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This study assessed a preventive intervention home visiting programme (Fussy Baby Network (FBN)) designed to support mothers struggling with infant crying, sleeping, or feeding concerns. Mothers were referred to the programme through local health- and social service providers and were eligible to participate in the study if they were age 18 or older and had a child [less than or equal to]12 months of age. A mixed methods design "quantitatively" assessed pre- to post-test changes in maternal mental health, parenting confidence, and parent-infant bonding and "qualitatively" explored mothers' experiences of the programme. Statistically significant differences were found with effect sizes (Cohen's D) as follows: improved parenting self-efficacy (0.72) and confidence (0.44); reduced maternal anxiety (0.50), stress (0.44), mother-infant bonding difficulties (0.42), and depression (0.35). Qualitative findings revealed that "Empathic Inquiry" and "Capacity Building," two core processes of the FBN model, emerged as the most salient themes of the programme.

Depression in mothers is consistently associated with reduced caregiving sensitivity and greater infant negative affect expression. The current article examined the real-time behavioral mechanisms underlying these associations using Granger causality time series analyses in a sample of mothers (N = 194; 86.60% White) at elevated risk for depression and their 3-month-old infants (46.40% female) living in a major metropolitan area in the United States. Overall, mothers contingently responded to infant distress, and mothers' responses to infant distress increased the likelihood of infant soothing in real time. However, there was no evidence for maternal contingent responding or facilitation of infant soothing in subsamples of mothers who were currently experiencing elevated depression symptoms or in mothers of highly negative infants. These findings suggest real-time behavioral mechanisms by which risks for maladaptive self-regulation may develop.

Exposure to infant crying is a well-established predictor of mothers' mental health. However, this association may reflect many potential mechanisms. Capturing dynamic fluctuations in mothers' states simultaneously with caregiving experiences is necessary to identify the real-time processes influencing mental health. In this study, we leveraged ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and infant-worn audio recorders to capture variability in mothers' mental health symptoms and their exposure to infant crying over one week in a racially and socio-economically diverse urban North-American sample (N = 53). We use multilevel modeling to characterize within- and between-person effects of crying on maternal negative affect and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Within participants, when infants cried more than average in the 10 min, 1 hr, and 8 hr prior to an EMA report, mothers' negative affect subsequently increased, controlling for mean levels of infant crying. In contrast to findings from laboratory studies, in everyday settings crying exposure did not immediately increase feelings of depression. Only when crying was above average for 8 hr prior to EMA did mothers report increases in subsequent depression symptoms, suggesting that the effects of crying on maternal mental health take "hours" to unfold in ecologically valid home settings. Between participants, mothers of infants who cried more on average did not report higher negative affect or symptoms of depression or anxiety. Overall, our findings reveal that crying exposure dynamically influences maternal negative affect and depression but not anxiety in ecologically valid real-world settings.

In recent times, studies focusing on the issue of gifted and talented students in Turkey have gained much traction. However, so far, these appear to have been limited in terms of the intervention strategies they offer. The question of how to respond to the social and emotional issues of gifted and talented students remains an issue, which is a source of debate, based on the experiences on the field and the directions offered by the latest studies. While giftedness is associated with positive thoughts and beliefs, these come a number of challenges that require closer examination. Consequently, the aim of this case study is to discuss the social-emotional issues experienced gifted and talented children, with regards to effective intervention programs which are often overlooked and not thoroughly examined. Determining the type of acceleration practice could be a very subjective decision and possible risk and resources should be analyzed in order to determine what is best for the child's needs. As outlined by this case study, the proper identification of intervention strategies should respond to the problems experienced by students in the social and emotional realm. The review concludes with recommendations that could help school counselors, families and educators in assisting gifted and talented students, based on existing relevant literature.

This study aimed to compare the effect of using white noise, embracing, and facilitated tucking on heel lance blood sampling in newborns. The study was a randomized controlled trial. Newborns totalling 160 were included in the study. The primary outcomes were evaluated pain and crying durations before, during, and after the procedure. The secondary outcomes were evaluated as physiological changes before, during, and after the procedure. The crying durations during and after the heel lance blood sampling were found significantly lower in the newborns in the embracing group compared to those in the other groups (p < 0.05). The average NIPS score of the newborns who were embraced by their mothers during (3.67 ± 2.76) and after (1.55 ± 2.6) heel lance blood sampling was found significantly lower than the other groups (p < 0.05). Maternal embracing during and after the heel lance blood sampling procedure may be effective in reducing crying duration and pain level in newborns.

