title: Full-term and very-low-birth-weight preterm infants' self-regulating behaviors during a Still-Face interaction: influences of maternal touch.
abstract: The present study was designed to examine maternal touch and infants' self-regulating behavior in full-term and very-low-birth-weight preterm (VLBW/PT) infant-mother dyads. Mothers and their 5½-month-old full-term (n=40) and VLBW/PT (n=40) infants participated in a Still-Face (SF) procedure. Mothers used high levels of touching (82% of the interaction) and the functions of touch changed across periods. More attention-getting touch was used during the Normal period and more nurturing and playful touch during the Reunion Normal period. Mothers of VLBW/PT infants engaged in more playful touch across periods. Similar amounts of self-regulatory behaviors were observed for both groups across all three periods; however, full-term infants exhibited greater self-comfort regulatory behaviors during the Reunion Normal period. Finally, for both groups the presence and quality of maternal touch were associated with infants' self-regulating behavior; thus providing evidence for the regulatory roles of maternal touch. These findings underscore how both maternal touch and infants' self-regulating behaviors are important and effective components of infants' emotion regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Canada. ameliejea@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Amélie D L
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Jean
authors.forename: Dale M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Stack
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000523:psychology*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D012919:Social Behavior; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D014110:Touch