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The study aims to clarify the relation between maternal sensitivity and infant attachment security during the first two years of life. A systematic search has been carried out in six databases (Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus and Psychology and Behavioural) between January 2010 and February 2023. The terms used for the search were mother–infant interaction, infant attachment, and maternal sensitivity. In total, ten studies were selected in which mother–infant dyads from the general population participated. Eight studies showed favourable results to the positive relation between both constructs and two studies did not. The main findings from this review indicate a positive association between both concepts in most studies, independently of the assessment instrument used or the moment of evaluation. These results allow us to understand the importance of fostering sensitive behaviours in mothers to optimize child development and facilitate the formation of secure attachments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eighty-one adolescent and young mother–infant dyads have been divided into two groups with/without traumatic experiences in maternal history to examine the effect of maternal traumatic experiences on the quality of mother–infant relationship. At infant 3 months, mother–infant interaction was video-recorded. Results showed that adolescent and young mothers with traumatic experiences (vs. adolescent and young mothers without traumatic experiences) had less sensitive and more violent and intrusive behaviours. Infants with mothers with traumatic experiences (vs. infants with mothers without traumatic experiences) had more aggressive and reactive behaviours. Furthermore, maternal cumulative traumatic experiences predicted more negative behaviours. Findings indicated that maternal childhood traumatic experiences increased an adolescent mother's risk for maternal–child interaction problems, worsened the high-risk condition inherent in motherhood in adolescence. Understanding the effect of adolescent mother's traumatic experiences has important implications for promoting early intervention in the treatment of trauma and supporting the mother–child relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infants and toddlers spend a substantial amount of their time in out-of-home care, and are thus being tended to not only by their mothers but also by their caregivers. It is therefore of considerable importance to study the effects of caregiver-infant compared to mother-infant interactions. To address this issue, first, various variables of caregiver-infant and mother-infant interaction were assessed in a group of participants at approximately 2 years of age. Then, 9 years later, their cognitive, social and emotional functions were evaluated. A substantially larger range of child outcome measures was found to be associated with the quality of caregiver-infant interactions compared to the quality of mother-infant interactions. Concomitantly, the level of parental education was found to be a prominent cofactor in exhibiting strong correlations with child outcome measures. These findings suggest that interaction with a caregiver may have more predictive value for developmental outcomes than previously appreciated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the continuity and stability of imitative episodes (IMEs) to shed light on the nature of early infant imitative ability. We observed and analyzed interactions of 27 mother-infant pairs as they played in their homes at one and 10 months. We coded the initiator, frequency, duration, kind, structure, and affect of IMEs. At 10 months, dyads engaged in more frequent and longer IMEs that tended to be vocal, turn-takings, and positive in affect. Significant stability was observed. Mothers who initiated more IMEs and expressed more positive affect had infants who did the same. Findings suggest that dyads set stable communication patterns early on, even though all of these variables increased significantly over time. These patterns may be driven or be highly influenced by early individual differences in communicative ability. Findings also imply that building a history of positive exchanges may be critical in demonstrating stability in imitative episodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the effectiveness of PRERAYMI (Promoting Responsiveness Emotion Regulation and Attachment in Young Mothers and Infants) attachment-based intervention programme aimed at adolescent mother-infant dyads. The intervention used video-feedback and developmental guidance to promote maternal mind-mindedness and sensitivity. 32 adolescent mother-infant dyads in the intervention group were compared to 12 adolescent mother-infant dyads in the control group. Maternal mind-mindedness and maternal/infant styles of interaction were evaluated, at the pre-treatment (infant 3 months) and at the post-treatment (infant 9 months). The results indicated the effectiveness of the intervention in enhancing mind-mindedness, with more mind-related comments and fewer non-attuned mind-related comments, maternal sensitivity and infant cooperative behaviour, and in reducing maternal controlling behaviour, in the intervention group. Changes in mother/infant interaction styles or in mind-mindedness in the control group were not detected. The attachment based medium term intervention helped to improve adolescent mother-infant relationship, which is otherwise potentially at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated women's perceptions of caring and control in their fathers versus their mothers in relation to specific ways in which they interacted with their infants during freeplay. Participants were 73 mothers and their 6 month-old infants. Results revealed that women's perceptions about their mothers compared to their fathers in the same domain of parenting can have differing relations with various aspects of their own parenting, such as infant-directed speech and positive engagement with their infants. Specific parenting behaviours related differentially to women's perceptions about their parents. These associations were independent of global predictors of early parenting such as women's depressive status. Findings could have implications for targeting prevention and intervention efforts to mothers at risk for less positive parenting. How controlling or caring they remember their parents to be could serve as a protective factor or convey additional risk depending on the gender of their parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequency and type of crying and the mothers’ perceptions of it were evaluated in 281 Finnish and 43 Colombian infants under the age of one year. About 15#pc of the mothers in both countries claimed that their babies cried often or very often. Most mothers reported that the crying aroused feelings of tenderness, and about 5#pc found the cry irritating. Almost all Finnish mothers picked the baby up when it was crying. In Colombia this was the case in about two thirds. Additional help was wanted by 17#pc of the Finnish and 23#pc of the Colombian mothers because of their babies’ disturbing crying spells. These mothers reported that their infants cried more and they stated that the cry made them feel more irritated and more often gave them a feeling of failure than the mothers not in need of help. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigated the temporal evolution in the discrimination of the newborn's crying by the mother, from the first to the eighth day after birth. The sample included twenty human mothers who had had an uneventful pregnancy, labour and delivery. They were asked to identify the spontaneous cries of their newborn babies from tape‐recorded cries containing cries from their own newborn and from three other newborns. On the first day, the percentage of correct answers was 48#pc, then 81 #pc on the eighth day. Two acoustic features that may underlie this discrimination were analyzed: the maximum Fo values and the average number of cry bursts per second. On the seventh day, these two acoustic variables and the discrimination abilities significantly correlate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]