prête aux réponses contingentes des mères un rôle capital dans la socialisation des émotions du nourrisson, on possède, en fait, bien peu de données empiriques sur ces réponses. La présente étude comporte deux volets. Le premier consiste à décrire les expressions faciales que produisent les mères en réponse aux expressions faciales d'émotion de leur nourrisson. Le second a pour objectif d'évaluer l'impact des réponses faciales contingentes des mères sur les expressions d'émotion de leur nourrisson. Au total, 34 nourrissons et leur mère participent à quatre épisodes d'interaction face à face au cours de la première année. Leurs expressions faciales sont encodées à l'aide du système Max. Les résultats montrent qu'une large proportion des expressions faciales des mères se produisent dans un délai d'une seconde ou moins suivant l'apparition d'une nouvelle expression chez leur nourrisson. Les expressions faciales d'émotion des nourrissons sont donc non seulement suffisantes (réactivité) pour susciter des expressions faciales chez leur mère, elles sont également nécessaires (dépendance). Bien que les mères répondent de façon contingente à la plupart des expressions faciales d'émotion de leur nourrisson, leurs réponses varient selon le type d'expression faciale de leur nourrisson. On note, enfin, quelques liens entre les réponses contingentes des mères à un et deux mois et les expressions d'émotion de leur nourrisson à six et neuf mois.

Facilitating and Encouraging Healthy Emotional Development

The faculty of the 1998 Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Round Table: New Perspectives in Early Emotional Development are among the world's leaders in the field of infant development. Each brought to the table years of experience from a variety of disciplines. The salient points of their discussions are summarized in the following article. Emotional development in infants and children has lifelong effects, and everyone caring for them—pediatricians, child health professionals, families, and caregivers—has an important role in the growth and development of unique and healthy human individuals. A common theme to facilitate optimal infant development, advanced by all participants in this Pediatric Round Table, is the need for excellent communication and cooperation among all individuals who influence young lives. On one level, improved communication between researchers and clinicians will get meaningful new information into practice where it can be used effectively. This process will be even more effective if professionals from both disciplines, in the interests of cross-fertilization, exchange ideas and observations early and frequently. In many ways, round table meetings such as this break new ground and establish the foundation of productive alliances. On another level, communication between professionals and parents, grandparents, and day-to-day caregivers must have an appropriate tone and content to actually deliver meaningful effective messages. It often is important to step back from years of professional training to think in parent terms. What do parents have to know to have the greatest positive effect on their infant? What do I have to avoid saying so that I don't add to their uncertainty, anxiety, or frustration? One often-repeated example of the latter dealt with explaining why the first years of life were important in the child's later health and well-being. All too often this knowledge made parents worry that even the tiniest mistake would destroy their infant's …

Postpartum Depression and Child Development

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewFull AccessPostpartum Depression and Child DevelopmentElizabeth M. Tully, M.D.Elizabeth M. TullySearch for more papers by this author, M.D.Published Online:1 May 1998https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.49.5.707AboutSectionsView EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail A compilation of research from distinguished contributors in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany is presented in Postpartum Depression and Child Development. The editors, Lynne Murray and Peter J. Cooper, founded the Winnicott research unit in the department of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge and later at the University of Reading. The book is divided into five sections, with a foreword by Eugene Paykel and an afterword by Michael Rutter. Individually and together, the sections succeed in the goal of illuminating the darkness of postpartum depression and its complex sequelae in infancy and early childhood.The introduction and section 2 probe the etiology and treatment of postpartum mood disorders, followed by examination of the structure of the mother-infant relationship. Michael O'Hara points out that women of childbearing age are at high risk for depression. However, several controlled studies suggest that no increased risk for nonpsychotic depression is associated with childbearing. In contrast, women in the first 30 days after delivery are at higher risk for both "blues" symptoms and psychotic depression. Although standard treatments seem to be effective for postpartum depression, more outcome studies are needed.The chapter by Hanus and Mechthild Papousek delves into the mother-infant system and vicious circles of communication failures in maternal depression. E. Z. Tronick and M. Katherine Weinberg review the fascinating processes of a model of mutual regulation and how maternal depression derails establishment of a dyadic mother-infant system.The seven chapters of sections 3 and 4 explore the impact of depression in the puerperium on the infant and treatment for both mother and child. The authors discuss the intellectual and emotional development of infants, dysregulated arousal and attention, and the role of gender. They methodically explore the possible links between postpartum depression and the cognitive problems of children. Discussion of a theory of intergenerational transmission of psychopathology from a depressed parent to the child is of particular interest to clinicians.The fifth and final section investigates postpartum psychosis, emphasizing its effects on the infant. The authors thoughtfully examine the adverse consequences for the child of a mother's severe mental illness, and they raise questions about the risks and benefits of hospitalizing both mother and child. This chapter, like most in the book, also addresses social and familial factors in detail. The authors note that in England and Wales the Infanticide Act of 1938 recognizes that the mother's mental state may have been influenced "by reason of childbirth or lactation."The book meets its objective of exploring the impact of postpartum depression through well-written chapters that capture international perspectives on research. The chapters flow together well, avoiding redundancy. The research data are presented clearly and with good graphics. Intended for psychiatrists, psychologists, and all professionals in the field of human development, this book belongs on the shelf of any student of postpartum depression.Dr. Tully is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Sutter Medical Group in Sacramento, California, and assistant clinical professor on the voluntary faculty at the University of California, Davis.edited by Lynne Murray, Ph.D., and Peter J. Cooper, Ph.D.; New York City, Guilford Press, 1997, 322 pages, $35 FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByNone Volume 49Issue 5 May 1998Pages 707-708 Metrics History Published online 1 May 1998 Published in print 1 May 1998

Process underlying cognitive and emotional development in infants of depressed mothers

Process underlying cognitive and emotional development in infants of depressed mothers

Emotional development in infancy: theoretical models and nursing implications.

