Infant Mental Health Journal最新文献

Understanding deficits in recognition of infant emotions in mothers with mental illnesses is limited by the lack of validated instruments. We present the development and content validation of the infant facial emotion recognition tool (InFER) in India to examine the ability of mothers to detect the infants' emotions. A total of 164 images of infant faces in various emotional states were gathered from the parents of four infants (two male and two female: up to 12 months old). Infant emotion in each image was identified by the respective mother. Content validation was carried out by 21 experts. Images with ≥70% concordance among experts were selected. The newly developed tool, InFER, consists of a total 39 infant images representing the six basic emotions. This tool was then administered among mothers during their postpartum period—10 healthy mothers and 10 mothers who had remitted from any schizophrenia spectrum disorder, bipolar affective disorder or major depressive disorder. The mean age and mean years of education for both groups were comparable (age∼25 years, education ∼15 years). A significant difference was found between the two groups in their ability to recognize infant emotions (Mann–Whitney U = 12.5; p = 0.004). InFER is a promising tool in Indian settings for understanding maternal recognition of infant emotions.

Mentalizing is, to a certain extent, considered context specific. However, research on the association between parents’ abilities to reflect upon their infant's mental states outside social interaction (offline) versus during ongoing parent-infant interaction (online) is currently limited. This study investigated the association between self-reported offline and online mentalizing in a sample of primarily ethnically Danish mothers (N = 142), with symptoms of postpartum depression, and their 1–11-month-old infants. Offline mentalizing was assessed with the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire—Infant Version (PRFQ-I) and online mentalizing was assessed with interactional mind-mindedness. Ordinal logistic regressions showed that a higher score on the PRFQ-I prementalizing subscale was negatively related to number of overall mind-related comments and appropriate mind-related comments produced by mothers during interaction with their infant. Our results indicate partial overlaps between self-reported parental reflective functioning and mind-mindedness, that is, that particularly offline maladaptive mentalizing is associated with lower levels of mentalizing during interaction in mothers with symptoms of depression. Post-hoc examination of the interaction effect of postpartum depression showed that this association was only evident in mothers with medium to high levels of depression. Findings and implications are discussed.

We assessed prevalence and correlates of differential maternal-infant bonding (i.e., experiencing a stronger bond with one baby vs. the other) in mothers of twins, focusing on aspects of maternal mental health, well-being, and pregnancy/birth that have been previously linked with maternal-infant bonding. Participants (N = 108 American women, 88.89% White, 82.41% non-Hispanic, aged 18–45, who gave birth to twins in the past 6–24 weeks) were recruited from postpartum support websites. Participants completed a Qualtrics survey assessing pregnancy/birth history, symptoms of depression and anxiety, sleep, stress, romantic relationship satisfaction, and postpartum bonding. Twenty-six participants (24.07%) reported a bonding discrepancy. These participants endorsed higher symptoms of depression and anxiety, lower relationship satisfaction, lower average postpartum bonding, higher general and parenting stress, and longer pregnancy (all ps > .05). Greater degree of bonding discrepancy correlated with more depression, higher parenting stress, longer pregnancy, and lower relationship satisfaction (all ps > .05). Mothers of twins may benefit from postpartum mental health support, stress management strategies, and interventions to improve bonding. Future work should assess the role of breastfeeding difficulties, delivery method, birth-related trauma, infant regulatory capacity, and temperament. Longitudinal studies will help test cause and effect and potential long-term repercussions of maternal-infant bonding discrepancies.

In this cross-sectional study performed in Canada, we evaluated the frustration levels of prepartum and postpartum mother and father couple-pairs. Our goal was to determine if there were differences in frustration levels between mothers and fathers while listening to prolonged infant crying, and further, how frustration levels might differ between prepartum and postpartum samples. Using two discrete groups, prepartum (Sample 1; N = 48) and postpartum (Sample 2; N = 44) mother and father couple-pairs completed 600 s of listening to audio-recorded infant cry sounds. Participants continuously reported their subjective frustration using a computerized Continuous Visual Analog Scale (CVAS). There was no significant difference in frustration responses between mothers and fathers across both prepartum and postpartum samples. Postpartum mothers and fathers experienced greater frustration than their prepartum counterparts, and frustration increased faster in postpartum couples compared to prepartum couples. Informing first-time parents of the universal experiences of frustration to prolonged crying bouts that are characteristic of their infant's early weeks of life may lead to greater understanding towards their infant, and perhaps decreased instances of harmful responses.

Previous studies have found evidence for a causal effect of household chaos on parenting and suggest that this effect may be stronger for parents with higher sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) or lower self-regulation. This study investigates whether primary caregivers of children around age 1.5–2 years show greater improvement in parenting after a decrease in household chaos if parents have higher SPS or lower self-regulation. The study employs a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design with an intervention aimed at reducing household chaos. A total of 125 parents of toddlers participated in the study. All participants were living in the Netherlands at the time of the study, 89% identified with the Dutch ethnicity and 11% with a non-Dutch ethnicity. Self-report as well as objective measures were used, including videotaped parent-child interactions and home observations. The effect of the intervention on parenting did not depend on SPS or self-regulation. When studying the relation between change in measures of household chaos and posttest parenting, decreased self-reported household chaos was related to less harsh discipline in parents with higher self-regulation, and to more harsh discipline in parents with lower self-regulation. However, this is a tentative finding that should be further explored in future research.

