Abstract:The authors investigated relations between mother-infant dyadic coordination and infants' physiological responses. Mothers (N = 73) and 3-month-old male and female infants were observed in the still-face paradigm, and mothers' and infants' affective states were coded at 1-s intervals. Synchrony and levels of matching between mother-infant affective states were computed, and infants' heart rate and vagal tone were measured. Infants showed increased negative affect and heart rate and decreased vagal tone during mothers' still-face, indicating physiological regulation of distress. Infants who did not suppress vagal tone during the still-face (nonsuppressors) showed less positive affect, higher reactivity and vagal suppression in normal play and reunion episodes, and lower synchrony in normal play with mothers. The results indicate that infants' physiological regulation in social interaction differs in relation to dyadic coordination of affective behaviors.

Parents' physiological regulation may support infants' regulation. Mothers (N= 152) and 6-month-old male and female infants were observed in normal and disrupted social interaction. Affect was coded at 1-s intervals and vagal tone measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Maternal sensitivity was assessed in free play. Mothers and infants showed opposite patterns of RSA change. During disrupted interaction, mothers' RSA increased and infants' decreased, suggesting self-regulation of distress. During reunion, although the typical pattern was for infants to return to baseline levels, infants of sensitive mothers and sensitive mothers both showed a significant decrease in RSA from baseline. Mothers' and infants' physiological responses may be a function of mutual responsiveness.

Hard-to-manage preschool boys and comparison boys were studied at age 4 years and followed at ages 6 and 9 years. Externalizing problems at ages 4 and 9 were associated with concurrent family stress, but this relationship was partially mediated by negative maternal control. Cross-lagged regressions indicated that despite the high stability in children's problem ratings, observed negative maternal control at age 4 and self-reported negative discipline at age 9 predicted externalizing problems at age 9 years, controlling for earlier levels of symptoms. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that problems were more likely to persist in the context of chronic family stress, defined as negative life events, marital dissatisfaction, and maternal depressive symptoms. When problem boys who met diagnostic criteria for Oppositional Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Disorder were compared with boys who were improved by age 9 years, family stress and earlier symptom levels, as well as maternal control differentiated between them. Teacher ratings suggested that these boys were on a clear pathway to persistent problems by age 6 years. A small sample of comparison boys with emerging problems also were living in more dysfunctional families and their mothers reported using more negative discipline at age 9 years.

This study evaluated a five-item screening measure of Callous Unemotional (CU) traits using items drawn from the Preschool Form of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA). Using data from the Durham Child Health and Development study (N=178), confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that CU items could be distinguished from Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant (ODD) items. The two-year stability (N=137) of CU (ϕ=.84) was comparable to that of ADHD (ϕ=.79) and ODD (ϕ=.69). Three groups of children were selected based on parent-rated ODD and CU behaviors at the 36-month assessment (N=37; ODD+CU, N=7; ODD-only, N=12; non-ODD, N=18). Multiple measures of infant temperament predicted group membership with 84% accuracy. Consistent with Frick and Morris' (Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 33(1): [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68] 2004) hypotheses, ODD+CU and ODD-only children exhibited temperamental profiles in infancy that were consistent with low fear and emotionally dysregulated pathways into conduct problems, respectively. Keywords Callous Unemotional; Screening measure; Early childhoodThe construct of Callous Unemotional (CU) traits refer to a set of behaviors that include diminished guilt following negative actions, low empathy and fear, poor recognition of fear or distress in others, reduced reactivity to challenging events, and an over-focus on reward and insensitivity to punishment (Frick and White 2008). There is a growing recognition that CU traits provide unique information relative to more well established conceptualizations of disruptive behavior in childhood, including oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (APA 2000). For example, factor analytic studies show that CU traits emerge as a distinct factor even when measures of ADHD, ODD and NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptCD are also included in the analysis Frick et al. 2000;Pardini et al. 2006). Moreover, approximately one-third of all youth who exhibit elevated levels of conduct problems (CP) also exhibit elevated levels of CU traits (e.g., Christian et al. 1997;Frick et al. 2000;Murrie and Cornell 2002; Woodworth and Waschbusch 2008).Compared to children with elevated conduct problems (CP) but low on CU (CP-CU), children who are high on both CP and CU (CP+CU): (a) exhibit a higher frequency, severity, and greater persistence of antisocial behavior; (b) are less likely to exhibit a hostile attribution bias but more likely to have positive evaluations of aggression; (c) have higher rates of antisocial behavior in their families and higher heritability estimates of their antisocial behavior; (d) are more likely to exhibit fearless (low fear) temperamental styles; (e) show lower physiological responses to negative emotions; (f) are less likely to show empathy toward victims; and (g) are less accurate in identifying emotions in others (see Blair et al. ...

Vagal reactivity and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) were assessed in infants (M age = 13.55 months) and their mothers during the Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP) to investigate differences in physiological responses in a sample of insecure-avoidant and securely-attached dyads (N = 132). Infants classified as insecure-avoidant had significantly higher vagal withdrawal during the SSP and higher sAA overall, suggesting that the avoidant attachment pattern is associated with a greater allostatic load. During separation episodes of the SSP, all mothers showed significant vagal withdrawal, suggesting greater attempts at regulation. During the last reunion, typically the most stressful episode for infants, mothers of secure infants showed greater vagal withdrawal than mothers of insecure-avoidant infants, suggesting greater attempts by these mothers at interactive repair. Results for mothers and infants supported the allostatic load theory.