Providing adequate parental support is pivotal when treating excessive infant crying, but there are indications that parents may not feel supported by professional health care. This study investigated maternal satisfaction with health care and health care needs, comparing mothers of infants with (N = 110) and without a medical cause for the crying (N = 101). Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to detect patterns in health care needs. Dissatisfaction with health care (often related to feelings of not being taken seriously) was reported by 55.0%. Mothers of infants with a medical cause for the crying rated health care as more effective but were also more often dissatisfied with health care. Most mothers needed help both for the crying of their infant and their own well-being. The results suggest that offering effective reassurance to parents without downplaying the seriousness of the situation and being sensitive to the specific needs of each family is essential.

Research suggests that women's autonomic nervous system responses to infant cries capture processes that affect their parenting behaviors. The aim of this study was to build on prior work by testing whether pregnant women's autonomic responses to an unfamiliar infant crying also predict their infants' emerging regulation abilities. Participants included 97 women in their third trimester of pregnancy, located in the United States. Most participants identified as White/non-Hispanic (48%) or Hispanic (30%), their mean age was approximately 30 years, and the modal family income was $40,000-$79,999. Pregnant women's respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance levels (SCL)--which are thought to capture emotional engagement and behavioral inhibition, respectively--were measured while the women watched a relaxing video and a video of an unfamiliar infant crying. Approximately 7 months later, women and their infants completed the still-face paradigm (SFP). Infants' avoidance and resistance behaviors during the SFP reunions were rated. Pregnant women's RSA and SCL responses to the infant cry video uniquely predicted infants' avoidance (but not resistance) during the SFP. Infants displayed higher levels of avoidance when their mothers exhibited lower levels of RSA reactivity or when their mothers exhibited higher levels of SCL activity in response to the infant cry video. Maternal sensitivity during mother-infant free-play interactions did not mediate the associations between pregnant women's autonomic responses to the cry video and infants' avoidant behavior during the SFP. Discussion focuses on potential mechanisms underlying associations between pregnant women's autonomic responses to infant distress and infants' socioemotional development.

This randomized controlled trial (NTR5697) examined the effects of a 5-week daily skin-to-skin contact (SSC) intervention, compared with care-as-usual, on full-term infant crying and sleeping duration during the first 12 weeks postnatally (secondary outcomes of this trial). This trial included 116 Dutch healthy mothers and their full-term infants. SSC mothers were instructed to provide 1 hr daily of SSC for the first 5 weeks postpartum. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed no group differences in infant crying (i.e., total duration and mean bout length) and sleeping (i.e., total duration and mean bout length). Per-protocol analyses, including only the SSC dyads who adhered to SSC guidelines, indicated that SSC reduced infant total crying duration and the crying bout length. Similarly, dose-response analyses indicated that more SSC minutes were associated with less infant crying (i.e., shorter total duration and bout length) and longer total sleeping duration, especially when the infant was younger. No group differences and associations were found with sleeping bout length. Mother-infant SSC, when performed regularly, may be a cost-effective intervention to reduce infant crying and potentially also extend infant sleep duration.

Kangaroo care (KC) or kangaroo mother care (KMC), sometimes called skin-to-skin contact, is a technique of newborn care where babies are kept chest-to-chest and skin-to-skin with a parent. The research was carried out experimentally to investigate the effect of the early kangaroo care by using Neonatal Comfort Behavior Scale in invasive interventions applied to the babies during early kangaroo care who born as healthy normal birth. Eighty babies who born at Adana Maternity and Child Health Hospital delivery room between 1 July and 31 October 2016 and their mothers constituted the research sampling. The babies were inserted into the experimental (n = 40) and control groups (n = 40) by the simple random sampling method. The invasive interventions were executed to the babies included in experimental group during early kangaroo care and COMFORTneo Behavior Scale was applied. The crying times of babies in both groups were measured with the aid of stopwatch. The level of comfort of the group receiving kangaroo care was found to be higher than those who did not. Significant connection was confirmed statistically positive, and highly between total score and duration of crying (r = 0.925; p = 0.000). It was determined that crying time increases and comfort decreases with increment in total score. As a result, it was found that the early kangaroo care applied during invasive interventions of newborns is an effective method in increasing baby's comfort who born at delivery room.

