Mothers' susceptibility to the effects of learned helplessness as a function of the perception of her own infants' temperament and exposure to varying degrees of control over infant crying was explored. Seventysix mothers were classified as having a difficult or easy infant based upon ratings of their infant on the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire. Using an adaptation of the learned helplessness paradigm, a relatively equal number of mothers from each group were exposed to an escape, inescape, or control pretreatment condition and subsequently tested on a solvable shuttle box task. Mothers of easy infants who were pretreated with inescapable crying demonstrated more failures and trials to criterion than mothers of easy infants in the escape and control conditions. In contrast, mothers of difficult infants did not demonstrate performance differences across the 3 pretreatment conditions. Mothers of difficult infants performed significantly better on the shuttle box task than mothers of easy infants following exposure to uncontrollable crying. Mothers of difficult and easy infants did not differ on measures of depression, perceptions of control over adult-child interactions, and potential for child abuse. Mothers did not respond more rapidly to the cries produced by unfamiliar difficult or easy infants. Findings suggest mothers of difficult infants may initially be less adept at terminating infant crying, but are more resilient to these failure experiences. Indeed, mothers of difficult infants responded more effectively following exposure to uncontrollable infant cry sounds. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of mothers' perceptions of their different caregiving experiences in mediating their responsivity to salient infant cues. / Ph. D.

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Previous research on infant perception of speech has shown that infants prefer their mother's voice over the voice of an unfamiliar female. Additionally, infants show a preference for the type of speech that is normally directed towards infants, known as infant-directed (10) speech. The linguistic and prosodic features of 10 speech are typically exaggerated in comparison to speech that is used amongst adults (adult-directed or AD speech). Most previous studies investigating infant preference for 10 speech have used the voice of a woman unfamiliar to the infants tested. The only study to use the maternal voice in testing 10 speech preferences employed 9 and 16-month-old infants. Knowledge of how the maternal voice impacts speech preferences in younger infants is unknown. The current study examined 1-month-old infants' preference for maternal 10 speech, when the alternative was maternal AD speech. Samples of individual mothers' 10 and AD speech were obtained during home visits, and selected utterances were subsequently presented to the infants in a visually based preference procedure. One month-olds showed no preference for either maternal speech type, although acoustic analyses showed that the 10 speech did differ significantly from the AD speech on all prosodic parameters examined. This lack of preference for maternal ID speech in young infants is discussed in a developmental model that depends on experience with maternal speech from prenatal to postnatal life with regard to the formation of infant speech preferences. / Master of Science

As no known research has been done on Satir brief therapy in a maternity setting, an exploratory design using the case study method was used to assess whether women in a maternity hospital experience this form of therapy as beneficial. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample of five patients for this study. Therapeutic sessions were held with these women during their stay in hospital, and follow up sessions with four of the five women were held once they had been discharged home to evaluate their experience of the therapy. The fifth woman could not be reached after her discharge from hospital. The results indicate that the use of Satir brief therapy supports the research question and that it can therefore be used to address the psychological and social issues which can affect the mother baby dyad, thus promoting healthy mother - baby bonding. / Social Work / M.A.(Social Science)

Assignment (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The transition to motherhood represents a critical period in a woman's life. It presents the mother with the opportunity for personal development, while simultaneously rendering her vulnerable to psychological problems. The South African low-income mother faces additional challenges in having to contend with a host of poverty-related stressors. The mother's at-risk status extends to her infant, who depends on her for the fulfilment of its needs. Current mental health policy does not consider the special needs of mother-infant dyads, despite its orientation to prevention. The current paper seeks to explore the potential of group therapy with low-income mother-infant dyads. It outlines the possible theoretical underpinnings for psychotherapeutic group work with low-income mothers and infants, by making use of attachment theory, feminist theory and community psychology. It reviews the theories' individual contributions and explores their compatibility in considering group therapy with low-income mother-infant dyads. Further, it reviews empirical studies and interventions with mother-infant dyads, with a particular emphasis on group therapy interventions. It argues that group therapy may be a viable and effective approach to psychological work with low-income mother-infant dyads. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oorgang tot moederskap verteenwoordig 'n kritiese periode in 'n vrou se lewe. Dit bied die moeder die kans vir persoonlike ontwikkeling, terwyl dit haar gelykertyd kwesbaar maak vir sielkundige probleme. Die Suid-Afrikaanse lae-inkomste moeder moet boonop bykomstige uitdagings, in die vorm van 'n menigdom armoed-verwante stressors, die hoof bied. Die moeder se kwesbare status sluit ook haar baba in, wat op haar aangewese is vir die vervulling van sy/haar behoeftes. Huidige geestesgesondheids-beleid neem, ten spyte van 'n voorkomende oriëntasie, nie die spesiale behoeftes van moeder-kind pare in ag nie. Hierdie werksopdrag beoog om die potensiaal van groepsterapie met lae-inkomste moederkind pare te ondersoek. Dit beskryf kortliks die moontlike teoretiese begrondings van psigoterapeutiese groepswerk met lae-inkomste moeder-kind pare deur gebruik te maak van bindings-teorie, feministiese teorie sowel as gemeenskaps sielkunde. Dit hersien die teorieë se onderskeidelike bydraes en ondersoek hulle aanpasbaarheid met betrekking tot die ondersoek van groepsterapie met lae-inkomste moeder-kind pare. Hierdie werksopdrag hersien dan ook verder empiriese studies en intervensies gemik op moeder-kind pare, met 'n spesifieke fokus op groepsterapie intervensies. Daar word geargumenteer dat groepsterapie 'n geskikte en effektiewe benadering tot sielkundige werk met lae-inkomste moeder-kind pare is.