Infant carrying may have beneficial effects on the parent-infant relationship but only limited research has been conducted in this area. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to investigate whether infant carrying is associated with parental reflective functioning, parental bonding, and parental (emotional) and behavioral responses to infant crying, key elements within the parent-infant relationship, promoting infant development. Parents reporting high levels (N = 389) of infant carrying (six times a week or daily) and parents reporting low levels (N = 128) of infant carrying (less than once a week or not at all) who participated in an online survey about the developing parent-infant relationship in Germany were included in the present study. Standardized questionnaires were used to assess parental reflective functioning, parental bonding impairments, and emotional responses to infant crying. Further insensitive (non-responsive and hostile) behaviors in response to infant crying were assessed. Parents with high levels of infant carrying showed better parental reflective functioning, lower parental bonding problems, less negative emotions, and less insensitive behaviors in response to infant crying.

This paper describes the evaluation of one year of infant/early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) in subsidized early care and education settings provided by the New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Network. The evaluation examined direct and indirect outcomes of IECMHC including (1) improved classroom practices by ECE teachers, and (2) improved social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes among children in the classroom. The study also reviewed child attributes that might have moderated outcomes. An analysis using paired t-tests of pre-and post-assessment data found significant improvements over time in the classroom environment and management practices, as well as in teachers' perceptions of the degree of difficulty presented by children's classroom behaviors. There were significant improvements in protective factors and problem behaviors among the subset of 138 children who received assessments. Improvements were greater for Black/African American children and for all children with pre-assessment scores in the concern range. Males showed greater improvement in protective factors whereas females showed greater improvement in behavioral concerns. IECMHC is a powerful intervention to improve teachers' classroom management and their perceptions of children's behavior and is important in the context of biases that place marginalized groups at risk of punitive actions by teachers and administrators.

The complex work of addressing intergenerational adversities, like violence, abuse, and neglect through perinatal psychotherapy, is understudied. Especially noticeable is the paucity of studies giving voice to the therapists. This study explored therapeutic processes through the perspectives of seven Norwegian therapists. A qualitative approach was chosen with individual interviews and a follow-up focus group. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. We identified one overarching theme: To maintain a reflective therapeutic capacity, and two main themes with associated subthemes: 1) Alliance work when a caring system comes to therapy to fight generations of adversities and 2) The complex therapeutic work of addressing generational adversities in perinatal psychotherapy. Findings from the present study indicate that maintaining a reflective stance is essential yet challenging when addressing intergenerational adversities, requiring a holding environment for the therapists. The primary vehicle of change was perceived as a safe enough therapeutic alliance to explore new ways of being together, contrasting earlier experiences. A key question raised was how to give caregivers enough time to trust the therapist without compromising the safety and development of the child. The essence of the therapeutic work was to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors through multiple ports of entry.

Improving parental sensitivity is an important objective of interventions to support families. This study examined reliability and validity of parental sensitivity ratings using a novel package of an e-learning tool and an interactive decision tree provided through a mobile application, called the OK! package. Independent raters assessed parental sensitivity using the OK! package (N = 11 raters) and the NICHD Parental Sensitivity rating scales (N = 22 raters) on the basis of videotaped mother-child interactions at 10- or 12-months-old (N = 294) and at 24-months-old (N = 204) from the Dutch longitudinal cohort study Generation². Mothers reported on children's externalizing and internalizing problems and social competence when children were 4 and 7 years old. Results showed excellent single interrater reliability for raters using the OK! package (mean ICC = .79), and strong evidence for convergent validity at 10- or 12-month-old (r = .57) and 24-month-old (r = .65). Prospective associations of neither parental sensitivity rated using the OK! package or the NICHD Parental Sensitivity rating scales with child developmental outcomes were statistically significant (p > .05), with overlapping 95% confidence intervals for both measures. The OK! package provides a promising direction for testing alternatives to current training and instruction modalities.

Infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) in early care and education (ECE) settings is a promising approach to support young children. Although research on the effects of IECMHC is encouraging, it is limited by the complexities of the systems in which IECMHC is implemented and the variability in IECMHC models. The current study aims to clearly articulate a statewide, child-focused, short-term IECMHC model, assess consultee satisfaction, examine the effects of consultation on children's functioning in the school and home settings, and evaluate changes in teacher perceptions associated with expulsion risk following consultation. In total, 268 children ages 1–5 (69% White, 75% male) and their family and school caregivers participated in consultation in a New England state, and 95 children and caregivers were included in an evaluation subsample. Of this subsample, teachers and ECE administrators, but not families, indicated significant improvement in children's functioning from referral to end of consultation. There was also a significant decrease in children's risk of expulsion, as measured by teachers’ perceptions associated with expulsion decisions. This study contributes to the IECMHC literature by providing results specific to a child-focused model of consultation and highlighting the possible role of adult attributions for children in ECE.