Predicting adult responses to infant distress: Adult characteristics associated with perceptions, emotional reactions, and timing of intervention

Abstract

This study examined adult characteristics associated with different responses to infant distress. One hundred eighty-eight parents viewed four 20-second segments of videotape in which a 4-week-old infant was either (a) fussing mildly, (b) fussing vigorously, (c) crying, or (d) crying vigorously. Participants rated their emotional reactions and perception of cry characteristics following each segment. Participants then viewed a 4-minute videotape depicting the same infant progressing from calm to vigorous crying, and indicated when they would intervene to pick up the infant. Relatively high levels of empathy and extraversion and low levels of conscientiousness were associated with more sensitive responses to infant distress. Infant-rearing attitudes had a strong impact on response patterns as well, suggesting that education may be an effective means of increasing parental sensitivity. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.