Kangaroo care (KC), has been shown to promote healthy development for both pre-term and full-term infants, and to improve mother-infant bonding (Ludington-Hoe, 2011; Charpak et al., 2005). Current research on the maternal benefits of kangaroo care is scarce, primarily focuses on early KC, and is mostly qualitative in nature (Fegran, Helseth, & Fagermoan, 2008; Matos et al., 2010). The present study examined the effect of late KC on maternal behaviors, sensitivity, and mother-infant interactive mutuality when infants were 3 months of age. Mothers who used kangaroo care as directed were found to have greater bonding scores and less anxiety about caring for their infants as measured through the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire. Kangaroo care was also found to have an effect on mothers’ ability to effectively calm their infants after an arm restraint task. Further research on the usefulness of late intermittent KC with full-term infants is needed. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The current study examined the effects of kangaroo care on breastfeeding practices, infant stress reactivity, and biobehavioral measures of mother-infant bonding across the first 3 months postpartum. Additionally, the role of breastfeeding in infant cortical maturation in the frontal lobe was examined. Thirty two mother-infant dyads participated in the current study; 16 mother-infant dyads were randomly assigned to the kangaroo care group and 17 mother-infant dyads were assigned to the control group. Mothers in the kangaroo care group received training on proper kangaroo care procedures by a trained administrator during the first 1-2 weeks postpartum. Mothers in the kangaroo care group were asked to use the kangaroo care procedure for 1 hour per day for 6 weeks. Maternal perceptions of fetal attachment, mood, feeding intentions, and urinary oxytocin measurements were assessed prenatally. At a newborn visit, infant neurobehavioral functioning and urinary oxytocin measurements were assessed. Maternal mood and feeding practices were also assessed at the newborn visit. At 3 months postpartum, mother-infant dyads were assessed on urinary oxytocin measurements. Mother-infant dyads were recorded during a play session and feeding session. Infant baseline EEG recordings were taken over a 5 minute period. Infant cortisol measurements were collected from infant saliva before and after a mild behavioral stressor, an infant arm restraint procedure. Maternal perceptions of postpartum bonding, mood, infant temperament, and feeding practices were also assessed. Results indicate that kangaroo care produced medium to large effects on cortisol reactivity, dyadic bonding, and breastfeeding practices if kangaroo care was practiced for the recommended amount of time. Kangaroo care produced medium to large effects on oxytocin levels in motherinfant dyads regardless of use. Cortical measures of infant frontal activity indicated that all infants in the samples displayed functional maturity of the frontal lobe. Kangaroo care can be used a viable, low-cost tactile procedure that can be implemented after birth to aid in breastfeeding practices, mother-infant bonding, and lower infant stress reactivity. Infants in the study who received at least one breastfeeding session displayed advanced patterns of frontal activation. Further study is needed to determine if peripheral oxytocin measurements are 1) reliable and 2) are indicative of dyadic bonding behaviors. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

A music and movement program that incorporated vocal, gestural and rhythmical movement activities was devised with the aim of promoting first-time mothers’ interactions with their infants from the age 2 to 6 months. For first-time mothers as primary caregivers, the early post-partum months of the transition to parenthood can be a stressful period, affecting communicative interactions with their infants and the early development of the dyadic relationship. Furthermore, if mothers are lacking a repertoire of activities that promote communicative interactions via the use of vocal, gestural and rhythmical movement activities the development of the mother-infant relationship may be inhibited.Considering factors that affect the early development of the mother in her role as primary caregiver and the developing relationship with her infant, the investigation of two studies are reported. Study 1 was aimed at investigating the effects music and movement and face-to-face social contact on the frequency of mothers’ interactions with their infants and maternal well-being. Face-to-face social contact was investigated as a factor (both independent of music and movement, and its interaction effect with music and movement) that could influence mothers’ communicative interactions with their infants and maternal well-being. Study 2 investigated behavioural outcomes within the mother-infant relationship in response to the communicative effects of music and movement as measured by change in the characteristics of mothers’ Infant-Directed Speech and dyadic reciprocity Results indicated that up-tempo play songs and rhymes which incorporated rhythmical movement were preferred by the mothers to engage with their infants. As an effect of the their use of the music and movement activities, mothers’ interactions with their infants increased together with their perceived mother-to-infant attachment, characteristics associated with their Infant-Directed Speech and the dyadic reciprocity. Without music and movement, mothers decreased their music and movement interactions with their infants together with their perceived mother-to infant attachment, characteristics associated with their Infant-Directed Speech and the dyadic reciprocity. It was concluded that mothers’ use of the music and movement program with their infants in the early post-partum months was a valuable stimulus that can enhance the mother-infant relationship. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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