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Adolescent mothers' perceptions of their infants before and after birth
Charles H Zeanah1, Marcia A Keener1, Thomas F Anders1
1Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
|July 1, 1987
Insights
Adolescent mothers maintained consistent views of infant temperament before and after birth. Mothers perceived less responsive infants as unpredictable, impacting early perceptions of infant behavior.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
- Maternal Perceptions
Background:
- Parental perceptions of infant temperament are crucial for early parent-infant interactions.
- Understanding how these perceptions form and remain stable is important for supporting maternal-infant bonding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the stability of adolescent mothers' perceptions of infant temperament.
- To identify specific infant behaviors associated with maternal perceptions.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design.
- Mothers' perceptions of infant temperament assessed prenatally and at four months postpartum.
- Infant feeding responsiveness observed and rated.
Main Results:
- Maternal perceptions of infant temperament remained stable across the prenatal and postnatal periods.
- Infants exhibiting lower responsiveness during feeding were consistently rated as unpredictable by their mothers.
- This perception of unpredictability was present both prenatally and postnatally.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent mothers form stable impressions of their infant's temperament early on.
- Infant feeding behaviors significantly influence maternal perceptions of infant predictability.
- Findings highlight the importance of addressing maternal perceptions of infant temperament and behavior.
Abstract:
Adolescent mothers had stable perceptions of several aspects of their infants' temperaments prenatally and at four months postnatally. Infants who were less responsive during feedings were rated as unpredictable by their mothers before and after birth. Implications for parental perceptions of their infants' temperament and behavior are discussed.