The current study addressed whether mothers' explicitly expressed and implicitly held attitudes towards infant crying (n = 71) differ with each other and how these two types of attitudes relate to mothers' depressive symptoms during the transition to parenthood. Neither mothers' explicit nor implicit attitudes towards infant crying predicted mothers' postnatal depressive symptoms. Mothers' explicit infant-oriented attitudes (i.e. attachment and communication) were found to moderate the links between mothers' implicit attitudes of infant crying-positive attributes and mothers' postpartum depressive symptoms. The present study provides empirical support for the application of a dual process framework to understand how pregnant women perceive infants' crying. The findings suggest that mental health supports urgently needs be offered to mothers with depressive symptoms.

This study was a prospective, randomized controlled trial. The study sample consisted of 105 healthy neonates who conformed to the case selection criteria. Neonates were randomly assigned to the following groups: swaddling (S), maternal holding (MH), and controls (C). The study data were obtained using an information form and the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS). There were no statistically significant differences between total crying times (C: 81.14 ± 44.93; S:79.28 ± 40.74; MH: 69.42 ± 31.10 sec.) and the time to first calming (C: 71.28 ± 50.87; S: 59.74 ± 42.40; MH: 54.85 ± 35.61) of heel stick procedures between all groups (p>0.05). It was observed that procedural pain levels were the lowest in the maternal holding group (5.57 ± 1.24), followed by swaddling (5.82 ± 0.92), and the control group (6.40 ± 0.91). As a result, both swaddling and maternal holding are effective at reducing pain felt during heel stick procedures, but mother holding may be preferred as a priority rather than swaddling.

This study used an ethological approach to explore the behavioural adaptation of nineteen infants during their first six weeks in Residential Care (RC), or a Foster Family (FF) or an Infant-Mother Centre (IMC). Direct observations were conducted once a week at bath time. Observed behaviours were: sleep-wake states, visual exploration, motor activity, facial and vocal expressions. Non-parametric analyses showed that, in RC, the duration of bathing was the shortest and babies expressed more crying and withdrawal and less locomotor abilities and vocalizations. By contrast, in IMC, the bathing time was the longest and babies spent the least time in crying and showed the most locomotor abilities and vocalizations. The placement in FF showed intermediate results. This study showed sleep-wake states and behaviours that found variable expression depending on the placement environment and therefore could be considered as markers of the baby's adaptation to his placement milieu in follow-up quantitative studies.

Child's crying is the stimuli serving the development of a child-parent relationship through evoking child-oriented and parent-oriented parental reactions. Individual differences in parental reactions to crying have been partly explained by parental and child's temperament. We conducted two studies to verify the predicting effects of temperamental emotionality of parents and children on mothers' (Study 1 and 2) and fathers' (Study 2) self-reported emotional reactions to own child crying. In the Study 1 (N = 108), maternal ratings of the child's global level of emotional reactivity and regulation partially mediated the relationship between mother's emotional reactivity and parent-oriented reactions to the child crying. This result was confirmed in the Study 2 (N = 270) with maternal general negative affect and child's negative emotionality as predictors. Additionally, in the Study 2, child's temperamental negative emotionality fully mediated the relationship between the father's negative affect and parent-oriented emotional reactions to the child's crying.

Previous research has demonstrated differences in the acoustic features of crying signals between deaf and typical hearing (TH) infants. This study aims at comparing the acoustic parameters of cries of infants with different degrees of deafness versus TH infants. About 110 infants aged 6-12 months (61 TH infants, 34 infants with bilateral deafness of variable degrees and 15 infants with unilateral deafness) were enrolled in the study. Results indicated that the most important acoustic parameters to demonstrate the difference between the crying of TH infants and deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) infants as well as between the crying of infants with different degrees of deafness are F0, cry duration, intensity, F2, and F4. In terms of accuracy, the parameter that showed the highest accuracy to differentiate between TH infants and DHH infants was F0 (74.5%). The accuracy of the combined acoustic parameters (F0, cry duration, intensity, and F4) was 70%. F0 was considered the best predictor and F4 the second best predictor of severity of deafness.

This study was conducted to determine the correlation between mothers' thoughts about infant crying and breastfeeding motivation. The research had a cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational survey model. The population of the research consisted of mothers of infants who were aged between 3 weeks and 6 months and brought to the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic of a hospital in Turkey due to excessive crying complaints. The sample consisted of 210 mothers who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected using the Infant Crying Questionnaire (ICQ), and the Breastfeeding Motivation Scale (BMS). In our study, there was a positive weak correlation between the Attachment, Minimization, Directive Control, and Spoiling subscales of the ICQ and Intrinsic Motivation and Integrative Regulation, Identified regulation, Introjected regulation, External regulation-infant health subscales of the BMS (r = 0.26-0.49). Those who had positive thoughts about infant crying had significantly higher breastfeeding motivation..

