Still-face Situation Research Articles

Impact of prenatal stress on mother-infant dyadic behavior during the still-face paradigm

BackgroundMother-infant interaction provides important training for the infant’s ability to cope with stress and the development of resilience. Prenatal stress (PS) and its impact on the offspring’s development have long been a focus of stress research, with studies highlighting both harmful and beneficial effects. The aim of the current study was to examine the possible influence of both psychological stress and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity during pregnancy with mother-child dyadic behavior following stress exposure.MethodsThe behavior of 164 mother-infant dyads during the still-face situation was filmed at six months postpartum and coded into three dyadic patterns: 1) both positive, 2) infant protesting-mother positive, and 3) infant protesting-mother negative. PS exposure was assessed prenatally according to psychological measures (i.e., psychopathological, perceived and psychosocial PS; n = 164) and HPA axis activity measures (maternal salivary cortisol, i.e., cortisol decline and area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg); n = 134).ResultsMother-infant dyads in both the high- and low-stress groups showed decreasing positive and increasing negative dyadic behavior in the reunion episode, which is associated with the well-known “still-face” and “carry-over” effect. Furthermore, mother-infant dyads with higher psychosocial PS exhibited significantly more positive dyadic behavior than the low psychosocial PS group in the first play episode, but not in the reunion episode. Similarly, mother-infant dyads with high HPA axis activity (i.e. high AUCg) but steeper diurnal cortisol decline (i.e. cortisol decline) displayed significantly less negative behavior in the reunion episode than dyads with low HPA axis activity. No significant results were found for psychopathological stress and perceived stress.ConclusionsThe results suggest a beneficial effect of higher psychosocial PS and higher prenatal maternal HPA axis activity in late gestation, which is in line with “stress inoculation” theories.

Infant Responses to Maternal Still Face at 9 Months Predict Social Abilities at 18 Months

BackgroundThis study investigated developmental change and stability in infant responses to the still-face (SF) situation, as well as predictive validity at age 18 months, focusing on autonomy and responsiveness.MethodsA total of 231 children (117 boys and 114 girls) and their Japanese mothers were observed in a face-to-face SF situation at two infant ages (4 and 9 months), as well as a caregiver-child teaching interaction at age 18 months. Each infant’s facial expression, gaze direction, and vocalization were coded according to the SF paradigm, including the Natural Interaction (NI) and SF phases. Each child’s Autonomy and Responsiveness to the Caregiver at age 18 months were both evaluated by means of the Interaction Rating Scale.ResultsThe results indicated that negative facial expression and vocalization in the SF phases at age 9 months predicted the Autonomy rating at age 18 months, while positive facial expression and gaze toward the caregiver in the NI at age 9 months predicted the Responsiveness to Caregiver rating at age 18 months.ConclusionsThe results are discussed in the context of developmental continuity and change in the children’s social cognition and voluntary movements.

Four-Month Attentional Regulation and Its Prediction of Three-Year Compliance.

The extent to which 4-month attentional regulation during an infant-mother still-face situation and 12-month attachment security during the Strange Situation predicted rates of compliance and noncompliance during a cleanup task at 36 months was examined longitudinally in 70 infant-mother dyads. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that infants who showed more attentional regulation during the still-face situation with mothers later showed a higher rate of committed compliance and a lower rate of situational compliance during cleanup with mothers. Furthermore, lower levels of attentional regulation were later associated with higher rates of assertive behavior, but only for infants in an insecure attachment relationship.

A contingency-based approach to the etiology of 'disorganized' attachment: the 'flickering switch' hypothesis.

The authors present a new approach to the etiology of disorganized attachment based on contingency detection theory. According to this view, the relevant common factor in parental maltreatment and unresolved loss that leads to disorganized attachment has to do with the type of "deviant contingency environment" that both of these conditions generate. In such environments, infants experience periods of being in control followed by periods of sudden loss of control over the caregiver's behavior. The authors hypothesize that this adversely affects the developmental unfolding of the infant's innate "contingency detection module" (Gergely & Watson, 1999), which normally involves a maturational shift around 3 months from an initial attention bias for perfectly contingent stimulation to an emerging preference for less-than-perfect social contingencies. The periodically changing controllability of abusive and dissociating "unresolved" attachment figures is hypothesized to block this process and to lead to the defensive fixation of a dysfunctional "flickering contingency switch" mechanism with two dominant and competing target positions (self-oriented vs. other-oriented). This results in the dissociative style of attention and behavioral organization characteristic of disorganized infant attachment. The authors summarize the preliminary results of an empirical study that provides support for this model in 6.5-month-old infants using a modified Still-Face situation (the Mirror Interaction Situation). The study demonstrates differential emotional and behavioral reactions to sudden loss of maternal contingency and a specific interest in exploring the perfectly contingent self-image in the mirror in infants who at 12 months become categorized as "disorganized" in the Strange Situation.

