Maternal response to their chronically ill infants' attachment behavior of crying.
Six chronically ill infants and their mothers were observed in their homes over a three-month period. During this study 388 infant crying bouts and maternal response episodes were analyzed, and compared to the behaviors of a literature control group of 26 well infants and their mothers. Results indicated there are differences between the crying patterns of ill and well infants. Maternal response patterns to ill infant crying seemed to be determined by characteristics of the infant's cry rather than by specific infant characteristics (sex, ordinal position, degree of illness). Implications for maternal-ill infant interaction and implications for nursing practice are discussed.
D000328:Adult; D001722:Birth Order; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D003448:Crying; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009769:Object Attachment; D013997:Time Factors