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Infants and their families at risk: Assessment and intervention
Author(s) -
Lester Barry M.
Publication year - 1992
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(199221)13:1<54::aid-imhj2280130109>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - intervention (counseling) , developmental psychology , psychology , infant development , psychiatry
One of the basic premises of child‐rearing and intervention models is that infant behavior is part of a communication system with the caregiving environment. However, infants vary in the messages that they convey to the caregiving environment, and parents vary in their ability to interpret their infants' signals and provide appropriate caregiving. This paper examines some of the tension that may exist between infant communication and appropriate caregiving. We examine research findings from several different populations of at‐risk infants and their mothers in which infant signals and parental responses are variously effective in providing clues for appropriate caregiving. Some kinds of fits or matches between infant characteristics and maternal characteristics may be better than others for optimal infant development. The implications for intervention are also discussed.