Crying behavior and mother-infant interactions during episodes of crying were coded using the Cry Observation Codes and then compared for 48 mother-infant dyads of children with autism, children with developmental delays, and typically developing children. At 1 year of age, children who would later be diagnosed with autism showed a different…

Episodes of crying with higher fundamental frequency (f0) are perceived as more aversive and distressful than lower frequency cries. Besides, previous studies have speculated that in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) higher f0 may account for evoking mental states of uneasiness in the caregiver. Moreover no evidence on developmental…

Infants often protest the activities of their caregivers, and this particular social interaction may provide an important window on early communication and its development. This study used naturalistic methods to investigate the development of vocal protests. Fifteen mother-infant dyads at each of 5 ages, from 3 to 18 months, were observed at…

Objective: Managing a crying infant is a challenge universally faced by new parents. This study examined whether parental interpretations, feelings, and behaviors following exposure to a 2-minute videotaped segment of a crying infant varied as a function of child physical abuse (CPA) risk and exposure to cues of hostility (i.e., hostile priming).…

Objective: To examine the underlying mechanisms of adults' intended caregiving responses to cry sounds in a behavioral genetic design and to investigate the role of cry pitch and perceived urgency in sensitive and harsh caregiving responses. Methods: The sample consisted of 184 adult twin pairs (18-69 years), including males and females, parents…

Child care teachers cope with juggling multiple competing demands: (1) managing relationships with parents; (2) coping with individual infant temperaments; and (3) meeting the group needs of the other infants in their care. Infant teachers often play a unique role in that they may be the first adults to listen and understand what the experience of…

Behavioural inhibition in the second year of life is a hypothesized predictor for shyness, social anxiety and depression in later childhood, adolescence and even adulthood. To search for the earliest indicators of this fundamental temperamental trait, this study examined whether behavioural characteristics in early infancy can predict behavioural…

Objective: Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is preventable; however, an estimated 21-74 per 100,000 children worldwide are victims annually. This study examined the effectiveness of an SBS prevention program in the US. Methods: A descriptive, secondary analysis of the Prevent Child Abuse Ohio (PCAO) "Love Me...Never Shake Me" SBS education program…

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disorder that affects language and social skills to varying degrees. While many studies have concentrated on examining patterns of behavior and development on the context of speaking and interacting, very few researchers have investigated the parameters of crying in infants with ASD. This finding is surprising…

Infants who received 0.2, 0.6, or 1.0 ml of sucrose cried much less than infants who sucked a pacifier for 2, 6, 10, or 14 minutes. Sucrose infused through a pacifier reduced crying more effectively than did water infused through a pacifier. It is argued that these differences support idea of two separate functional calming systems in human…

This reflective essay describes the author's experiences as an observer in a behaviorist infant classroom. The author developed four categories of practice to describe what happened in the behaviorist infant room: (1) curricular focus on training typically developing infants to meet typical developmental milestones, (2) the use of highly…

This "Monograph" reports theoretically relevant behavioral, biological, and self-report assessments of a sample of 14-17-year-olds who had been classified into one of four temperamental groups at 4 months of age. The infant temperamental categories were based on observed behavior to a battery of unfamiliar stimuli. The infants classified as high…

Acoustic properties of the cries of 14 infants were evaluated at both 2 and 4 weeks of age when the infants were lying in a supine position and when they were sitting upright in a car seat. In the upright position, infants' breathing was more rapid and showed less individual variability. The fundamental frequency of their cries increased in the…

Preterm and term infants were given a sucrose solution, a glucose solution, or water during a test period in which the amount of their crying was measured. Sucrose reduced crying in preterm and term infants by 91% and 93%, respectively, and glucose by 86% and 81%, respectively. Water was ineffective in reducing crying in both preterm and term…

Examines the physical damage of shaken-baby syndrome (SBS), noting that many parents and caregivers are unaware that shaking infants is dangerous. Argues that helping parents and caregivers better understand infant behavior and manage their frustrations could significantly reduce the occurrence of SBS and other types of abuse. Highlights efforts…