Cocaine Exposure Is Associated With Subtle Compromises of Infants' and Mothers' Social-Emotional Behavior and Dyadic Features of Their Interaction in the Face-to-Face Still-Face Paradigm.

Abstract

Prenatal cocaine and opiate exposure are thought to subtly compromise social and emotional development. The authors observed a large sample of 236 cocaine-exposed and 459 nonexposed infants (49 were opiate exposed and 646 nonexposed) with their mothers in the face-to-face still-face paradigm. Infant and maternal behaviors were microanalytically coded. No opiate-exposure effects were detected. However, mothers of cocaine-exposed infants showed more negative engagement than other mothers. The cocaine-exposed dyads also showed higher overall levels of mismatched engagement states than other dyads, including more negative engagement when the infants were in states of neutral engagement. Infants exposed to heavier levels of cocaine showed more passive-withdrawn negative engagement and engaged in more negative affective matching with their mothers than other infants. Although effect sizes were small, cocaine exposure, especially heavy cocaine exposure, was associated with subtly negative interchanges, which may have a cumulative impact on infants' later development and their relationships with their mothers.

On the origins of background emotions: From affect synchrony to symbolic expression.

“…Co-occurrences, or the affective match between parent and child, was examined using three conditional probabilities: parent in positive arousal given child in positive arousal, parent in neutral arousal given child in neutral arousal, and parent in negative/ withdrawn arousal given child in negative/withdrawn arousal. These probabilities assess the proportion of time out of the entire interaction when parent and child matched on level of arousal, consistent with previous research (Tronick et al, 2005).2. Sequential relations.…”

“…The fourth composite addressed periods in which the infant looked at the parent's face (sum of social attend and social play) and was termed social orientation. The monadic phases system has been used extensively in research on parent-infant affective matching in healthy and high-risk populations (Cohn & Tronick, 1988;Feldman, 2003;Feldman et al, 1999;Field et al, 1990;Lester et al, 1985;Tronick et al, 2005;Weinberg et al, 1999).…”

“…The fourth composite addressed periods in which the infant looked at the parent's face (sum of social attend and social play) and was termed social orientation. The monadic phases system has been used extensively in research on parent-infant affective matching in healthy and 603 BACKGROUND EMOTIONS, SYNCHRONY, AND SYMBOLIC EXPRESSION high-risk populations (Cohn & Tronick, 1988;Feldman, 2003;Feldman et al, 1999;Field et al, 1990;Lester et al, 1985;Tronick et al, 2005;Weinberg et al, 1999).Coding of the videotapes was conducted by four graduate students following extensive training. Coding was conducted in 1-s frames for 3 min of the interaction: the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th minutes, the most pronounced period of play at this age that begins after an orientation period and once the infant's gaze is focused on the parent's face.…”

“…Concurrent relations describe the co-occurrence, or "match," between specific relational patterns, for instance, the co-occurrence of social gaze in parent and child (Fogel, 1982), vocalizing in unison (Beebe & Gerstman, 1980), the matching of parent affectionate touch with the infant's social gaze , or the matching of positive, neutral, and negative or withdrawn arousal (Tronick et al, 2005). Sequential relations address typical two-step sequences, or the framing of specific social acts.…”

Developmental Consequences of Fetal Exposure to Drugs: What We Know and What We Still Must Learn

“…Nevertheless, well-controlled studies have demonstrated that prenatal cocaine exposure does in fact affect fetal physical growth, and results in an increase of premature birth, and generalized growth retardationincluding decreased birth weight, shorter body length, and smaller head circumference (Bigsby et al, 2011;Covington et al, 2002;Gouin et al, 2011;Mayes et al, 2003). Abnormal infant behavioral outcomes have also been documented; these outcomes include abnormalities related to lower arousal, poorer quality of movement and self-regulation, higher excitability, jitteriness, and more non-optimal reflexes (Lester et al, 2002;Richardson et al, 2008;Singer et al, 2000;Tronick et al, 2005). Studies have revealed that the behavioral outcomes observed at birth continue and sometimes worsen after 12 months of age (Bigsby et al, 2011;Chiriboga et al, 2007;Mayes et al, 2003;Richardson et al, 2008).…”