Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 17, 1990 TAG: 9003172348
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL Q. HANEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium
Now a new view is taking hold. Some infants - especially fussy ones - put up a barrier that has nothing to do with their mothers' skills or compassion.
In short, the new wisdom holds: Blame baby, too.
"The mother is off the hook, at least in part," said Dr. Carroll E. Izard.
Izard, a researcher at the University of Delaware, is challenging the traditional notion that mothers are entirely responsible for building secure relationships with their babies.
He has found that babies who respond strongly and negatively to noises and other stimulation - in short, the very fussy ones - are also most likely to develop poor bonds with their mothers.
"Previous research puts the onus on the mother," said Izard. "I'm saying this is a two-way street. Characteristics of the infant contribute, as well."
His study, conducted on 81 infants, found that those who cried the most, who demanded the most attention and who put up the biggest fuss during mildly stressful situations during their first months of life also turned out to be the least secure at 13 months of age.
He and his colleagues found they could use an electrocardiogram to predict which newborns would go on to have insecure bonds with their moms. Those with the strongest vagal tone - a measure of the influence of the brain on the heart - later produced the highest insecurity scores on psychological tests.
In Izard's study, a quarter of the babies formed poor bonds with their mothers. Other research has shown that such children are more likely to have psychological problems when they reach school age, such as extreme shyness and difficulty playing with other youngsters.
by CNB