AT-RISK IRRITABLE INFANTS

对父母来说，婴儿的易怒不仅仅是令人厌恶和紧张的;它与各种发育问题有关。 此外，尽管婴儿易怒似乎不是不安全依恋的直接因素，但婴儿易怒确实与其他母亲压力源（如低社会支持和低SES）相互作用，导致不安全依恋风险增加（Crockenberg，1981;货车den Boom，1994）。反过来，不安全的依恋与各种负面结果有关（见Belsky和Cassidy，1994）。 从心理健康的角度来看，越来越多的证据表明，早期不安全依恋与各种形式的精神病理学之间存在联系，包括行为障碍，焦虑和解离（见Greenberg，出版中）。 鉴于这些负面结果，试图更好地了解婴儿易怒和干预易怒的婴儿是至关重要的。拟议的研究旨在解决以下四个问题：（1）我们能否成功地干预易怒，低SES婴儿，以减少婴儿易怒和减少不安全依恋的风险？(2)易激惹婴儿的脑电图活动模式是否与干预有关？(3)母亲敏感性的变化与母亲“依恋心理状态”的变化相关吗？(4)婴儿的易怒、依恋经验和依恋如何相互作用来预测幼儿的行为抑制和内化/外化行为？这项研究将复制和扩展货车登布姆（1994年）的干预研究，该研究揭示了相对较小的干预的显著效果。 75名易激低SES婴儿和母亲将在6至9个月之间参加三次家庭干预，75名易激低SES婴儿和母亲将作为对照组。 将在6个月（干预前）和9个月（干预后立即）对母婴行为进行家庭观察。 将通过评估依恋（12个月和18个月）、母婴行为（18个月和24个月）、儿童行为问题（24个月时的CBCL）和行为抑制（24个月）来检查长期干预有效性。 在拟议的研究中增加了两项内容，允许检查一系列重要问题：将在6、12和24个月时测量婴儿EEG，允许检查与干预相关的生理变化。 母亲依恋访谈（在6和12个月）将允许检查几个重要的问题。

Irritability in infants is more than aversive and stressful to parents; it is associated with a variety of developmental problems. Furthermore, although infant irritability does not appear to be a direct contributor to insecure attachment, infant irritability does interact with other maternal stressors such as low social support and low-SES to contribute to an increased risk of insecure attachment (Crockenberg, 1981; van den Boom, 1994). Insecure attachment, in turn, is associated with a variety of negative outcomes (see Belsky and Cassidy, 1994). Of particular concern from a mental health perspective is mounting evidence of links between early insecure attachment and various forms of psychopathology, including conduct disorder, anxiety, and dissociation (see Greenberg, in press). Given these negative outcomes, attempts to better understand infant irritability and to intervene with irritable infants are crucial The proposed study was designed to address the following four questions: (1) Can we successfully intervene with irritable, low- SES infants to reduce infant irritability and to decrease the risk of insecure attachment? (2) Are there changes in patterns of EEG activity among irritable infants associated with intervention? (3) Is change in maternal sensitivity associated with change in maternal "state of mind with regard to attachment"? (4) How do infant irritability, caregiving experiences, and attachment interact to predict toddler behavioral inhibition and internalizing/externalizing behavior? This study will replicate and extend van den Boom's (1994) intervention study which revealed striking effects from a relatively minor intervention. Seventy-five irritable low-SES infants and mothers will participate in three home-based interventions between 6 and 9 months, and 75 irritable low-SES infants and mothers will serve as a control group. Home observations of maternal and infant behavior will be made at 6m (pre-intervention) and 9m (immediate post-intervention). Longer- term intervention effectiveness will be examined with assessments of attachment (12 and 18m), maternal and child behavior (18 and 24m), child behavior problems (CBCL at 24m), and behavioral inhibition (24m). Two additions in the proposed study will permit examination of a series of important questions: Infant EEG will be measured at 6, 12, and 24m, permitting examination of physiological changes associated with intervention. Maternal Attachment Interviews (at 6 and 12m) will permit examination of several important questions.