AT-RISK IRRITABLE INFANTS

易激惹的高危婴儿

• 批准号: 6642590
• 负责人: JUDE A CASSIDY
• 金额: $ 6.81万
• 依托单位: UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-09-30 至 2004-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6642590
• 关键词: behavior prediction; behavior test; behavioral /social science research tag; child behavior; child psychology; clinical research; developmental psychology; electroencephalography; family structure /dynamics; heart rate; human subject; infant human (0-1 year); interview; longitudinal human study; low socioeconomic status; maternal behavior; newborn human (0-6 weeks); outcomes research; personality; psychological adaptation; psychological stressor; questionnaires; social support network

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.

婴儿的易怒不仅令父母厌恶和紧张；它还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应激源相互作用，如低社会支持和低SES，从而增加了不安全依恋的风险(Crockenberg，1981；van den Boom，1994)。不安全的依恋反过来又与各种负面结果相关(见Belsky和Cassidy，1994)。从心理健康的角度来看，特别令人担忧的是，越来越多的证据表明，早期的不安全依恋与各种形式的精神病理之间存在联系，包括品行障碍、焦虑和分离(见格林伯格，在媒体中)。考虑到这些负面结果，试图更好地理解婴儿易怒并对易怒婴儿进行干预至关重要。拟议的研究旨在解决以下四个问题：(1)我们能否成功地对易怒、低SES婴儿进行干预，以减少婴儿易怒并降低不安全依恋的风险？(2)易怒婴儿的脑电活动模式是否与干预有关？(3)母亲敏感度的变化是否与母亲“关于依恋的心理状态”的变化有关？(4)婴儿易怒、照料经历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van den Boom(1994)的干预研究，该研究揭示了相对较小的干预具有显着的效果。75名易怒的低SES婴儿和母亲将在6到9个月期间参加三次基于家庭的干预，75名易怒的低SES婴儿和母亲将作为对照组。对母亲和婴儿行为的家庭观察将在6M(干预前)和9M(干预后立即)进行。长期干预效果将通过依恋(12和18M)、母婴行为(18和24M)、儿童行为问题(CBCL在24M)和行为抑制(24M)的评估来检验。拟议研究中增加的两项内容将允许检查一系列重要问题：婴儿脑电将在6、12和24米测量，允许检查与干预相关的生理变化。母亲依恋面谈(6时和12时)将允许检查几个重要的问题。