Mother and infant smiling exchanges during face-to-face interaction in infants with and without Down syndrome

We examined social smiling in infants with and without Down syndrome, aged from 3.2 to 13.6 months old. They were videotaped during an episode of spontaneous face-to-face interaction and a subsequent mother's still-face situation. Results indicated that infants smiled longer in the spontaneous face-to-face episode than in the still-face episode, even though this result was only significant in typically developing infants. Typically developing infants also smiled for a longer period than Down's syndrome infants during the spontaneous interaction episode. Moreover, infant's smile preceded the onset of the mother's smile, but in 6.2- to 13.6-month-old typically developing infants, the probability of mothers smiling before infants increased. These findings emphasize the possible existence of differences in the development of facial expression from signs to social symbols between infants with and without Down syndrome.

Mother and infant smiling exchanges during face‐to‐face interaction in infants with and without Down syndrome

We examined social smiling in infants with and without Down syndrome, aged from 3.2 to 13.6 months old. They were videotaped during an episode of spontaneous face-to-face interaction and a subsequent mother's still-face situation. Results indicated that infants smiled longer in the spontaneous face-to-face episode than in the still-face episode, even though this result was only significant in typically developing infants. Typically developing infants also smiled for a longer period than Down's syndrome infants during the spontaneous interaction episode. Moreover, infant's smile preceded the onset of the mother's smile, but in 6.2- to 13.6-month-old typically developing infants, the probability of mothers smiling before infants increased. These findings emphasize the possible existence of differences in the development of facial expression from signs to social symbols between infants with and without Down syndrome. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 31: 277–286, 1997

Depressed Mothers' Touching Increases Infants' Positive Affect and Attention in Still-Face Interactions

The effects of depressed mothers' touching on their infants' behavior were investigated during the still-face situation. 48 depressed and nondepressed mothers and their 3-month-old infants were randomly assigned to control and experimental conditions. 4 successive 90-sec periods were implemented: (A) normal play, (B) still-face-no-touch, (C) still-face-with-touch, and (A) normal play. Depressed and nondepressed mothers were instructed and shown how to provide touch for their infants during the still-face-with-touch period. Different affective and attentive responses of the infants of depressed versus the infants of nondepressed mothers were observed. Infants of depressed mothers showed more positive affect (smiles and vocalizations) and gazed more at their mothers' hands during the still-face-with-touch period than the infants of nondepressed mothers, who grimaced, cried, and gazed away from their mothers' faces more often. The results suggest that by providing touch stimulation for their infants, the depressed mothers can increase infant positive affect and attention and, in this way, compensate for negative effects often resulting from their typical lack of affectivity (flat facial and vocal expressions) during interactions.

Smiling and Fussing in Seven-Month-Old Preterm and Full-Term Black Infants in the Still-Face Situation

We investigated emotional responses to the still-face paradigm in 7-month-old preterm and full-term black infants. Baby FACS criteria were used to code the duration and intensity of infant smiles and the presence or absence of cry faces and fussy vocalizations within each episode. Infants in both groups showed the still-face effect: a significant reduction in smiling from episode 1 (baseline) to episode 2 (maternal still-face) and partial return to baseline in episode 3 (recovery). A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) for big smiles yielded significant main effects for group and episode and a significant group x episode interaction. Preterm infants spent less time than full-term infants displaying big smiles in episode 1 and a less pronounced decrease in big smiles in episode 2. Maternal depressive symptoms did not differ significantly between groups. Counter to our expectations, depressive symptoms were positively associated with small-to-medium smiles in the baseline episode but not with big smiles in any episode. These findings confirm the robustness of the still-face paradigm and its potential usefulness for research on individual as well as group differences in affective communication in infants.

