The mother-preterm infant relationship is complex, and some relational patterns forecast greater psychological risk than others. It is important to decrease maternal stress and early separation in every possible way during hospitalization as well as after discharge.

The results showed active visiting by the parents in the NICU. A lower gestational age was associated with lower visiting frequency for mothers. In contrast, more practical limitations such as geographical distance and other children to be taken care of had greater effect on the visiting frequency for fathers.

This study examined child and parental factors in infancy and toddlerhood predicting subclinical or clinical levels of internalizing and externalizing problems at 5 years of age. Ninety-six children and their families participated. They were assessed when the children were 4-10 weeks old (T1), 2 years (T2) and 5 years old (T3). Child risks (difficult temperament, health problems, early emotional and behavioral problems), parental risks (psychopathology, parenting stress and perception of the child) and family risks (socio-economic status, quality of marital relationship and family violence) were examined. At 5 years, internalizing problems were predicted by family violence during the child's infancy and parenting stress at age 2. Externalizing problems were predicted by psychiatric problems of the mother before pregnancy and child's externalizing problems at 2 years of age. When interventions aiming at preventing emotional and behavioral problems in children are considered, these issues should be recognized early and effective intervention initiated.

Shared pleasure (SP) was analyzed in fifty-eight 2-month-old infants and their mothers in face-to-face interaction (T1, at 2 months). The association of SP with child's emotional and behavioral outcome at 2 years (T2) was examined. SP as a possible protecting factor in the presence of parental psychopathology also was studied. Mean duration of SP moments (SP-MD) was related to subsequent socioemotional outcome of the child: Infants of dyads with longer SP-MD showed fewer internalizing and externalizing problems 2 years later. In hierarchical linear regressions, SP-MD uniquely and significantly contributed to internalizing problems after adjusting for infant and maternal factors and mother's interactive behavior. SP protected the child against the influence of parental psychopathology. Father's mental health problems during the follow-up increased the child's risk for higher externalizing and internalizing problems, but only among children with short SP-MD at T1. Internalizing symptoms at T2 increased when moving from the category "no mental health problems" to "mental health problems in one parent" and further to "mental health problems in both parents," but this increase was found only among those with short SP-MD at T1. SP in parent-child interaction is an important feature that fosters positive psychological development and moderates the health effects of other risks such as parental psychopathology.

Father's psychological symptoms were associated with many facets of both parents' impaired well-being. The whole family system should be considered whenever there are concerns about either parent's psychological well-being.

The aim of the study was to analyze which maternal factors (depressive symptoms, effect of life events, maternal sensitivity and structuring) and infant characteristics (temperament, social withdrawal symptoms, interactive behavior, genotype, gender) contribute to shared pleasure (SP) in parent–infant interaction. Participants were 113 mother–infant dyads. The mothers filled in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Infant Behavior Questionnaire, and the Life Events Questionnaire. The dyads were videotaped in a free‐play situation, and the videos were analyzed using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale and the Emotional Availability Scales. The infants were genotyped for four genes involved in emotion regulation. The occurrence and duration of SP (SP‐MD) in mother–infant interactions were analyzed from the videotapes. Higher maternal sensitivity and depressive symptoms, better infant responsiveness, and the infant having the GG variant of the gene tryptophan hydroxylase isoform 2 (TPH2) ‐307 were associated with the occurrence of SP. Lower level depressive symptoms, better maternal structuring, and greater infant involvement were associated with the longer duration of SP. Those dyads where the mother and infant were best able to read each other's positive cues and to respond to them were more likely to experience mutual positive affect, as seen in SP.

No abstract

Infrequent visits by mothers to the neonatal intensive care unit seem to be a marker for their children's later behavioral and emotional problems. This emphasizes the significance of early parent-infant contact and the vulnerability in early interaction. Less frequent visits may also indicate factors influencing the parent-child relationship in a way that leads to subsequent behavioral problems.