Drawing on ethnographic data from two Romanian and two Danish nurseries, we explore the agency of children aged 9 months to 2.5 years. Considering action, time, and place, the article reflects on crying as one of the children's agentic practices. We identified five predominant types of crying and analysed peers' and caregivers' perceptions and reactions. The ethnographic approach uncovers the generational order and social logic of nurseries, making it possible to compare the ways in which children use crying in their communication with caregivers and peers in Romania and Denmark.

In a paradigm of simulated stranger distress designed to elicit empathic arousal, this study examined multiple elements of responding in 61 preschoolers. Disengagement from stranger distress was underscored in addition to prosocial responding. All children encountered a female adult stranger feigning stomach ache followed by an infant manikin emitting cry sound in a bassinet. Behaviors were coded for other-oriented behaviors, personal distress, and disengagement. In contrast to the traditional supposition, behaviors indicative of personal distress covaried positively with empathic concern and negatively with disengagement. The findings of multiple regression analysis demonstrated how empathic concern and personal distress jointly related to disengaging behaviors in children's response to stranger distress.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the association of infant fussing and crying with self-regulation in toddlerhood and the preschool years, as well as the moderating role of maternal sensitivity therein. When children (n = 149, 53.69% boys) were 6 months old, parents reported on their fussing and crying using a cry diary, and maternal sensitivity was coded during a novel toy procedure. Children participated in various tasks to assess self-regulation in toddlerhood (18 months) and the preschool years (4.5 years). Results indicated that the relation between infant fussing and preschool self-regulation took the shape of an inverted U, but only for children of highly sensitive mothers. For infants of less sensitive mothers, fussing was not related to later self-regulation. Crying was unrelated to preschool self-regulation. Neither fussing, crying, nor maternal sensitivity predicted self-regulation in toddlerhood. The findings support the optimal arousal theory, by demonstrating that for infants of highly sensitive mothers, moderate amounts of low intensity negative reactivity are associated with enhanced self-regulation in the preschool years.

We examined the extent to which new mothers' recollections of their mothers' emotion socialization practices during childhood predict sensitive/supportive responses to their own toddlers in distressing situations both directly and indirectly via effects on mothers' social information processing about infant cry signals. Mothers' adult attachment was tested as a possible moderator and we tested model invariance across racial groups. These questions were assessed using a 3-wave longitudinal study of first-time mothers (131 African American, 128 European American) followed from pregnancy until children were 14 months old. Expectant mothers were administered the Adult Attachment Interview and self-report measures of remembered childhood emotion socialization. When infants were 6 months old, mothers' cry processing was assessed using a video-recall method in which they watched videos of their interactions with their infants during distress tasks and reported on their emotions and cognitions during the interaction. Maternal sensitivity to distress at 14 months was assessed via observed maternal sensitivity during distress tasks and mothers' self-reported responses to child distress. Consistent with prediction, mothers who recalled their own mothers as high on nonsupportive responses to their distress in childhood engaged in more self-focused and negative cry processing at 6 months, which in turn predicted less supportive responding to their toddlers in distressing situations. This indirect effect was statistically significant. These effects were not moderated by adult attachment coherence. The full model was invariant across racial groups. Thus, remembered childhood emotion socialization experiences have longstanding consequences for subsequent social behavior, including parenting the next generation.

Responses to infant signals are critical to infant development and well-being. However, brain mechanisms underlying paternal responses to infant crying are still largely unknown. Here using EEG, we investigated brain activations in two different groups, 10 fathers and 10 non-fathers, in response to infant-related sounds: typically developing infants' cry(TD), ASD infants' cry(ASD), infants' laughter(LAU), and white noise(WN). Event Related Potentials in the first second after stimuli onset were analyzed. Analysis revealed a significant interaction between group and stimulus type in the left dorsolateral frontal cluster of electrodes, a brain area involved in motor programming and communicative signals' processing. A main effect of group in response to all auditory stimuli, irrespective of stimulus duration, emerged in the right temporal and parietal clusters. The different levels of familiarity and distinct processing strategies found in response to infant vocalizations shed light on the physiological mechanisms underlying adaptive paternal responses to infants' behaviours.

