Effects of craniofacial deformity in infancy on the quality of mother-infant interactions

Self-report and behavioral observation procedures were used to assess the quality of mothers' interactions with facially deformed infants. This assessment strategy also provided an opportunity to evaluate the hypothesis that parents of facially deformed infants may deny or be unaware of deficit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 1989-08, Vol.60 (4), p.819-824
Main Authors: Barden, R.C, Ford, M.E, Jensen, A.G, Rogers-Salyer, M, Salyer, K.E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affect
attitudes and opinions
Awareness
Beauty
Biological and medical sciences
Birth defects
child care
Child development
Child psychology
deformities
Denial (Psychology)
Developmental psychology
emotions
Face - abnormalities
faces
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gratification
Humans
Infant
infant behavior
Infants
Male
maternal behavior
Mother-Child Relations
Mothers
Object Attachment
parent-child relationships
Parenting
Parents & parenting
Personal Satisfaction
Plastic surgery
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social interaction
Toys
Vocalized behavior
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Summary:Self-report and behavioral observation procedures were used to assess the quality of mothers' interactions with facially deformed infants. This assessment strategy also provided an opportunity to evaluate the hypothesis that parents of facially deformed infants may deny or be unaware of deficits in their relationships with these children. 10 mothers, 5 with unattractive/craniofacially deformed infants and 5 with normal infants, completed self-report measures of stress, social support, satisfaction with parenting, and general life satisfaction. Mother-infant interactions were videotaped and rated on discrete and global behavioral measures. Results revealed that mothers of deformed infants rated their parental satisfaction and current life satisfaction more positively than did mothers of normal infants. However, these same mothers were observed to behave in a consistently less nurturant manner than mothers of normal children. These results suggest that infant facial deformity/unattractiveness may affect the quality of infant-caregiver interactions without parental awareness.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
DOI:10.2307/1131022