Theories of emotional development in infancy that are relevant to clinical practice. A discussion of the complementary theories such as Emde's (1989) psychoanalytically based developmental model of early socioemotional reorganizations and Stern's (1985a) model of the developing self, with the goal of presenting an integrated view of key socioemotional processes and their developmental foundations during infancy. Concepts such as "emotional availability" and "affect attunement" are examined as vehicles for early socioemotional organization and adaptation. Relevant literature from nursing, child psychiatry, and developmental psychology. Implications are drawn from clinical assessment of high-risk caregiver-infant relationships and early causal pathways for later socioemotional dysfunction. Nurses should focus on the importance of assessing interpersonal variables and their ongoing contribution to internalizing patterns of dysfunctional behavior in children.

Child Care Predictors of Infant‐Mother Attachment Security at Age 12 Months

This paper will present initial research outcomes from the child care component of the Sydney Family Development Project, a longitudinal study of emotional development in infancy and early childhood. The study discussed in this paper included 145 first‐born children and their mothers. Interviews with mothers at infant‐age 4 and 12 months provided details of children's experience of non‐maternal child care. Security of infant‐mother attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation procedure at 12 months. Results indicated that amount and type of child care were significant predictors of attachment security. The use of more than 10 hours per week of non‐maternal care was associated with higher proportions of secure attachment. Children attending formal, government‐regulated child care services also had a greater likelihood of being securely attached than those using informal, non‐regulated child care. Discussion will focus on the implications of these results for policy and practice in the provision of infant care.

Physical and cognitive development in the first two years

Physical and cognitive development proceed at a breathtaking pace in the first two years of life. Infants enter the world as competent individuals who actively explore the external world from the moment of birth. As their basic reflexes disappear, they begin to engage in intentional and purposeful behavior. Their ability to move, as in crawling and walking, and to manipulate objects extends their opportunities to learn about the physical environment. Responsive and supportive caregivers who work with infants and toddlers play a critical role in providing an optimal learning environment that takes into account infants' unique developmental needs. The next segment of the four-part series addresses the social and emotional development of infants and toddlers.

Social process theory of emotion: A dynamic systems approach

AbstractIn this paper we apply a dynamic systems perspective to infant emotional development. We propose that emotions are not states but self‐organizing dynamic processes intimately tied to the flow of an individual's activity in a context. We review data on the relationship between emotional actions and the social context, in particular the development of smiling and laughter. These data are more adequately explained by our perspective than by other theories of emotional development. We provide a model for how emotional processes in early infancy become embedded into sociocultural systems, and suggest new avenues of research on emotional development.

Clinical Assessment of Emotional Milestones in Infancy and Early Childhood

It is now possible to monitor, assess, and, where necessary, facilitate emotional development in infants, young children, and their families. The focus on the infant and the family from multiple aspects of development has made it possible to formulate developmental stages that focus on the infant's social and emotional functioning. This article includes an outline for the emotional evaluation of infants and young children.

The effects of day care on the social and emotional development of infants, toddlers and preschoolers

The effects of day care on the social and emotional development of infants, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant emotional development: Stern's revolutionary view. The interpersonal world of the infant, Daniel Stern, MD, Basic Books, New York, 1985, 304 pages, ISBN 0–465–03403–9, $23.95

Infant Mental Health JournalVolume 9, Issue 4 p. 319-321 Book Review Infant emotional development: Stern's revolutionary view. The interpersonal world of the infant, Daniel Stern, MD, Basic Books, New York, 1985, 304 pages, ISBN 0–465–03403–9, $23.95 Deborah Devine, Deborah DevineSearch for more papers by this author Deborah Devine, Deborah DevineSearch for more papers by this author First published: Winter 1988 https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0355(198824)9:4<319::AID-IMHJ2280090406>3.0.CO;2-WAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume9, Issue4Winter 1988Pages 319-321 RelatedInformation

Mental Retardation

Rapid and significant changes in appropriate evaluation and care of infants and young children with mental retardation and other disabilities are substantively influencing the pediatrician's role. Pediatricians trained in models of development that emphasized biologic influences are now understanding the powerful influence of environmental forces on infant development and are beginning to recognize the landmarks of infant temperamental, emotional, and mental health development. Changes in the traditional American family and the resources available to the family are also exerting major influences on the developmental outcome of infants and children with and without disabilities. Pediatricians are becoming more aware of the value of joining in active interdisciplinary partnerships with parents and well-trained professionals as they evaluate, provide health care, and participate with others in coordinating services for infants with mental retardation.