Purpose: Instances of laryngeal constriction have been noted as a feature of infant vocal development. The purpose of this study was to directly evaluate the developmental occurrence of laryngeal constriction phenomena in infant crying, cooing, and babbling vocalizations. Method: The cry and noncry vocalizations of 20 healthy term-born infants between the ages of 1 and 7 months were examined for instances of laryngeal constriction. Approximately 20,000 vocalization samples were acoustically evaluated, applying a combined visual (frequency spectra and melody curves) and auditory analysis; the occurrence of instances of different constriction phenomena was analyzed. Results: Laryngeal constrictions were found during the production of cry and noncry vocalizations. The developmental pattern of constrictions for both vocalizations was characterized by an increase in constrictions followed by a decrease. During the age period of 3-5 months, when cry and noncry vocalizations were co-occurring, laryngeal constrictions were observed in 14%-22% of both types of vocalizations. An equal percentage of constrictions was found for both vocalizations at 5 months of age. Conclusions: The findings confirm that the production of laryngeal constriction is a regularly occurring phenomenon in healthy, normally developing infants' spontaneous crying, cooing, and marginal babbling. The occurrence of constriction in both cry and noncry vocalizations suggests that an infant is exploiting physiological constraints of the sound-generating system for articulatory development during vocal exploration. These results lend support to the notion that the laryngeal articulator is the principal articulator that infants 1st start to control as they test and practice their phonetic production skills from birth through the 1st several months of life.

Caregivers' sensitive responses to infant cry have long-term consequences for adaptive child development. Although mounting evidence suggests that parents who experience high emotionality to infant cry respond less sensitively to infant cry, there is a dearth of knowledge on potential mechanisms underlying individual differences in emotionality to infant cry. The current study investigates the importance of adult attachment security, gender, and age. 76 non-parents (38 female; 19-30 years old) listened to two episodes of infant cry (15 s; 75 s). Individuals with h?igher levels of attachment security reported less anxiety and hostility after the short cry, and less hostility after the long cry. For individuals with higher levels of attachment anxiety, associations were in the opposite direction, and individuals with higher levels of attachment avoidance reported more positive emotions after the long cry. Males and emergent adults reported more hostility after the long cry than females and adults. Results are discussed from an adult attachment, gender, and developmental theoretical framework.

This study identified the correlations between the temperament types of infants and their cries evoked by external pain stimuli. We examined infant cries evoked by vaccinations and analyse the volume and types of audio frequency fluctuation of the cries. The Infant Temperament Questionnaire is filled out by the parents. Statistical analyses of t-tests and ANOVA were performed using the software SPSS 16.0. The intensity of infants' reactions varied significantly with their home environments (p < 0.01). Infants from noisier home environments reacted more intensely. Whether infants were breastfed significantly correlated with the rhythmicity of their physiological cycle (p = 0.046). Breastfed infants indicated a higher level of rhythmicity. The number of seconds taken by the parent to comfort the infant significantly correlated with the infants' persistence (p = 0.029). The types of cries significantly correlated with infants' distractibility (p = 0.028). Infants whose cries became softer were more difficult to distract. Infants whose cries became louder or remained steady were easier to distract. This study found that infants' cries evoked by external pain stimuli can be used to predict the home environment, the quality of mood and the types of infants' temperament.

This article reviews the research base on the development of prenatal attachment and profiles four programs that foster this essential prenatal relationship: CenteringPregnancy®, the Practical Resources for Effective Postpartum Parenting program (PREPP), Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP), and Moms2B.

This study investigates parental perceptions of cries of 1-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and non-ASD controls. Parents of children with and without ASD listened to cry recordings of infants later diagnosed with ASD and comparison infants and rated them on cry perception scales. Parents completed the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ) to assess the potential relations between traits associated with autism and cry perception. Across parents, ASD infant cries were rated as more distressed, less typical, and reflecting greater pain, with no significant differences between parent groups. Parents of children with ASD scored higher on the BAPQ compared to parents of children without ASD. Follow up analyses explored the relations between BAPQ score and cry ratings.

This qualitative study examined 287 Turkish children's school experiences and sought to connect such experiences to their overall feelings about school. A semi-structured interview protocol derived from Ladd, Kochenderfer, and Coleman's [1996. "Friendship Quality as a Predictor of Children's Early School Adjustment." "Child Development" 67 (3): 1103-1118] School Liking and Avoidance Questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants, who comprised 141 preschoolers and 146 first graders. Most members of both groups stated that school was fun, that they were happy when they were there, and that they felt happy about going to school in the morning. Most preschoolers and first graders also said that school did not make them feel like crying, and that they did not wish they could stay home from school or go somewhere else. However, slightly more than half the respondents stated that they felt happier when it was time to go home from school. Preschoolers tended to emphasise positive features of school such as toys, whereas first graders were more likely to talk about learning new things, and their in-school friendships.

