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Maternal correlates of infant temperament ratings and of infant‐mother attachment: A longitudinal study
Author(s) -
Frodi Ann,
Bridges Lisa,
Shonk Susan
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0355(198924)10:4<273::aid-imhj2280100405>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - temperament , crying , infant crying , psychology , strange situation , developmental psychology , maternal sensitivity , longitudinal study , infant development , personality , attachment theory , social psychology , medicine , pathology
This study examined longitudinally correlates of mothers' ratings of their infant's temperament and of the infant‐mother attachment relationship. Measures included Carey's Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire, child‐rearing attitudes, psychophysiological responses to an unfamiliar infant's crying pre‐ and postdelivery, psychophysiological responses to the mother's own infant's crying, and assessments of infant‐mother attachment. The results indicated that maternal ratings of infant temperament at 4 months were significantly related not only to concurrent cry responsiveness but also to cry responsiveness and child‐rearing attitudes predelivery, as well as to the quality of attachment at 1 year. It is suggested that a differential response pattern of mothers of “easy” and of “difficult” infants, which affects the developing infant‐mother bond, may in part originate in maternal dispositions existing prior to parenthood.