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Infant crying patterns in the first year: normal community and clinical findings
1Department of Child Development and Primary Education, University of London, U.K.
Insights
Persistent infant crying patterns were studied in community and clinical groups. While clinical infants cried more, both groups shared similar crying profiles, indicating developmental shifts in crying amount and patterns.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
- Clinical Pediatrics
Background:
- Persistent infant crying is a common concern for parents and healthcare providers.
- Understanding typical crying durations and patterns across infancy is crucial for accurate assessment.
- Differentiating normal variations from potential clinical issues requires robust data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify crying durations and patterns in infants across different age groups.
- To compare crying behaviors between healthy community infants and those in clinical samples.
- To identify developmental shifts and age-related changes in infant crying.
Main Methods:
- Crying durations and patterns were measured at four age points (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12 months).
- Data were collected from a normal community sample (N=400) and a clinical sample (N=68).
- Statistical analyses were performed to identify developmental and age-related differences.
Main Results:
- A significant developmental shift in the amount of crying was observed across infancy.
- Two distinct age-related changes in crying patterns were identified.
- Clinical infants exhibited similar crying profiles to community infants but cried significantly more.
- No differences in crying amount or pattern were found based on birth order.
Conclusions:
- Infant crying shows significant developmental changes in both amount and pattern.
- Clinical infants present with heightened crying levels compared to community infants, despite similar profiles.
- Birth order does not influence infant crying amount or patterns.
- These findings offer valuable data for parents and professionals managing infant crying and inform research on infant temperament and development.
Abstract:
To provide information about persistent infant crying, crying durations and patterns were measured at four age points (1-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 months) in normal community (N = 400) and clinical (N = 68) samples. The findings provide a range of prevalence figures and descriptive statistics which may be useful for parents and professionals faced with infant crying. A large developmental shift in crying amount, and two age-related changes of crying pattern, were found. Clinical infants showed the same crying profiles as the general community infants, but were found to cry substantially more. Although mothers of first-borns were more likely to seek clinical referral, there were no birth-order differences in crying amount or pattern. The findings' implications for studies of infant temperament and development are indicated.