The aim of this review is to identify the behavioural soothing interventions (BSIs) used for reducing infant crying and to determine their effect. Studies had to describe an experimental study addressing infant crying and BSIs in the first six months after birth. Searches were performed in Web of Science, Pubmed, Science Direct, EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, and COCHRANE. It was determined from the studies that massage, spinal manipulative therapy, and occipito-sacral decompression have a positive effect on the soothing of crying behaviour in infants. It was determined that BSIs are most effective when applied before the 8th week and that certain BSIs are effective in reducing the crying duration. It was revealed that there is a need for a standard data collection tool for the determination of the crying duration. Professionals interested in child health should be aware of irregularities in the crying of infants in the early period.

We observed 11 undergraduates in an experiment designed to simulate infant caregiving. In negative reinforcement conditions experienced by all participants, a targeted caregiving response (e.g., rocking a baby doll) produced escape from, and avoidance of, a recorded infant cry. Nine participants' caregiving was shown to be controlled by this negative reinforcement contingency. Nine participants experienced an extinction condition that consisted of an inescapable cry, and the previously reinforced caregiving responses of 2 of these participants were resistant to extinction. For both of these participants, the previously reinforced response was eliminated when an alternative form of caregiving was reinforced. These results highlight the role of negative reinforcement in infant caregiving and suggest the need for additional research on the effects of crying on caregivers as well as the development of effective strategies for minimizing infant crying. (Contains 4 figures.)

Parents may be reluctant to treat the feeding disorder of a chronically ill child who exhibits distressed behavior during feeding. In this study, we identified a child with chronic medical problems and a feeding disorder who cried during feedings. We introduced treatment components sequentially to address parental concerns about crying. First, we used a pacifier to reduce crying, and then we used a flipped spoon to increase mouth clean. The results showed that a sequential approach to treatment can be effective for children with complex medical and behavioral problems. (Contains 1 figure.)

This reflective essay describes the author's experiences as an observer in a behaviorist infant classroom. The author developed four categories of practice to describe what happened in the behaviorist infant room: (1) curricular focus on training typically developing infants to meet typical developmental milestones, (2) the use of highly structured play by staff as the means for meeting their training goals for the babies, (3) particular uses of language by staff in the behaviorist classroom, and (4) ways in which the staff's adherence to core beliefs in behaviorism led to a lack of recognition of infants' individual expressions of needs and wants. The article concludes with the author's reflections on researchers' ethical responsibilities when faced with an environment that they consider inappropriate and potentially harmful to children. (Contains 4 figures and 1 note.)

Two experiments were conducted to identify the conditions likely to produce resurgence among adult human participants. The preparation was a simulated caregiving context, wherein a recorded infant cry sounded and was terminated contingent upon targeted caregiving responses. Results of Experiment 1 demonstrated resurgence with human participants in this negative reinforcement preparation. Results of Experiment 2 showed that responses with a longer history of reinforcement showed a stronger resurgence effect relative to responses with a shorter and more recent history of reinforcement. These results show that the resurgence phenomenon occurs across populations and types of reinforcers. Additionally, results indicate that length of reinforcement history is a variable that may affect the magnitude of resurgence. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)

This study examined the predictive significance of maternal sensitivity in early childhood for electrophysiological responding to and cognitive appraisals of infant crying at midlife in a sample of 73 adults (age = 39 years; 43 females; 58 parents) from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation. When listening to an infant crying, both parents and nonparents who had experienced higher levels of maternal sensitivity in early childhood (between 3 and 42 months of age) exhibited larger changes from rest toward greater relative left (vs. right) frontal EEG activation, reflecting an approach-oriented response to distress. Parents who had experienced greater maternal sensitivity in early childhood also made fewer negative causal attributions about the infant's crying; the association between sensitivity and attributions for infant crying was nonsignificant for nonparents. The current findings demonstrate that experiencing maternal sensitivity during the first 3½ years of life has long-term predictive significance for adults' processing of infant distress signals more than three decades later.

There is preliminary evidence that infant siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have an atypical pattern of cry, characterized by higher fundamental frequency and increased dysphonation. This prospective study collected multiple cry samples of 12-month old siblings of children with ASD (n = 22, "high-risk" group) and 12-month olds with no family history of ASD (n = 27, "low risk" group). While there was no difference between groups in the fundamental frequency or degree of phonation of the cry samples, the duration of each cry unit was significantly shorter in the high-risk siblings (p < 0.05). The six infant siblings who received a diagnosis of ASD at age two had amongst the shortest recorded cry durations.