Smiling and Fussing in Seven-Month-Old Preterm and Full-Term Black Infants in the Still-Face Situation

Smiling and Fussing in Seven-Month-Old Preterm and Full-Term Black Infants in the Still-Face Situation

Early Intervention with Portuguese Mothers

Results of a 2-year follow-up after an early intervention with low-middle-class primiparous Portuguese mothers are presented. On the 3rd day of their infants' lives, 40 mothers underwent a structured intervention using selected items of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. An additional 20 mothers randomized to the control group had a talk with a pediatrician about general problems of infant health care. On Day 28, the "sensory orientation" and "cuddliness" competencies of the infants in the experimental group were significantly enhanced when compared with the same competencies among the infants in the control group. In addition, dyads in the experimental group had established a more favorable pattern of interaction, particularly after short stressful situations (these situations included short separations from the mother in which a stranger was present, short separations in which no one was present, and a stillface situation). Short-term effects (the first month of life) were particularly noticeable, especially in terms of the babies' neurobehavioral development and mother-infant interaction. Long-term effects (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 months), though less clear, were evident in the form of better interactive patterns among the dyads in the experimental group. This was particularly evident after the stressful situations to which they were submitted. These results are discussed in terms of both their scope and their clinical impact.

Infant response to the still-face situation at 3 and 6 months.

Infant response to the still-face situation at 3 and 6 months.

Infant response to the still-face situation at 3 and 6 months.

Infant response to the still-face situation at 3 and 6 months.

Reflections on Stillness: Mothers' Reactions to the Still-Face Situation

The still-face procedure, in which mothers maintain a neutral face and are noninteractive with their infants, has been used to study the effects of maternal withdrawal on the mother-infant interaction. In this study, 56 mothers' reactions to their own experience during a still-face procedure were explored using an open-ended interview. The associations between the mothers' reported experience, the infants' behavior during the procedure, and the mothers' behavior during subsequent play were examined. Over half of the mothers reported experiencing discomfort during the session and were more likely to report discomfort if their infants protested their affective absence. Mothers reporting discomfort were significantly more likely to pick up their infants and continue to reflect verbally on their own feelings after the still-face ended. These results are discussed in terms of their clinical implications for understanding the early development of the social dialogue between mother and infant.

Emerging Social Regulatory Capacities as Seen in the Still-Face Situation

Early mother-infant interactions support infants' abilities to deal with stressful situations such as the withdrawal of maternal attention. The "still-face" paradigm provides a framework for studying the range of social regulatory capacities available to infants during stressful times. This study examined the responses of 62 3-4-month-old infants during the still-face situation. Infants' responses were coded in real time along 3 dimensions: gaze, affect, and state. 3 findings are presented: (1) Generally, infants responded to the still-face situation with predominantly neutral affect and looking away from their mothers. (2) Infants who looked longer at their mothers early in the still-face showed longer early positive affect and protested her absence less. (3) Girls more often showed an intensely negative response to the still-face. These findings are discussed in the context of the development of social regulatory capacities in infancy.

The Role of Dyadic Affect in Play and Infant Sex in Predicting Infant Response to the Still-Face Situation

This study was designed to examine mothers' and 3-month-old infants' affect in play and infant sex as predictors of infants' response to the still-face situation. Infants who evidenced negative affect in play were likely to respond with negative displays during a subsequent still-face situation. Maternal positivity in play was positively correlated with infants' social gaze in the still-face situation. In addition, maternal positivity and infant sex significantly interacted in predicting infant affective response in the still-face situation. For girls, maternal positivity was associated with decreased expressivity. For boys, maternal positivity was associated with early positive bids, which were followed by negative bids and moderately negative affect. Finally, maternal positivity and its interaction with infant sex provide unique information beyond the carry-over effect from infant affect in play to infant response to the still-face. Results are discussed in terms of patterns of individual and joint regulation.

Emerging Social Regulatory Capacities as Seen in the Still-Face Situation

Emerging Social Regulatory Capacities as Seen in the Still-Face Situation

The Role of Dyadic Affect in Play and Infant Sex in Predicting Infant Response to the Still-Face Situation

The Role of Dyadic Affect in Play and Infant Sex in Predicting Infant Response to the Still-Face Situation