This study investigated the interactions of facially deformed infants (FD) with their mothers compared to a facially nondeformed control group (FND). All mother-infant dyads were videotaped for 10 minutes during a free play period. Mothers were instructed to spend time with their baby as they normally would. The videotaped interactions of 14 FD dyads and 14 FND dyads were rated by five raters for quality of interactions, amount of vocalization, touch, and face-to-face gaze. The infants were rated on their level of attractiveness from polaroid pictures and videotapes. Mothers also completed a questionnaire which assessed their infants' temperament. Three of the studies' four hypotheses were confirmed. First, the more attractive an infant was, the better his/her interactions with the mother were judged to be. Second, FD infant dyads were rated as significantly poorer in quality of interaction than FND dyads, although FD* dyads did not spend significantly less time vocalizing, touching, or in face-to-face gaze as predicted. A significantly higher percentage of FD infants were judged as having difficult temperament relative to FND infants. Finally, as predicted it was found that infants with difficult temperaments were more likely to exhibit poorer quality interactions than infants with less difficult temperaments. These results have important implications for providing anticipatory guidance to caregivers of FD infants. Without intervention, FD infants appear at risk for subsequent developmental problems stemming from disrupted early mother-infant interactions. Future research should focus on these interactions soon after the infant's birth, attempt to determine if FD infants' emotions can be reliably understood from their facial expressions (as has been found in normal infants) and extend the current research paradigm to include fathers of FD infants.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc331799 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Sterling, John W. (John Wilson) |
| Contributors | Doster, Joseph A., 1943-, Burke, Angela J., Toledo, Jose Raphael, Peek, Leon A. |
| Publisher | North Texas State University |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | iv, 63 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Sterling, John W. (John Wilson), Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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