The focus of the present longitudinal study, to examine mother-infant interaction during the administration of immunizations at 2 and 6?months of age, used hidden Markov modelling, a time series approach that produces latent states to describe how mothers and infants work together to bring the infant to a soothed state. Results revealed a four-state model for the dyadic responses to a 2-month inoculation whereas a six-state model best described the dyadic process at 6?months. Two of the states at 2?months and three of the states at 6?months suggested a progression from high-intensity crying to no crying with parents using vestibular and auditory soothing methods. The use of feeding and/or pacifying to soothe the infant characterized one 2-month state and two 6-month states. These data indicate that with maturation and experience, the mother-infant dyad is becoming more organized around the soothing interaction. Using hidden Markov modelling to describe individual differences, as well as normative processes, is also presented and discussed.

We investigated young children's construal of pain in relation to (a) the self, (b) other humans, and (c) animals, plants, and objects, to elucidate children's cognitive understanding of this complex, abstract, subjective concept. We interviewed 17 Kindergarten students using a variety of non-painful stimuli and procedures to prompt discussion of pain's causes, consequences, intensity, contagion, and treatment. Findings suggest that young children use naive theory to describe pain that only partly agree with canonic knowledge and were cognizance of the need to treat pain and cope with it. Awareness of children's construal of pain may promote caregivers' and teachers' ability to effectively treat pain-related situations and contribute to the design of a relevant curriculum for enhancing their knowledge about pain.

The aim of the cross-sectional study was to reveal what coping strategies 8, 10- and 12-year-old Hungarian students (N?=?167) use in situations that are frustrating, either for themselves or their peers. The coping strategies in school situations were assessed by our own questionnaires. The instrument enables the investigation of the following behaviourally observable strategies: physical aggression, verbal aggression, resistance, venting/crying, avoidance, teacher-seeking, peer-seeking, following the norms and following teacher's instructions. The coping strategies were assessed by teacher-report and self-report questionnaires developed especially for this purpose. The most important finding of this study is that the occurrence of overt aggression increases with age, which is supported by the results of both the self-report and the teacher-report questionnaires. Results obtained by the self-report and teacher-report instruments correlated significantly in all three cohorts (p?

Previous studies have provided preliminary evidence that disruptions in cry acoustics may be part of an atypical vocal signature of autism early in life. We examined the acoustic characteristics of cries extracted from the separation phase of the strange situation procedure in a sample of toddler of younger siblings of a child with autism spectrum disorder-autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (high risk, HR) and a low risk (LR) group. Cry samples derived from vocal recordings of 15-month-old HR (n = 13) and LR infants (n = 14) were subjected to acoustic analyses. HR toddlers, compared to those with LR, produced cries that were shorter and had a higher fundamental frequency (F0). Three HR toddlers later classified with an ASD at 36 months (autistic disorder in all cases) produced cries that had among the highest F0 and shortest durations. Taken together these results indicate that toddlers at high risk for ASD (and those with an ASD) express atypical patterns of distress in response a social stressor. Implications for early diagnosis and parenting are discussed.

A hierarchical cluster analysis of the time course of the videotaped reactions of 75 Chinese 2-4-year olds to mothers' toy-removal identified Distress, Low Anger, and High Anger behavior clusters. Anger often begins at low intensity; some children then escalate. The face-validity of Low and High Anger-cluster classifications was supported in that High Anger was displayed by a subset of the children who had first showed Low Anger. The three clusters had different and interpretable correlations with mothers' temperament ratings. Developmentally, 2-year-olds displayed more Distress, including crying; 3-year-olds showed more Low Anger, including stamp-jump. While Low Anger is predominant during toy-removal in Chinese children, it is, contrastingly, the least-frequent component in the tantrums of North American children. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 1 note.)

Associations among 53 primiparous women's Adult Attachment Interview classifications (secure-autonomous vs. insecure-dismissing) and physiological and self-reported responses to infant crying were explored. Heart rate, skin conductance levels, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were recorded continuously. In response to the cry, secure-autonomous women demonstrated RSA declines, consistent with approach-oriented responses. Insecure-dismissing women displayed RSA and electrodermal increases, consistent with behavioral inhibition. Furthermore, insecure-dismissing women rated the cries as more aversive than secure-autonomous women. Nine months postpartum, secure-autonomous women, who prenatally manifested an approach-oriented response to the unfamiliar cry stimulus, were observed as more sensitive when responding to their own distressed infant, whereas women classified prenatally as insecure-dismissing were observed as less sensitive with their own infants. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

