Maternal responsiveness to infant distress: A cross-cultural investigation in Uganda and the United Kingdom.

IF 3.1 2区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Developmental Psychology Pub Date : 2025-09-04 DOI:10.1037/dev0002038

Carlo Vreden, Santa Atim, Joanna C Buryn-Weitzel, Giammarco Di Gregorio, Ed Donnellan, Maggie Hoffman, Michael Jurua, Charlotte V Knapper, Sophie Marshall, Josephine Paricia, Florence Tusiime, Claudia Wilke, Katie E Slocombe, Zanna Clay

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Maternal responses are a key factor in shaping early emotional development. However, research on how mothers respond to infant emotional signals outside of Western industrialized contexts remains limited. This study provides a longitudinal, naturalistic approach to mapping cultural variation in maternal responsiveness and its effect on infant emotional outcomes. To do so, we used naturalistic video observations to assess spontaneous maternal responses to infant distress and their link with infant recovery from distress in a cross-cultural sample. Data were collected on 82 mother-infant dyads (46 female) at 3 and 6 months old, from two distinct cultural settings: Uganda and the United Kingdom. Although maternal responses were faster in the United Kingdom, infant recovery was quicker in Uganda, suggesting that culturally specific maternal strategies of responding may be more effective than simply promptness of responses in reducing distress. Further, we found changes in maternal response strategies by age and that some of these differed by site. Our findings show both cross-cultural continuity and variability in maternal responses to infant distress and broaden our understanding of how early infant-caregiver interactions shape early socioemotional development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

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母亲对婴儿痛苦的反应：乌干达和英国的一项跨文化调查。

母亲的反应是影响早期情感发展的关键因素。然而，在西方工业化背景之外，关于母亲如何回应婴儿情绪信号的研究仍然有限。本研究提供了一种纵向的、自然的方法来绘制母亲反应性的文化差异及其对婴儿情绪结果的影响。为此，我们在跨文化样本中使用自然主义的视频观察来评估母亲对婴儿痛苦的自发反应及其与婴儿从痛苦中恢复的联系。数据收集了82对3个月和6个月大的母婴（46对女性），来自两个不同的文化背景：乌干达和英国。虽然英国的产妇反应更快，但乌干达的婴儿恢复更快，这表明，在减少痛苦方面，具有文化特殊性的产妇反应策略可能比简单的迅速反应更有效。此外，我们发现母亲的反应策略随年龄的变化而变化，其中一些因地点而异。我们的研究结果显示了母亲对婴儿痛苦反应的跨文化连续性和可变性，并拓宽了我们对早期婴儿照顾者互动如何影响早期社会情感发展的理解。（PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA，版权所有）。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Developmental Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-

CiteScore

5.80

自引率

2.50%

发文量

329

期刊介绍： Developmental Psychology ® publishes articles that significantly advance knowledge and theory about development across the life span. The journal focuses on seminal empirical contributions. The journal occasionally publishes exceptionally strong scholarly reviews and theoretical or methodological articles. Studies of any aspect of psychological development are appropriate, as are studies of the biological, social, and cultural factors that affect development. The journal welcomes not only laboratory-based experimental studies but studies employing other rigorous methodologies, such as ethnographies, field research, and secondary analyses of large data sets. We especially seek submissions in new areas of inquiry and submissions that will address contradictory findings or controversies in the field as well as the generalizability of extant findings in new populations. Although most articles in this journal address human development, studies of other species are appropriate if they have important implications for human development. Submissions can consist of single manuscripts, proposed sections, or short reports.