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Crying is a typical infant behavior that activates parental caregiving behaviors, acting as "human alarms" important for the infant's survival. When living under war-related threat, the auditory system may be sensitized given its importance for survival, potentially impacting maternal cry processing. Children living in armed-conflict zones are at increased risk for behavior problems, which may relate to both direct exposure and indirect effects through their parents' perceptions and behaviors. This hypothesis was examined in a sample of mothers and their first-born children (aged 10-45 months) living in the Gaza vicinity area in Israel, chronically exposed to missile alarms (high-exposure; n = 45), and a comparison group (low-exposure; n = 86). Group differences in child behavior problems and maternal perceptions of and responsiveness to cry were investigated. A moderated indirect-effect of maternal cry perceptions on child behavior problems via maternal responsiveness to cry was examined. In the high-exposure group, children had more externalizing problems and mothers rated cries as more aversive. Maternal cry perception was indirectly related to child behavior problems via responsiveness to cry only in the high-exposure group: higher perceptions of cry as aversive or the child as distressed were related to faster responding to crying, and faster cry responsiveness was linked with fewer behavior problems. Results suggest that in armed-conflict zones with auditory warning signals, the parental caring system may be easily activated by cries due to the strong association between alarms and threat. Furthermore, children may need their mothers to react faster when feeling distressed, possibly because of the surrounding threat., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Healthcare professionals may experience barriers to seeking healthcare that differ from the general population. We explored healthcare professionals' anticipated responses to experiencing chest pain following a period of stress using qualitative story completion method with healthcare professionals ( n  = 44). Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, which identified three themes: '"Do I cry or just carry on?": A Culture of Suffering in Silence' identified worries that expressing health concerns would be perceived as weakness, with potential impact on career opportunities. Participants also described self-diagnosis and self-medication rather than help-seeking. '"Me? Have a panic attack?": Psychosomatic Shame' suggested mental health issues may be ignored due to stigma. '"We definitely don't take care of ourselves": Prioritising Pressures of Multiple Responsibilities over Self-care' identified real or perceived pressures to de-prioritise their health. Future research should explore the design of confidential, time efficient support for healthcare professionals that tackle cultural norms and barriers to self-care., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The extent to which mother and infant sleep predict maternal sensitivity as (a) main effects and (b) moderate the association between social cognition about infant crying (i.e., cry processing) and maternal sensitivity was examined in a sample of 299 mother-infant dyads (43% of mothers non-White; 50.5% of infants female). Infant- and mother-oriented cry processing were assessed prenatally using a video recall procedure and mothers self-reported demographics and characteristics reflecting emotional risk. When infants were 2 months old, mothers reported their depressive symptoms and mother and infant sleep. Maternal sensitivity and infant negative mood were observed during free play and the still face. There were no main effects of mother or infant sleep on maternal sensitivity over and above covariates. However, infant total sleep duration across night and day and mother sleep disturbance moderated the effect of mother-oriented cry processing on sensitivity. Specifically, mother-oriented cry processing was associated with lower maternal sensitivity only among mothers whose infants had lower sleep duration and who reported more sleep disturbances. Moderating effects were not apparent for infant night wakings or time awake or mothers' total sleep problems. Constrained opportunities for sleep or respite across the entire day and the totality of mothers' nighttime sleep disturbances, not just those specific to infants' night wakings, undermine maternal sensitivity by exacerbating mothers' preexisting tendency to have self-focused and negative reactions to infant distress. The efficacy of interventions designed to facilitate maternal sensitivity and infant adjustment may be enhanced by adding targeted foci on maternal and infant sleep. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: To explore the effectiveness of family participatory clown therapy in venipuncture in hospitalized children., Methods: We recruited 104 children aged 3 to 6 years for a non-randomized controlled trial from March to December 2022. All participants required peripheral venepuncture infusions for treatment. The children were assigned to either the control group (n = 52) or the experimental group (n = 52).Standard care was utilized in the control group. In the experimental group, two clown nurses and a parent provided family participatory clown therapy for 35-45 minutes per child before, during, and after venipuncture. We assessed children's pain (FLACC and W-B FPS), anxiety (VAS-A), medical fear (CFS), crying incidence, compliance, parental anxiety (S-AI), and parental satisfaction., Results: At venipuncture, the FLACC score was lower in the experimental group (4.46±2.053) compared to the control group (5.96±2.441), the W-B FPS score was also lower in the experimental group (4.96±2.392) than in the control group (6.35±2.266), with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05).The children in the experimental group had lower levels of anxiety, medical fear, crying, and parental anxiety than the control group. In addition, child compliance and parent satisfaction were higher in the experimental group than in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05)., Conclusion: Family participatory clown therapy can reduce pain, anxiety, medical fear, and crying during venipuncture in children. It can also improve venipuncture compliance, reduce parental anxiety, and increase parental satisfaction., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Chen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Aim: Crying seems to be a common trigger for abusive head trauma (AHT), which is the leading cause of fatalities from physical abuse in infants. Our objective was to evaluate knowledge of AHT, crying infants and correct behavioural measures in a general population., Methods: An online questionnaire (LimeSurvey) was created to assess the risk of shaking. The online survey contained a total of 41 questions, including a demonstration of a previously recorded video in which an infant doll is shaken., Results: A total of 319 people, 245 of them (76.8%) with own children, participated in the study. Almost all respondents (98.4%) were aware of serious injuries due to shaking, even to the point of death (98.1%). Most participants (97.5%) had heard the term 'shaking trauma' prior but did not receive any professional information, neither before nor after birth (85.2% or 86%), or during follow-up examinations (88.5%). The majority of the participants (95%) considered that useful coping strategies in infant crying were inappropriate., Conclusion: The consequences of shaking an infant were common knowledge in a normal population, whereas there was a knowledge gap regarding the management of excessive crying infants. Prevention programmes should mainly focus on male caregivers during postnatal care., (© 2024 The Authors. Acta Paediatrica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation Acta Paediatrica.)

In this cross-sectional study performed in Canada, we evaluated the frustration levels of prepartum and postpartum mother and father couple-pairs. Our goal was to determine if there were differences in frustration levels between mothers and fathers while listening to prolonged infant crying, and further, how frustration levels might differ between prepartum and postpartum samples. Using two discrete groups, prepartum (Sample 1; N = 48) and postpartum (Sample 2; N = 44) mother and father couple-pairs completed 600 s of listening to audio-recorded infant cry sounds. Participants continuously reported their subjective frustration using a computerized Continuous Visual Analog Scale (CVAS). There was no significant difference in frustration responses between mothers and fathers across both prepartum and postpartum samples. Postpartum mothers and fathers experienced greater frustration than their prepartum counterparts, and frustration increased faster in postpartum couples compared to prepartum couples. Informing first-time parents of the universal experiences of frustration to prolonged crying bouts that are characteristic of their infant's early weeks of life may lead to greater understanding towards their infant, and perhaps decreased instances of harmful responses., (© 2024 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.)