Objectives: Infant crying is particularly frustrating to caregivers in the first few months of life and the most common trigger for shaking and abuse. The effectiveness of the "Period of PURPLE Crying" prevention materials (DVD and booklet) designed to increase knowledge and change behaviors related to crying and the dangers of shaking was reported in North America. The aim of this study was to replicate the effectiveness of the "PURPLE" materials with mothers of newborns in Japan. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 201 parents received either "PURPLE" materials or analogous control materials on infant safety via mail within 2 weeks of birth. At 6 weeks, mothers completed a 4-day behavioral diary. At 2 months, participants completed a predefined 20-min structured telephone survey by an independent firm to assess knowledge and behavior. Results: Scores on crying knowledge scales (out of 100) were significantly higher in the intervention than control groups (56.1 vs. 53.1; difference = 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-4.9, p less than 0.005). Percentage of sharing of advice to walk away if frustrated by crying was significantly higher in the intervention than control groups (22.4% vs. 4.1%; difference = 18%, 95% CI: 7.4-29.1). Walking away during unsoothable crying was significantly higher in the intervention group than controls (0.085 vs. 0.017 events per day, rate ratio = 4.8, 95% CI: 1.1-21.2) by diary. Self-talk behavior scale (out of 100) tended to significance in the intervention group (16.6 vs. 8.9, difference = 7.7, 95% CI: -1.0 to 16.4, p less than 0.1). Conclusions: Crying knowledge, sharing of walk away information with others and walk away behavior when crying was unsoothable were higher for those who received intervention than control materials. The "Period of PURPLE Crying" materials may be useful in Japan as well as in North America for informing caregivers about the properties of infant crying and changing some behaviors related to infant crying and shaking. (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry register no. UMIN000001711.) (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

The purpose of the current study was to predict the development of aggressive behavior from young children's respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and environmental quality. In a longitudinal sample of 213 children, baseline RSA, RSA suppression in response to a film of crying babies, and a composite measure of environmental quality (incorporating socioeconomic status and marital adjustment) were measured, and parent-reported aggression was assessed from 18 to 54 months of age. Predictions based on biological sensitivity-to-context/differential susceptibility and diathesis-stress models, as well as potential moderation by child sex, were examined. The interaction of baseline RSA with environmental quality predicted the development (slope) and 54-month intercept of mothers' reports of aggression. For girls only, the interaction between baseline RSA and environmental quality predicted the 18-month intercept of fathers' reports. In general, significant negative relations between RSA and aggression were found primarily at high levels of environmental quality. In addition, we found a significant Sex x RSA interaction predicting the slope and 54-month intercept of fathers' reports of aggression, such that RSA was negatively related to aggression for boys but not for girls. Contrary to predictions, no significant main effects or interactions were found for RSA suppression. The results provide mixed but not full support for differential susceptibility theory and provide little support for the diathesis-stress model. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)

Placing infants in a prone position for "tummy time" often is recommended to ensure appropriate infant development and to combat the effects associated with infants spending extended periods of time in a supine position. However, tummy time may be associated with inappropriate infant behavior such as crying and noncompliance. We provided continuous access to a preferred stimulus to decrease negative vocalizations and to increase the duration of an infant's head being elevated during tummy time. (Contains 1 figure.)

This study investigates how adults in two contrasting cultures (Italian and Japanese) perceive episodes of crying of typically developing (TD) children and children with Autism Disorder (AD). Although cries of children with AD have been reported to elicit more distress in Western cultures, it is not known whether similar findings hold in Eastern cultures. In Experiment 1, we artificially modified structural parameters (fundamental frequency, duration of pauses, waveform modulation) of cries and asked Italian and Japanese adults to judge levels of expressed and felt distress in the cries. In Experiment 2, we asked Italian and Japanese adults to report these levels of distress on hearing cries of AD and TD children. In both cultures, cries with higher fundamental frequency and shorter pause durations were judged more distressing and distressed and observers perceived cries of children with AD as more distressing and distressed than cries of TD children. The similar responses in adults from two contrasting societies constitute evidence that reactions to cries of children with AD might be universal. (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.)

Pamela High, MS, MD, co-director of the Infant Behavior, Cry and Sleep Clinic at the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, discusses the phenomena of infant crying and the impact it has on families. In most cases, infant crying will peak and resolve in the early months, but infant irritability can increase the risk of maternal depression. In extreme cases, infants who cry excessively are at increased risk for injury from shaken baby syndrome. Thus, parents and caregivers need to seek help and support to cope with the challenges of caring for infants who are difficult to console.