NEONATAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR EFFECT ON MOTHER-INFANT INTERACTION DURING THE SECOND AND THIRD DAY OF LIFE

This study investigated the initial stages of mother-infant interactional process in regard to how behavioral characteristics of the newborn influence the pattern of mother-infant interaction and whether or not the responsivity of mothers is enhanced by exposing them to the infant's capacity for interaction. Forty-five mothers and their newborn female infants were studied on the second and third day of the infant's life. On the second day all infants were assessed with the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS). On the third day one group of mothers observed a BNBAS demonstration and received information about their infant's performance; one group of mothers evaluated their infant's interactive capabilities by completing the Mother's Assessment of the Behavior of her Infant (MABI); and one group of mothers received no information. Mothers and their infants were independently observed on the second day (pre-intervention) and third day (post-intervention) during the afternoon feeding for 15 minute periods. The pattern of dyadic interaction was determined by the use of sequential analysis. Observation periods were segmented into 180 five second time intervals with each interval characterized by the occurrence of one of four mutually exclusive and exhaustive dyadic states. Dyadic state probabilities and transitional probabilities were computed for both observations and used in a series of one way analyses of variance for the first observation and analyses of co-variance for the second observation. This study found that during the first few days of life neonatal behavioral style does not serve as a stimulus for generating interactive responses from mothers. Newborns with superior interactive capabilities initiated interactive behavior more than other infants but no differences were found in mothers' responses. Intervention was found to have an effect on mother-infant interaction. Use of the BNBAS to familiarize mothers with their infant's interactive capabilities enhanced mothers' responsive behaviors, however the eliciting behaviors of mothers remained unchanged. The MABI was not found to be an effective intervention technique for enhancing either responsive or eliciting behavior. The findings also suggest that a sequential analysis approach is a most useful technique for examining the reciprocal process of mother-infant interaction.