Infant carrying may have beneficial effects on the parent-infant relationship but only limited research has been conducted in this area. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to investigate whether infant carrying is associated with parental reflective functioning, parental bonding, and parental (emotional) and behavioral responses to infant crying, key elements within the parent-infant relationship, promoting infant development. Parents reporting high levels (N = 389) of infant carrying (six times a week or daily) and parents reporting low levels (N = 128) of infant carrying (less than once a week or not at all) who participated in an online survey about the developing parent-infant relationship in Germany were included in the present study. Standardized questionnaires were used to assess parental reflective functioning, parental bonding impairments, and emotional responses to infant crying. Further insensitive (non-responsive and hostile) behaviors in response to infant crying were assessed. Parents with high levels of infant carrying showed better parental reflective functioning, lower parental bonding problems, less negative emotions, and less insensitive behaviors in response to infant crying., (© 2024 The Authors. Infant Mental Health Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.)

Background: Maternal stress has negative consequences on infant behavioral development, and COVID-19 presented uniquely stressful situations to mothers of infants born during the pandemic. We hypothesized that mothers with higher levels of perceived stress during the pandemic would report higher levels of infant regulatory problems including crying and interrupted sleep patterns., Methods: As part 6 sites of a longitudinal study, mothers of infants born during the pandemic completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire, and an Infant Crying survey at 6 (n = 433) and 12 (n = 344) months of infant age., Results: Maternal perceived stress, which remained consistent at 6 and 12 months of infant age, was significantly positively correlated with time taken to settle infants. Although maternal perceived stress was not correlated with uninterrupted sleep length, time taken to put the infant to sleep was correlated. Perceived stress was also correlated with the amount of infant crying and fussiness reported at 6 months., Conclusions: Mothers who reported higher levels of perceived stress during the pandemic reported higher levels of regulatory problems, specifically at 6 months. Examining how varying levels of maternal stress and infant behaviors relate to overall infant developmental status over time is an important next step., Impact: Women giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic who reported higher levels of stress on the Perceived Stress Scale also reported higher levels of infant fussiness and crying at 6 months old, and more disruptive sleep patterns in their infants at 6 months and 12 months old. Sleeping problems and excessive crying in infancy are two regulatory problems that are known risk factors for emotional and behavioral issues in later childhood. This paper is one of the first studies highlighting the associations between maternal stress and infant behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Depressive symptoms are common in the postpartum period and can affect mother-infant interaction. To better understand the role of depressive symptoms in the mother-infant interchange, this study examined whether maternal depressive symptoms are associated with self-reported, physiological, and facial expressive responses to infant crying and laughing sounds. A nonclinical sample was used, consisting of 101 mothers (Age M = 30.88 years, 33% scored 7 or higher on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) with a young child. Mothers were exposed to standard infant crying and laughing sounds. Affect, perception of crying and laughing, intended caregiving responses, skin conductance level reactivity, and facial expressive responses to infant crying and laughing were measured. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with more self-reported negative affect in general and a more negative perception of infant crying. Depressive symptoms were not associated with intended caregiving responses and physiological responses to infant crying. Infant laughing increased self-reported positive affect and happy facial expressions in mothers with all levels of depressive symptoms. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with higher sad facial expressivity in general. Depressive symptoms were not related to positive perception of infant laughing, intended caregiving responses, and physiological responses to infant laughing. The findings suggest that mothers who score high on depressive symptoms send subtle facial cues showing sadness, which may overshadow happy facial expressions during infant laughing and may affect mother-infant interaction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Childhood maltreatment is a predictor of subsequent parenting behaviors; however, the mechanisms explaining this association have been understudied. The present study examined the indirect effect of childhood maltreatment on maternal sensitivity to distress via (a) emotion regulation difficulties, (b) negative attributions about infant crying, (c) minimizing attributions about infant crying, and (d) situational attributions about infant crying. The sample included 259 primiparous mothers (131 Black and 128 White) and their 6-month-old infants (52% female). Mothers retrospectively reported on their childhood history of maltreatment when their infants were about 2 years old. Emotion regulation difficulties and causal attributions about infant crying were assessed prenatally. Maternal sensitivity to distress was rated during three distress-eliciting tasks when children were 6 months old. Results from the structural equation model demonstrated that maternal childhood maltreatment was significantly positively associated with negative attributions about infant crying but not with emotion regulation difficulties, minimizing attributions, or situational attributions about crying. Furthermore, negative attributions about crying were associated with lower sensitivity to distress, and there was an indirect effect of childhood maltreatment on sensitivity to distress via negative attributions about infant distress. These effects were significant above and beyond the effects of coherence of mind, concurrent depressive symptoms, infant affect, maternal age, race, education, marital status, and income-to-needs ratio. The results suggest that altering negative attributions about infant crying may be an important area to intervene during the prenatal period to reduce continuity in maladaptive parenting across generations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Prolonged infant crying can be a trigger for maternal frustration and can even predict intrusive infant-related thoughts of harm. In this study, we compared frustration responses to prolonged infant crying between single and partnered mothers and attempted to identify variables that mediated any difference between the two groups. We also identified acoustic characteristics of infant cries that were related to higher levels of reported maternal frustration. Twenty-five single and 25 partnered mothers with infants under the age of 6 months completed several mental health questionnaires, and then rated their frustration level after listening to each of 50 consecutive 15s infant cry videos from 50 different infants. As expected, greater maternal perceived stress was associated with higher frustration ratings in response to infant crying, and this was mediated by increased maternal negative affect. Also as expected, both financial strain and low social support were associated with greater perceived stress. However, our sample of single mothers did not experience more stress than our sample of partnered mothers. Nor did they find infant crying to be more frustrating, perhaps due to a recruitment bias toward higher functioning single mothers. Finally, several cry acoustic characteristics were associated with increased maternal frustration, including higher fundamental frequency, air energy, shimmer and longer duration of expiratory phonations, as well as a longer cumulative duration of crying. Our results suggest that maternal frustration in response to infant crying may be decreased by lowering maternal stress levels, and this may be achieved by increasing social support and decreasing financial strain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

