["The screaming baby": Remarks on the article by Mangold and Fuchs ]

Mangold and Fuchs (1986) have pointed out that the topic "Screaming Babies" has only been cursorily addressed in the German literature. Some remarks and elaborations to the theoretical analysis by Mangold anf Fuchs are offered from the perspective of Developmental Psychology and Behavioural Paediatrics. Reviewing the anglo-american literature and our own research it is argued that infants cannot be viewed as "tabula rasa". Instead we conclude that they make a significant contribution to the interactions with the caretaker. It is emphasised that maternal descriptions of infant "difficultness" are reflections of both, infant behaviour and maternal emotional and cognitive state. In the single case we do not know that mother information reflects and we need to employ a multi-method multi-source approach for diagnosis. Finally suggestions for prevention and intervention are outlined based on our experiences in England.