Interactive Behaviors of Ethnic Minority Mothers and their Premature Infants

Abstract

Objective To compare the interactive behaviors of American Indian mothers and their premature infants with those of African American mothers and their premature infants. Design Descriptive, comparative study. Setting Three neonatal intensive care units and two pediatric clinics in the southeast. Participants Seventy-seven mother-infant dyads: 17 American Indian mother-infant dyads and 60 African American mother-infant dyads. Methods Videotapes of mother-infant interactions and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) were used to assess the interactions of the mothers and their premature infants at six months corrected age. Results American Indian mothers looked more, gestured more, and were more often the primary caregivers to their infants than the African American mothers. American Indian infants expressed more positive affect and gestured more to their mothers, whereas African American infants engaged in more non-negative vocalization toward their mothers. African American mothers scored higher on the HOME subscales of provision of appropriate play materials and parental involvement with the infant. American Indian mothers scored higher on the opportunities for variety in daily living subscale. Conclusion Although many of the interactive behaviors of American Indian and African American mother-infant dyads were similar, some differences did occur. Clinicians need to be aware of the cultural differences in mother-infant interactions. To optimize child developmental outcomes, nurses need to support mothers in their continuation or adoption of positive interactive behaviors.

Birthing and Parenting a Premature Infant in a Cultural Context

“…Parenting of premature infants has also been found to vary by race. In a recent comparison study, American Indian mother–premature infant interactions were found to differ from African American mother–premature infant interactions (Brooks, Holditch-Davis, & Landerman, 2013). American Indian mothers looked more, gestured more, and served as the primary caregiver more often than African American mothers (Brooks et al, 2013).…”

“…In a recent comparison study, American Indian mother-premature infant interactions were found to differ from African American mother-premature infant interactions (Brooks, Holditch-Davis, & Landerman, 2013). American Indian mothers looked more, gestured more, and served as the primary caregiver more often than African American mothers (Brooks et al, 2013). Although ethnic differences in parenting likely exist between American Indian tribal groups, there are an insufficient number of articles reporting on American Indian parenting to determine the natures of these differences.…”

Interactive Behaviors of American Indian Mothers and Their Premature Infants

“…Most studies of interactions between mothers and their premature infants have been focused primarily on mother–infant interactions among Whites and African Americans (Cho, Holditch‐Davis, & Belyea, ; Holditch‐Davis, Bartlett, & Belyea, ), but some comparisons of American Indian to African American maternal behavior have been reported. American Indian mothers were found to look more, gesture more, and provide primary care to their infants more often than African American mothers (Brooks, Holditch‐Davis, & Landerman, ). More positive affect and gesturing were reported for American Indian infants, and more nonnegative vocalization for African American infants.…”

“…More positive affect and gesturing were reported for American Indian infants, and more nonnegative vocalization for African American infants. Higher scores on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) subscales of provision of appropriate play materials and parental involvement with infants were reported for African American mothers, whereas higher scores on the opportunities for variety in daily living subscale were reported for American Indian mothers (Brooks et al, ).…”

A influência da idade gestacional nas habilidades do desenvolvimento infantil e a qualidade da interação na díade mãebebê ao longo do primeiro ano de vida

“…Para os autores, prematuros tendem a mostrar pistas comportamentais que podem ser difíceis de entender ou dificuldades em dar sinais de interação. Além disso, as mães podem ter dificuldade em iniciar e manter interação com o bebê prematuro, independentemente da receptividade da criança (KÄRTNER et al, 2012;NIETO, BERNARDINO, 2012;BROOKS et al, 2013).…”