About 20% of all healthy infants and toddlers show problems in the area of mental health during their first years of life such as inconsolable crying (so-called cry-babies), sleeping problems, and feeding problems. The prevalence of enduring feeding problems and sleeping problems is distinctly higher in premature children and in children with neuropediatric disorders. These problems present a higher risk for the development of internalizing and externalizing disorders of mental health in later childhood. The parent-child relationship is often strained. Parents report experiencing severe exhaustion, extreme uncertainty, and helplessness.Pediatricians and midwives are the first points of contact for families. Outpatient clinics for cry-babies such as the "Munich Consultation for Cry-Babies," founded by Mechthild Papoušek in 1991 at the kbo-Children's Center Munich, provide a low-threshold service for the highly stressed families. They can contribute to the prevention of neglect, maltreatment, and psychological secondary disorders of the child. Intervention strategies are based on parent-infant and attachment research and integrate child- and parent-oriented approaches.During the COVID-19 pandemic, psychosocial stress factors in families increased. This development was also observable in the outpatient clinics for cry-babies., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Study Objectives: Infant sleep problems are one of the most common complaints of new parents. Research to date has demonstrated a relationship between low parental cry tolerance and infant sleep problems. The aim of this study was to explore whether three emotion regulation strategies could increase parental cry tolerance., Methods: This study utilised a quasi-experimental design. We recruited 83 females (Mage= 32, SD= 5.26) comprising 3 groups: mothers of good sleeping infants aged 6-24 months, mothers of poor sleeping infants aged 6-24 months, and good sleeping women aged 23-40 years without children. Participants were instructed to listen to crying audio segments and indicate when they felt the child needed to be tended to (measured in seconds). This crying audio was paired with one of three emotion-regulation strategies (i.e., music, gaming, reappraisal). Each participant completed all 4 cry conditions which were counterbalanced to control for order effects., Results: We found that all three strategies yielded significantly longer reaction times (indicating higher cry tolerance) compared to the control condition (p <.001). We also found that mothers of poor sleepers and good sleeping women benefitted from all three emotion regulation strategies compared to control (p <.001 and p= <.05, respectively). The cry tolerance of mothers of good sleepers, on the other hand, did not differ between the control condition and any of the strategies (all ps >.05)., Conclusions: This demonstrates that cry tolerance can be increased using emotion regulation strategies, such as distraction via music or gaming, and reappraisal. This has clinical implications for families implementing behavioural sleep interventions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare no conflicts of interest. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Studies using magnetoencephalography (MEG) have identified the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) to be an important early hub for a "parental instinct" in the brain. This complements the finding from functional magnetic resonance imaging studies linking reward, emotion regulation, empathy, and mentalization networks to the "parental brain." Here, we used MEG in 43 first-time mothers listening to infant and adult cry vocalizations to investigate the link with mother-infant postpartum bonding scores and their level of sleep deprivation (assessed using both actigraphy and sleep logs). When comparing brain responses to infant versus adult cry vocalizations, we found significant differences at around 800-1,000 ms after stimuli onset in the primary auditory cortex, superior temporal gyrus, hippocampal areas, insula, precuneus supramarginal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and posterior cingulate gyrus. Importantly, mothers with weaker bonding scores showed decreased brain responses to infant cries in the auditory cortex, middle and superior temporal gyrus, OFC, hippocampal areas, supramarginal gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus at around 100-300 ms after the stimulus onset. In contrast, we did not find correlations with sleep deprivation scores. The significant decreases in brain processing of an infant's distress signals could potentially be a novel signature of weaker infant bonding in new mothers and should be investigated in vulnerable populations., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Exposure to infant crying is a well-established predictor of mothers' mental health. However, this association may reflect many potential mechanisms. Capturing dynamic fluctuations in mothers' states simultaneously with caregiving experiences is necessary to identify the real-time processes influencing mental health. In this study, we leveraged ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and infant-worn audio recorders to capture variability in mothers' mental health symptoms and their exposure to infant crying over one week in a racially and socio-economically diverse urban North-American sample ( N = 53). We use multilevel modeling to characterize within- and between-person effects of crying on maternal negative affect and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Within participants, when infants cried more than average in the 10 min, 1 hr, and 8 hr prior to an EMA report, mothers' negative affect subsequently increased, controlling for mean levels of infant crying. In contrast to findings from laboratory studies, in everyday settings crying exposure did not immediately increase feelings of depression. Only when crying was above average for 8 hr prior to EMA did mothers report increases in subsequent depression symptoms, suggesting that the effects of crying on maternal mental health take hours to unfold in ecologically valid home settings. Between participants, mothers of infants who cried more on average did not report higher negative affect or symptoms of depression or anxiety. Overall, our findings reveal that crying exposure dynamically influences maternal negative affect and depression but not anxiety in ecologically valid real-world settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional tears are vehicles for bonding between individuals, even with those belonging to different social categories. Yet, little is known about the reactions they provoke toward members of underprivileged groups such as immigrants or the explanatory mechanisms of their effects. Across three experiments (with 546 adults) using standardized images of emotional displays, we tested the effects of tears on cognitive inferences (of warmth and competence) and self-reported affective responses (such as compassion or discomfort), and both directly and indirectly on self-reported prosocial behavioral intentions toward an immigrant male. Compared with nontearful (i.e., neutral and sad) expressions, observers perceived a tearful immigrant as warmer but not as less competent (except for study 3). They also felt more compassion (but not discomfort) and were more willing to offer an immigrant person emotional (i.e., to approach and comfort) and instrumental support (i.e., to donate money to an organization helping immigrants but not volunteer their time). Inferred warmth and felt compassion (or compassion-related emotions) explained the effects of tears on emotional support and donation intentions. This research highlights the need to study emotion expression in the context of interethnic and, more broadly, intergroup relations and the effects of emotional tears beyond the willingness to provide immediate assistance. We also discuss implications that tears might have for promoting different types of solidarity with members of underprivileged groups such as immigrants. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Attaining self-regulation is a major developmental task in infancy, in which many children show transient difficulties. Persistent, clinically relevant difficulties in self-regulation include excessive crying or sleeping disorders. Many families with affected children are burdened with multiple psychosocial risk. This suggests that regulatory problems are best conceptualized as the maladaptive interplay of overly burdened parents and a dysfunctional parent-child interaction. The current study examines whether social isolation and bonding difficulties function as mediating mechanisms linking maternal psychopathology to (1) children's excessive crying and (2) sleeping problems. The sample comprised N = 6598 mothers (M = 31.51 years) of children between zero to three years of age (M = 14.08 months, 50.1% girls). In addition to socio demographic data, the written questionnaire included information on maternal depression/anxiety, isolation, bonding, and children's regulatory problems. Hypotheses were tested with a mediation model controlling for psychosocial risk and child characteristics. As expected, maternal symptoms of depression/anxiety were linked to infants' excessive crying and sleeping problems. Social isolation and bonding difficulties mediated this association for excessive crying as well as for sleeping problems, but social isolation was a single mediator for sleeping problems only. The findings provide important insights in the mediating pathways linking maternal psychopathology to children's regulatory problems., (© 2022 The Authors. Infancy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Congress of Infant Studies.)

