Response to Infant Cry in Clinically Depressed and Non-Depressed Mothers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bowlby and Ainsworth hypothesized that maternal responsiveness is displayed in the context of infant distress. Depressed mothers are less responsive to infant distress vocalizations (cry) than non-depressed mothers. The present study focuses on acoustical components of infant cry that give rise to responsive caregiving in clinically depressed (n = 30) compared with non-depressed mothers (n = 30) in the natural setting of the home.

Methods

Analyses of infant and mother behaviors followed three paths: (1) tests of group differences in acoustic characteristics of infant cry, (2) tests of group differences of mothers' behaviors during their infant's crying, and (3) tree-based modeling to ascertain which variable(s) best predict maternal behaviors during infant cry.

SUBMITTER: Esposito G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5207505 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature