Hiraoka Daiki, Nomura Michio, Kato Masaharu
Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Front Psychol. 2021 Dec 16;12:786391. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.786391. eCollection 2021.
Infant crying is an important signal for their survival and development, and maternal beliefs about crying predict responsiveness to crying. Most studies have considered caregivers' reactions to crying to be fixed, and it is unclear how they change with their caregiving experience. Additionally, it has recently been suggested that there is a bidirectional relationship between changes in mothers' beliefs about crying and infants' temperament. This study examined that relationship using a longitudinal study design. Maternal beliefs about crying and infant temperament of 339 Asian first-time mothers (mean age = 28.7 years, SD = 4.1) were measured at 1-month intervals over 4 months. There were 289 participants in Wave 2, 240 in Wave 3, and 164 in Wave 4. Prior to the main survey, we conducted a pre-survey to confirm the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Infant Crying Questionnaire. The results showed that parent-oriented beliefs, which focus on the caregiver rather than the crying infant, increased in mothers who had infants aged 3 months or older at Wave 1. We also found that the process of change in maternal beliefs was not uniform, and that infants high on surgency predicted changes in maternal beliefs about infant crying. Longitudinal studies of caregivers' changes, such as the present study, are expected to contribute to understanding the co-development of caregivers and infants.
婴儿啼哭是其生存和发展的重要信号，而母亲对啼哭的看法预示着对啼哭的反应。大多数研究认为照顾者对啼哭的反应是固定不变的，尚不清楚这些反应如何随着照顾经验而变化。此外，最近有人提出，母亲对啼哭的看法变化与婴儿气质之间存在双向关系。本研究采用纵向研究设计对这种关系进行了考察。对339名亚洲初为人母者（平均年龄 = 28.7岁，标准差 = 4.1）在4个月内每隔1个月测量一次其对啼哭的看法和婴儿气质。第2波有289名参与者，第3波有240名，第4波有164名。在主要调查之前，我们进行了一项预调查，以确认日语版《婴儿啼哭问卷》的信效度。结果显示，以父母为导向的信念，即关注照顾者而非啼哭的婴儿，在第1波中有3个月或以上婴儿的母亲中有所增加。我们还发现，母亲信念的变化过程并不一致，而且活力高的婴儿预示着母亲对婴儿啼哭看法的变化。像本研究这样对照顾者变化进行的纵向研究，有望有助于理解照顾者与婴儿的共同发展。