Aim: To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of parents of infants with colic and on healthcare use., Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Data of 64 parents of infants with colic prepandemic and 43 parents of infants with colic during the pandemic were analysed using validated questionnaires on parental stress, depression and anxiety. Additionally, we evaluated the number of outpatient clinic visits and admission rates pre- and during the pandemic by collecting data on the diagnosis treatment combination 'excessive crying' from electronic patient files in three secondary hospitals in the Netherlands., Results: Mothers in the pandemic group reported significantly higher levels of depression than mothers in the prepandemic group (12.3 ± 7.0 and 8.8 ± 5.2; p = 0.04). Moreover, mothers showed a trend towards higher stress levels during the pandemic (29.6 ± 9.6 and 25.2 ± 8.1; p = 0.06). During the pandemic, admission numbers of infants with colic compared to prepandemic data increased with 34% (146 vs. 196)., Conclusion: Mothers of infants with colic reported significantly more feelings of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the pandemic was associated with increased healthcare use amongst infants with colic. With the continuing pandemic, we recommend active perinatal support for this vulnerable population., (© 2022 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Pathological laughter and crying is a disabling symptom complex associated with damage to various central nervous system pathways that control the reflex motor component of emotional expression. Many underlying conditions-including neurodegenerative diseases, CNS inflammation, vascular lesions and traumatic brain injury-can be associated with disinhibition of emotional reflex control. This suggests a disruption of anatomical and functional networks, rather than any specific unifying pathological process. There is a wide differential diagnosis, including depression, dementia and other forms of behavioural disturbance. Diagnostic criteria and rating scales can help with clinical assessments and facilitate clinical trials. There is now good-quality evidence for a combination of dextromethorphan and quinidine, with weaker evidence for tricyclic and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants. Pathological laughter and crying is disabling and underdiagnosed but potentially treatable, and its wider recognition is important., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: Post-stroke emotionalism (PSE) is a common consequence of stroke characterised by episodes of crying or laughing. There is only one published qualitative study exploring the experience of emotionalism to date. This study aimed to explore individual's experience of PSE and develop a theoretical client-derived framework to shape future psychological interventions., Materials and Methods: A primary analysis of the qualitative pseudonymised pre-collected semi-structured interview data of the TEARS study was completed. Participants were recruited from nine acute stroke units in Scotland with participants commencing the study at baseline (two-weeks) and they either continued or dropped out. Interviews were completed at two-weeks, six-months and 12-months post-stroke., Results: Data was analysed from 52 participants at two-weeks, 25 participants at six-months and 23 participants at 12-months. Three major themes were identified: " In the moment ," describing characteristics and triggers, " Ways of coping ," highlighted a variation of coping strategies including avoidance or acceptance and " Impact ," outlining the longer-term effects of PSE such as individuals' beliefs., Conclusion: The results indicate specific psychological aspects of PSE which could be viable targets in psychological interventions such as increasing adaptive coping strategies and challenging negatively held beliefs.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONEmotionalism can cause emotional consequences such as distress, embarrassment and fear.Helping individuals to develop insight into triggers for emotionalism could be beneficial to help gain understanding and awareness whereby post-stroke emotionalism (PSE) has the potential to be anticipated and adapted to psychologically.Potential adaptive responses such as acceptance or control and better anticipation of episodes of emotionalism could help to reduce the emotional consequences of PSE.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the intensity and directionality of antenatal maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms on infant negative affectivity and crying, also taking into account potential confounders. The role of socioeconomic status (SES) as a possible moderating factor of the association between antenatal maternal distress and infant negative outcomes was also explored. More than one hundred women filled in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to assess depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively, during the third trimester of pregnancy and three months after delivery. Mothers also filled in the Infant Behavior Questionnaire and a parental diary to evaluate negative affectivity and crying, respectively, when their infants were 3 months old. SES was assessed through the Hollingshead classification. The intensity of antenatal maternal symptoms and SES were associated with infant negative affectivity, but not with crying. However, SES moderated the association between the intensity of maternal symptoms and infant crying. The direction of maternal symptoms (anxiety versus depression) was not associated with both infant negative affectivity and crying. Our findings contribute to elucidating the role played by the intensity of maternal stress in pregnancy-alone and in interaction with SES-in determining individual differences in infant emotional regulation, thus emphasizing the importance of timely psychological interventions for pregnant women who experience psychological distress.

Background: Antidepressants may be useful in the treatment of abnormal crying associated with stroke. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2004 and last updated in 2019., Objectives: To evaluate the benefits and harms of pharmaceutical treatment in people with emotionalism after stroke., Search Methods: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, four other databases, and three trials registers (May 2022)., Selection Criteria: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs comparing psychotropic medication to placebo in people with stroke and emotionalism (also known as emotional lability, pathological crying or laughing, emotional incontinence, involuntary emotional expression disorder, and pseudobulbar affect)., Data Collection and Analysis: Two review authors independently selected trials, assessed risk of bias, extracted data from all included trials, and used GRADE to assess the certainty of the body of evidence. We calculated the mean difference (MD) or standardised mean difference (SMD) for continuous data and the risk ratio (RR) for dichotomous data, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We assessed heterogeneity using the I 2 statistic. The primary emotionalism measures were the proportion of participants achieving at least a 50% reduction in abnormal emotional behaviour at the end of treatment, improved score on the Center for Neurologic Study - Lability Scale (CNS-LS) or Clinician Interview-Based Impression of Change (CIBIC), or diminished tearfulness., Main Results: We did not identify any new trials for this update. We included seven trials with a total of 239 participants. Two trials had a cross-over design, but outcome data were not available from the first phase (precross-over) in an appropriate format for inclusion as a parallel randomised controlled trial (RCT). Thus, the results of the review are based on five trials with a total of 213 participants. It is uncertain whether fluoxetine increases the number of people who have a 50% reduction in emotionalism when compared to placebo (risk ratio (RR) 0.26, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.77; P = 0.02; 1 trial, 19 participants) because the certainty of evidence is very low. Sertraline may lead to little to no difference in Center for Neurologic Study - Lability Scale (CNS-LS) scores and Clinician Interview-Based Impression of Change (CIBIC) scores when compared to placebo (RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.03 to 1.50; P = 0.12; 1 trial, 28 participants; low-certainty evidence). Antidepressants probably increase the number of people who experience a reduction in tearfulness (RR 0.32, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.86; P = 0.02; 3 trials, 164 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). No trials were found that evaluated the impact of other pharmaceutical interventions. Only two trial authors systematically recorded and reported adverse events, resulting in limited data on the potential harms of treatment. Six trials reported death as an adverse event and found no difference between the groups (antidepressants versus placebo) in the number of deaths reported (RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.08 to 4.50; P = 0.61; 172 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). This review provides very low- to moderate-certainty evidence that antidepressants may reduce the frequency and severity of emotionalism. The included trials were small and had some degree of bias., Authors' Conclusions: Antidepressants may reduce the frequency and severity of crying or laughing episodes when compared to placebo, based on very low-certainty evidence. Our conclusions must be qualified by several methodological deficiencies in the trials and interpreted with caution despite the effect being very large. The effect does not seem specific to one drug or class of drugs. More reliable data are required before appropriate conclusions can be made about the treatment of post-stroke emotionalism. Future trialists investigating the effect of antidepressants in people with emotionalism after stroke should consider developing and using a standardised method to diagnose emotionalism, determine severity, and assess change over time; provide treatment for a sufficient duration and follow-up to better assess rates of relapse or maintenance; and include careful assessment and complete reporting of adverse events., (Copyright © 2022 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Infant crying is a strong emotional stimulus that elicits caregiving responses in adults. Here we examine the role of empathy (measured with the Polish version of Interpersonal Reactivity Index) and salivary oxytocin in modulating sensitive responsiveness to a crying infant simulator in two groups of heterosexual couples: 111 expecting or 110 not expecting a baby. Sensitive responsiveness was observed during a standardized procedure using the Ainsworth Sensitivity Scale while participants took care of the infant simulator, both individually and as a couple. Other-oriented empathy predicted elevated levels of individual but not couple sensitive responsiveness. More OT reactivity to crying predicted less responsiveness in non-expecting couples, which might be explained by their stronger focus on task performance. This study uniquely combined hormonal, observational and self-report measures in couples, and showed that personality and hormonal correlates of sensitive responsiveness might be studied before the child's birth with the use of infant simulators.

Background: Caregiver frustration with inconsolable crying is a commonly cited antecedent factor of Abusive head trauma (AHT) in infants. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention to improve patients' knowledge of normal crying patterns in infants and the implications of AHT among women of Hispanic population. Methods: The Period of PURPLE Crying program was piloted as part of Centering Prenatal Care at an outpatient clinic site in the Harris County Health Department system, which cares for a primarily underserved and Spanish speaking population. Educational material and direct counseling were delivered by the clinician. Demographic data was collected and a pre- and post-test survey was administrated to assess participant's knowledge and behavior. Results: Between April 2017 and April 2018, 63 Hispanic women were included in this study. Prior to implementation of the educational tool, most of the survey questions were answered incorrectly. After the intervention, knowledge regarding normal infant crying patterns was significantly improved in all questions. However, knowledge gaps persisted especially in relation to the adequacy of parents' ability to soothe a crying infant and normalcy of excessive crying. Conclusions: The educational curriculum was an effective tool for improving knowledge about normal infant crying patterns in Hispanic mothers.

Because the expression of pain in babies' cries is based on universal acoustic features, it is assumed that adult listeners should be able to detect when a crying baby is experiencing pain 1-3 . We report that detecting that a baby's cry expresses pain actually requires learning through experience. Our psychoacoustic experiments reveal that adults with no experience of caring for babies are unable to identify whether a baby's cry is a pain cry induced by vaccination or a mild discomfort cry recorded during a bath, even when they are familiar with the discomfort cries from this particular baby. In contrast, people with prior experience of babies - parents or professional caregivers - identify a familiar baby's pain cries without having heard these cries before. Parents of very young children are even able to identify the pain cries of a baby who is completely unfamiliar to them. Exposure through caregiving and/or parenting thus shapes the auditory and cognitive abilities involved in decoding the information conveyed by the baby's communication signals., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Methods to improve sleep in infants commonly involve some ignoring (extinction) but are often unpopular with mothers worried about infant distress when left to cry. Alternative more responsive methods are needed. This pilot study evaluated stress, maternal depressive symptomology and sleep in mother/infant dyads, between Responsive, Controlled Crying and Control groups. From 199 mother/infant dyads from any cultural background, 41 infants 4-12 months were randomly allocated to Responsive (RG, n = 15), Controlled Crying (CCG, n = 18) or Controls (Treatment as Usual, TAUG, n = 8), with 10 withdrawing after randomisation. Infant sleep (7-day sleep diaries) and stress (oral cortisol on two nights), maternal self-reported stress (Subjective Units of Distress, SUDS), maternal perceived infant distress (MPI-S) and symptoms of maternal depression (Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale, EPDS) were measured four times across 8 weeks. Sleep duration was not different between groups but Responsive woke less (p = .008). There were no differences in cortisol between groups across time points. Maternal SUDS was positively correlated with infant cortisol and MPI-S (p < 0.05) and mothers in the Responsive group were significantly less stressed (p = 0.02) and reported less symptoms of depression (p < 0.05). Findings in this small sample show Responsive methods are comparable to the extinction (Controlled Crying) in sleep outcomes but from a relational and maternal mental health perspective, are less stressful, offering families potential choices of sleep interventions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Longitudinal adverse effects of neglect-related behaviors during postpartum, especially repeated maternal non-responsiveness to the crying baby on their neuropsychological developmental trajectory, have not been fully clarified., Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between postpartum maternal neglect-related behaviors and infant neuropsychological outcomes using the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS)., Participants and Setting: JECS data on 100,286 mother-child pairs were analyzed. Explanatory variables were "frequency of leaving the baby alone at home" (i.e., leaving the baby alone at home) and "frequency of ignoring the baby when he or she cries" (i.e., ignoring the crying baby) at one month postpartum. The outcomes were measured using the Japanese version of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires-Third Edition (J-ASQ-3)., Methods: After multiple imputations, logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between neglect-related behaviors and the J-ASQ-3 domains at each age., Results: The "sometimes or more" group of "ignoring the crying baby" from six months to three years reported relatively consistent significant associations with developmental delay in communication (maximum adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.456, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.261-1.682), gross motor (maximum aOR: 1.279, 95% CI: 1.159-1.411), fine motor (maximum aOR: 1.274, 95% CI: 1.113-1.457), problem-solving (maximum aOR: 1.178, 95% CI: 1.104-1.256), and personal-social domains (maximum aOR: 1.326, 95% CI: 1.255-1.402). The adverse effects of "leaving the baby alone at home" disappeared in many domains by the age of one., Conclusions: Repeated maternal non-responsiveness to baby's crying during postpartum may suppress multiple neuropsychological development during early childhood., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The study of pathological laughter and crying (PLC) allows insights into the neural basis of laughter and crying, two hallmarks of human nature. PLC is defined by brief, intense and frequent episodes of uncontrollable laughter or crying provoked by trivial stimuli. It occurs secondary to CNS disorders such as stroke, tumours or neurodegenerative diseases. Based on case studies reporting various lesions locations, PLC has been conceptualized as dysfunction in a cortico-limbic-subcortico-thalamo-ponto-cerebellar network. To test whether the heterogeneous lesion locations are indeed linked in a common network, we applied 'lesion network-symptom-mapping' to 70 focal lesions identified in a systematic literature search for case reports of PLC. In lesion network-symptom-mapping normative connectome data (resting state functional MRI, n = 100) is used to identify the brain regions that are likely affected by diaschisis based on the lesion locations. With lesion network-symptom-mapping we were able to identify a common network specific for PLC when compared with a control cohort (n = 270). This bilateral network is characterized by positive connectivity to the cingulate and temporomesial cortices, striatum, hypothalamus, mesencephalon and pons, and negative connectivity to the primary motor and sensory cortices. In the most influential pathophysiological model of PLC, a centre for the control and coordination of facial expressions, respiration and vocalization in the periaqueductal grey is assumed, which is controlled via two pathways: an emotional system that exerts excitatory control of the periaqueductal grey descending from the temporal and frontal lobes, basal ganglia and hypothalamus; and a volitional system descending from the lateral premotor cortices that can suppress laughter or crying. To test whether the positive and negative PLC subnetworks identified in our analyses can indeed be related to an emotional system and a volitional system, we identified lesions causing emotional (n = 15) or volitional facial paresis (n = 46) in a second literature search. Patients with emotional facial paresis show preserved volitional movements but cannot trigger emotional movements in the affected hemiface, while the reverse is true for volitional facial paresis. Importantly, these lesions map differentially onto the PLC subnetworks: the 'positive PLC subnetwork' is part of the emotional system and the 'negative PLC subnetwork' overlaps with the volitional system for the control of facial movements. Based on this network analysis we propose a two-hit model of PLC: a combination of direct lesion and indirect diaschisis effects cause PLC through the loss of inhibitory cortical control of a dysfunctional emotional system., (© The Author(s) (2021). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) hormones as well as their receptors (OXTR and AVPR1a) have been deemed crucial for caregiving and sensitive responsiveness to infant cues. However, previous research on genetic polymorphisms and OT and AVP levels in the context of caregiving were sparse and have brought contradictory findings. The aim of this reported observational study was to examine the impact of genetic variations within genes related to OT and AVP signaling pathway on hormones levels' changes in response to the caregiving situation. A total of 221 adult intimate couples (110 childless, non-pregnant and 111 expectant couples) participated in three 10 min sessions, during which they were taking care of a crying life-like simulator. 30 min prior to the first session salivary samples to analyze basal OT and AVP, and polymorphisms in OXTR, AVPR1a and CD38 genes were collected. Subsequent OT and AVP levels were measured 15 min after each session. The two most frequently studied OXTR SNPs (rs53576 and rs2254298) had no or a minor impact on higher OT levels, which were linked to rs1042778, rs13316193, rs2228485, rs2268490, rs4686302 genotypes. AVP levels were affected by rs1042778, rs13316193, rs4686302 and rs237887. OT levels varied depending on the OT (rs2770378, rs4813625), CD38 (rs379686), and 5-HTR2A (rs6314) genotype. OT and AVP levels were also associated with rs6314 (5-HTR2A). AVP levels were linked to ESR1 (rs1884051) and SIM1 (rs3734354) variations. Shorter variants of RS3 and RS1 were associated with lower levels of AVP. In conclusion, analyzed polymorphisms were associated with both the level and changes in OT and AVP hormone levels in the standardized situation of caregiving reactions to infant crying., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

BACKGROUND Regulation disorders are already apparent in infancy. The For Healthy Offspring Project was the first Hungarian study aimed at building an effective model for screening and examining the prevalence and complex (medical and psychosocial) background of classic behavior regulation disorders (excessive crying, feeding, and sleep problems) in infancy. MATERIAL AND METHODS Data were collected from families of 0- to 3-year-old children in a pediatric hospital and its neighboring areas through questionnaires, medical examinations, and individual and small-group consultations. RESULTS In the questionnaire study about their children's behavior (n=1133), 15% of mothers reported excessive crying, 16% reported feeding problems, and 10% reported sleep problems. In a subsample (n=619) in which medical examinations were also conducted, the prevalence of medical diagnoses was 15.0% for excessive crying, 15.2% for sleep disorders, 10.3% for breastfeeding difficulties, and 14.8% for feeding disorders. Children who were referred to the screening program (n=183) had significantly more behavior regulation disorders than the other children in our study. Regulation disorders were found to be comorbid with other health conditions in some cases. CONCLUSIONS We developed a complex model to screen for regulatory problems in early childhood. This study adds more information about the relationship between regulation problems and other health conditions. The general incidence (5-15%) of early childhood regulation disorders in other countries is likely similar to that found in Hungary. In order to effectively recognize early regulation disorders, diagnostic instruments widely used in the international field should be adapted in general Hungarian pediatric care.

At a time of growing interest in and awareness about the relationships between humans and animals, it is of relevance to scientifically analyse the intrinsic nature of these interactions. Reactions to emotional tears show our extraordinary capacity for detecting micro-nuances when judging another human's face. Regarding such behaviour, previous studies carried out in our laboratory have pointed to an adaptive function of emotional tears: i.e. their inhibitory influence on perceived aggressiveness. In the present work we aimed to further explore that hypothesis by extending our investigation from humans to animals, using pictures of five different animal faces (cat, dog, horse, chimpanzee, hamster) to which tears were added digitally. To this end, we conducted an online study of 403 participants recruited from different social networks and academic institutions. We questioned the participants about their perceptions of emotional intensity, aggressiveness and friendliness in the animal faces and analysed the comparisons they made between faces with and without tears. In addition, a latent variable referred to as "passion for animals" was measured using different indicators. By adding the results obtained in each species and breaking them down into different basic emotions, we found that the presence of tears was related to a higher absolute frequency of participants who perceived sadness, which endorsed our previous results obtained using images of humans. Regarding aggressiveness, the presence of tears favoured the perception of less aggressiveness. A structural equation model was also conducted to explore the relations among all the measured variables. The model confirmed that the presence of tears in the animal faces had a significant influence on the perception of higher emotional intensity and friendliness, and of lower aggressiveness., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Maternal childhood maltreatment experiences (CMEs) may influence responses to infants and affect child outcomes. We examined associations between CME and mothers' neural responses and functional connectivity to infant distress. We hypothesized that mothers with greater CME would exhibit higher amygdala reactivity and amygdala-supplementary motor area (SMA) functional connectivity to own infant's cries. Postpartum mothers (N = 57) assessed for CME completed an functional magnetic resonance imaging task with cry and white-noise stimuli. Amygdala region-of-interest and psychophysiological interaction analyses were performed. Our models tested associations of CME with activation and connectivity during task conditions (own/other and cry/noise). Exploratory analyses with parenting behaviors were performed. Mothers with higher CME exhibited higher amygdala activation to own baby's cries vs other stimuli (F1,392 = 6.9, P < 0.01, N = 57) and higher differential connectivity to cry vs noise between amygdala and SMA (F1,165 = 22.3, P < 0.001). Exploratory analyses revealed positive associations between both amygdala activation and connectivity and maternal non-intrusiveness (Ps < 0.05). Increased amygdala activation to own infant's cry and higher amygdala-SMA functional connectivity suggest motor responses to baby's distress. These findings were associated with less intrusive maternal behaviors. Follow-up studies might replicate these findings, add more granular parenting assessments and explore how cue processing leads to a motivated maternal approach in clinical populations., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Background: Leaving infant to cry it out has been the subject of discussion among researchers and parents. Nevertheless, there is paucity of empirical research investigating the association between leaving infant to cry it out and consequent crying duration and frequency, mother-infant attachment and behavioural development., Methods: The sample with complete longitudinal data comprised 178 infants and their caretakers. Parental use of 'leaving infant to cry out' and cry duration were assessed with maternal report at term, 3, 6 and 18 months, and frequency of crying was assessed at term, 3 and 18 months of age. Attachment was measured at 18 months using the strange situation procedure. Behavioural development of the infant was assessed with two observational measures and a parent-report questionnaire at 18 months., Results: The use of 'leaving infant to crying' was rare at term and increased over the next 18 months. 'Leaving infants to cry it out' at term was associated with a decrease in crying frequency at 3 months. Furthermore, leaving infants to cry it out a few times at term and often at 3 months was associated with shorter fuss/cry duration at 18 months of age. No adverse impacts of leaving infants to cry it out in the first 6 months on infant-mother attachment and behavioural development at 18 months were found., Conclusions: Contemporary practice of some parents in the United Kingdom to occasionally or often 'leaving infant to cry it out' during the first 6 months was not associated with adverse behavioural development and attachment at 18 months. Increased use of 'leaving to cry it out' with age may indicate differential responding by parents related to infant self-regulation., (© 2020 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.)

This randomized trial compared the analgesic effect of 4 nonpharmacologic interventions (breastfeeding, oral sucrose, nonnutritive sucking, and skin-to-skin contact) on term newborns between 24 and 48 hours of age who underwent a heel lance. The Neonatal Pain, Agitation, and Sedation Scale was used to evaluate pain. The newborns (N = 226) were assigned to one of 4 intervention groups (n = 176) or a control group without pain intervention (n = 50). The results indicate that all intervention groups showed decreased pain levels when compared with the control group (P < .01). The oral sucrose group experienced a superior analgesic effect when compared with the skin-to-skin contact group (P < .01), but no difference was observed when compared with the breastfeeding group (P > .05) or the nonnutritive sucking group (P > .05). All intervention groups showed a shortened crying time (P < .01) and reduced procedural duration (P < .01) compared with the control group. All of these interventions are clinically applicable and acceptable when caring for a newborn during a minor painful procedure.

Background: Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain scale (BIIP) has been shown to be a good tool to assess pain in infants., Aims: This paper aimed to translate BIIP into Chinese and evaluate its reliability and validity for neonates in China., Design: A prospective observational study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 396 neonates (preterm and term infants) were recruited from neonatal intensive care units in China from July to October 2016., Methods: The BIIP was translated and adjusted for semantic adaption.396 neonates were assessed during 3 phases of blood collection from an artery/vein. A video camera was positioned for a close-up view of the face and body. The neonates' pain was rated independently by 2 nurses who were trained and familiar with the Chinese version of BIIP (C-BIIP)and FLACC (Facial expression, Legs, Activity, Crying and Consolability)., Results: The internal consistency were 0.904 (preterm) and 0.895 (term). The test-retest reliability were 0.947 (preterm) and 0.938 (term) and the interclass correlation coefficients were 0.921 to 0.959 (preterm) and 0.921 to 0.959 (term). The correlations between the C-BIIP and FLACC were high (preterm: r = 0.948, term: r = 0.896). Using the C-BIIP, the 3 phases of blood collection were found to be statistically different (preterm: F = 635.76, term: F = 675.54; P < 0.001), which showed that the construct validity of C-BIIP was good., Conclusion: The BIIP is a reliable and valid tool to assess pain in term and preterm neonates in China., (Copyright © 2020 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a disorder that develops in the context of a brain injury or underlying neurological dysfunction. It is characterized as an affective disorder of emotional expression. PBA manifests as frequent uncontrollable outbursts of laughing or crying, incongruent with the individual's internal emotional state. It can be challenging for clinicians to differentiate PBA from mood disorders, contributing to its high rate of misdiagnosis. This lack of recognition leads to ineffective and insufficient treatment, impacting patients' quality of life. The current article provides an overview of PBA, including its history, prevalence, pathophysiology, diagnostic criteria, clinical implications, and treatment. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 58(9), 19-24.]., (Copyright 2020, SLACK Incorporated.)

We investigated infants' capacities to express themselves orally at very early developmental stages. Most reports focus on crying when in pain or hungry. We evaluated young preterm infants' spontaneous vocal production in non-painful contexts. We identified a vocal repertoire composed of nine types of vocalisations. High-pitched sounds were associated with relaxed postures, implying a positive valence, whereas long low-pitched vocalisations, associated more with grimaces and muscle tensions, appeared to have a more negative valence. Infants' vocalisations were useful indicators of their internal state in two situations (when exposed to clothing constraints and environmental noises)., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This longitudinal study examined the associations among infant crying, symptoms of sleeping problems, and attachment while considering the influence of maternal sensitivity and depressive symptoms. One hundred and five healthy full-term infants (42.9% female) were assessed for crying and symptoms of sleeping problems at 3 and 18 months via parental interview. Maternal sensitivity was measured through researcher observation, and attachment was measured at 18 months using the Strange Situation procedure. It was found that infant crying and symptoms of sleeping problems were not linked to the organized patterns of secure or insecure (avoidant versus resistant) attachment. However, when the disorganized attachment was considered, there were direct links found from infant crying and symptoms of sleeping problems at 3 months ( β = .22, p < .05) and 18 months ( β = .21, p < .05). Thus, crying and symptoms of sleeping problems as early as 3 months may indicate a disruption in the coherence of infants' relationship to their caretakers.

During the early period of hypothesis building and empirical testing of attachment theory, a major emphasis was placed on mother-infant physical contact. In spite of this, mother-infant contact has received scant attention amongst attachment and child development researchers in the past decades. Here, a brief theoretical framework for mother-infant contact is presented, drawing on animal studies as well as human studies of preterm infants and neonates. Salient mechanisms may include an extended sensitive period during early infancy, requiring specific somatosensory stimuli for bio-behavioral homeorhesis; oxytocinergic and epigenetic pathways; kinesthetic stimuli and face-to-face proximity allowing for increased social interaction. Studies of extended human mother-full-term infant physical contact have demonstrated positive effects in multiple domains. For infants, these include sleep organization, temperature and heart rate regulation, behavioral response, crying/colic, socio-emotional development, attachment quality, speech development opportunities and mother-child interactions. For mothers, studies demonstrate improved depressive symptomatology, physiological stress regulation, contingent responsivity, breastfeeding and mother-child interactions. Parent-infant attachment quality has gained prominence as a trauma-resilience factor as well as a predictor of adult physical health. The potential role of mother-infant contact as an attachment promoting intervention as well as future research subjects are discussed. Current evidence supports the original attachment research that early maternal touch provision may influence infant socio-emotional development and attachment quality, with positive implications for mother-child relationship functioning., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: crying therapy is currently being applied in some countries to treat cancer patients, manage pain, and promote mental health. However, little nursing and medical research on the effects of crying therapy has been conducted in other parts of the world. This study aimed to develop a crying therapy program for breast cancer survivors and assess its effects. Interventions/method: data from 27 breast cancer survivors in South Korea were analyzed. The intervention, employing a single group, pre-post-test quasi-experimental design, was divided into three phases, and effects were verified for emotional (distress, fatigue, and mood conditions) and physiological (cortisol, immunoglobulin G, and blood pressure) variables., Results: there were significant changes in distress, mood changes, and immunoglobulin G and smaller changes in blood pressure postintervention. Fatigue and cortisol showed no significant changes., Conclusions: this study demonstrated the effectiveness of a short-term crying therapy program that can induce positive emotional changes and physiological effects in breast cancer survivors. This intervention can improve quality of life, indicating its value as a self-care program for cancer survivors.

Tummy time involves placing an infant in a prone position to help build muscle strength. Pediatricians recommend tummy time because it helps with infant development related to milestones such as crawling, rolling over, and sitting up. However, parents sometimes avoid tummy time due to whining or crying when the infant is placed in the prone position. The current study compared two interventions incorporating preferred leisure items (i.e., varied or constant) for five typically developing infants to increase head elevation and decrease negative vocalizations during tummy time. Improvements occurred in infant performance regardless of the preferred items used. In addition, the mothers who implemented the tummy time procedures found the treatment to be socially valid and were more likely to select the use of the constant item when given the opportunity to choose., (© 2020 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

Objective: The primary objective was to identify the characteristics of parents and infants and parenting practices associated with delayed responsiveness to infant crying during the first year of infant life. A secondary objective was to evaluate, in a subsample of maternal-infant pairs, the associations between delayed responsiveness to infant crying and observational measures of maternal-infant interaction and infant-maternal attachment., Method: This is a secondary analysis of the data from a community sample of pregnant women recruited to the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition study. Mothers completed questionnaires during the first year of infant life (n = 1826), and a convenience subsample of maternal-infant pairs (n = 137) participated in laboratory assessments of maternal-infant interaction at 6 months of age and infant-maternal attachment at 20 months., Results: Parental use of "cry out" as a strategy to deal with a crying infant was associated with parental characteristics (being white and having a relatively higher income), infant characteristics (higher problematic behavior at 3 months and reduced problematic behavior at 12 months), sleep ecology (infants sleeping alone), and parental soothing strategies (less frequently taking the infant into the parent's bed, cuddling, or carrying the crying infant). Cry out was not associated with observational measures of maternal sensitivity or infant-maternal attachment., Conclusion: When used selectively and in response to the specific needs and characteristics of the infant, delayed responsiveness may reduce problematic behavior and does not harm the infant's socioemotional development.

New research finds no harm to infant-mother attachment.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of watching an educational video on infant crying within 1 week of age after delivery at maternity wards to reduce the prevalence of postpartum depressive symptoms at 1 month after giving birth., Methods: The study design was a cluster randomized controlled trial. The intervention hospitals were randomly assigned, stratified by area and function of the hospital. Participants included 47 obstetrics hospitals or clinics out of 150 hospitals or clinics in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. In total, 44 hospitals or clinics completed the trial and 2,601 (intervention group = 1,040, control group = 1,561) caregivers responded to the questionnaire on postpartum depression (response rate: 55.1%). Mothers in the intervention group watched an educational video, within 1 week of age, during hospitalization at maternity wards. Primary outcome in this study was postpartum depression assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as 9+ and assessed via questionnaire at a 1-month health checkup., Results: In the intervention group, 142 (13.7%) mothers reported postpartum depression compared to 250 (16.0%) in the control group. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no significant difference in the prevalence of postpartum depression between the groups. However, among young mothers (<25 years), the analysis showed a 67.0% reduction in postpartum depression (odds ratio: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.15-0.72)., Conclusions: Watching an educational video on infant crying within 1 week after delivery at maternity wards did not reduce postpartum depression at 1 month after giving birth, but it was effective for young mothers aged <25 years., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the association of infant fussing and crying with self-regulation in toddlerhood and the preschool years, as well as the moderating role of maternal sensitivity therein. When children ( n = 149, 53.69% boys) were 6 months old, parents reported on their fussing and crying using a cry diary, and maternal sensitivity was coded during a novel toy procedure. Children participated in various tasks to assess self-regulation in toddlerhood (18 months) and the preschool years (4.5 years). Results indicated that the relation between infant fussing and preschool self-regulation took the shape of an inverted U, but only for children of highly sensitive mothers. For infants of less sensitive mothers, fussing was not related to later self-regulation. Crying was unrelated to preschool self-regulation. Neither fussing, crying, nor maternal sensitivity predicted self-regulation in toddlerhood. The findings support the optimal arousal theory, by demonstrating that for infants of highly sensitive mothers, moderate amounts of low intensity negative reactivity are associated with enhanced self-regulation in the preschool years. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).