Michael Espinosa

The Consequences of Child Abuse for the Formation of Relationships with Peers

The peer interaction of 26 physically abused children was observed and compared to the peer interaction of normal children (n = 26), neglected children (n = 4) and children referred to a child guidance clinic (n = 21). The children were either enrolled in a day-care intervention program and observed in well-established peer groups or not enrolled in peer-based intervention and observed in newly formed peer groups. The hypothesis that abused children who were enrolled in day-care intervention programs would be more competent in peer interaction than abused children who were observed in newly formed groups and not enrolled in peer-based intervention programs was supported. The peer interaction of abused children in well-established groups was similar to that of normal children and more skillful than that of abused and clinic children in newly formed groups. Normal children engaged in similar peer interaction in newly formed and well-established groups. The results are discussed in terms of the social support network provided by the day-care intervention and missing in the family environment of abused children.

Psychopathology, mother–child interaction, and infant development: Substance-abusing mothers and their offspring

The course of severe depressive symptoms from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum, as well as the occurrence of severe paranoid symptoms prenatally, were examined by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory I and the Beck Depression Inventory, in 78 women who were heavy, chronic cocaine users and who retained custody of their children after birth. Six months postpartum, the quality of caregiving was observed and assessed in the home, and the children were assessed on the Bayley MDI Index in the laboratory. Mothers who were depressed and paranoid prenatally, regardless of whether the depression continued to 6 months postpartum, were less sensitive in caregiving than women without severe symptoms of paranoia or depression during pregnancy or those who reported only depression that lifted by 6 months postpartum. Mothers who were depressed prenatally and continued to be depressed by 6 months postpartum, regardless of the presence or absence of paranoia, had infants who earned lower Bayley MDI scores than the offspring of women without severe psychological symptoms or women whose depression had lifted. Severe depressive symptoms during pregnancy, if they did not continue to 6 months postpartum, did not appear to adversely influence either caregiving or infant functioning.

Placement with substance-abusing mothers vs. placement with other relatives: Infant outcomes☆

Evaluating a subset of participants from a larger research project concerning comprehensive drug treatment services for pregnant substance-abusing women and their offspring, this investigation compared those mothers who retained custody of their infants following delivery with those who lost custody and whose infants were placed in the care of other relatives. There were no differences between the groups with respect to maternal demographics, substance abuse (as assessed by self-report prenatally and urine toxicology screens at birth), or mental health status, or with respect to newborn characteristics (including gestational age, birthweight, medical risk status). Further, caregiving behaviors of mothers and relative caregivers showed no significant differences at 6 months. Infants who remained in the care of their biological mothers, however, demonstrated better cognitive development than infants in the care of relatives at 6 months. There was also a discrepancy in terms of safety at 6 months, in that there were three deaths and two reported cases of suspected child abuse/neglect among infants in the care of their mothers, and no deaths and no reports of suspected abuse among infants in relative foster care.

Social and Cardiac Responses of Young Children with Autism

The behavioral and heart rate responses of 22 children with autism and 22 children with other developmental disabilities were compared whilst they were watching videotapes of a baby either playing or crying. We expected both groups to show arousal as increased heart rate when watching the video of the crying baby, and the children with autism to attend less than the other children to both videos. However, the children with autism were as attentive to the videos as the other children, and both groups showed heart rate slowing compared with a baseline condition. There was no change in heart rate during interactions with a stranger or separation from mothers. The findings suggest that the lack of social attention often demonstrated by children with autism does not stem from increased arousal in social situations. An alternative explanation is considered.

Using knowledge to cope with stress in the NICU: how parents integrate learning to read the physiologic and behavioral cues of the infant.

Parental stress in the NICU has at least a short-term impact on the establishment of the parent-child relationship and potential repercussions on long-term child development outcomes. One way to help parents mitigate stress is to help them learn what they need to know about their infant’s condition and care. In this article, we examine how learning to read the infant’s physiologic and behavioral cues helps parents cope with stress. We view parental learning as a process in which parents target specific domains of information for learning according to the temporal relevance of the domain to their concerns. It is important that we recognize the fluidity of the process and anticipate what parents need to learn at different times during hospitalization. The NICU staff assumes a crucial role in reducing parental stress by delivering information that is relevant to the parents’ needs and by helping parents understand this information.

Prediction of Low and Normal School Achievement in Early Adolescents Born Preterm

The study examined low school achievement in a group of early adolescents born preterm, who had participated in a prospective longitudinal study from birth through 12 years of age. Multivariate analyses were used to compare adolescents with low school achievement, of normal-or-above intelligence, to adolescents with no achievement problems. Significant group differences were found in a number of domains in early adolescence, including verbal comprehension, attentional processes, social competence, self-perception, maternal responsiveness, and ratings of problematic behavior. Biological and social factors in infancy were associated indirectly with school achievement. A comparison of differences between groups with newly emergent and persistent achievement problems indicated that the persistent group had lower IQ scores and was lower in neonatal organization. There was some overlap between children with achievement problems and children with behavior problems; however the low achievement group was less cognitively competent and showed poorer attentional skills.

Teacher-Facilitated Microcomputer Activities: Enhancing Social Play and Affect in Young Children with Disabilities.

When young children with disabilities are unable to participate in learning experiences with their peers, they often lose critical opportunities to develop and practice many of the social and academic skills they will need in order to succeed in school and everyday life. This study evaluated the extent to which computer-based activities, facilitated by a teacher within a classroom setting, can enable young children with disabilities to share in these important experiences. Changes in the social play behaviors, social pretend behaviors, communication, and affect exhibited by young children with disabilities were examined in both computer and non-computer play activities. Results indicated that computer-based activities represented a context in which toddlers and preschool-aged children with disabilities exhibited more sophisticated levels of play behaviors and more positive, interactive social behaviors.

Parental Knowledge of Children's Behavioral Capabilities: A Study of Low Income Parents

This study compares the parental knowledge of the behavioral capabilities of young children in a sample of low-income Hispanic, black, and Anglo parents. A modified.version of the Child Development Questionnaire (CDQ) is used to elicit parental notions regarding knowledge of developmental milestones. Results of analysis of variance between the various groups indicates that foreign-born Hispanics perceive young childrens behavioral capabilities as developing at a later chronological age than do the other groups. The responses of U.S. born Hispanics appear to be similar to blacks and Anglos. The theoretical model of parental goals as put forth by Le Vine is used to help explain the findings. Implications for social service delivery are also discussed.

Infant-Caregiver Interaction in Kenya and the United States The Importance of Multiple Caregivers and Adequate Comparison Samples

This study explores infant-caregiver interaction in two cultures, replicating and expanding on previous cross-cultural comparisons. For this study, 132 Kenyan infants, 112 preterm U.S. infants, and 27 full-term U.S. infants were observed with their caregivers during multiple home observations. Results expand on previous work in Kenya, illustrating the importance of multiple caregivers in the lives of infants. When all care- givers are taken into account, as opposed to just mothers, similarities between Kenyan and U.S. cultures in styles of interacting with young infants become more apparent. In addition, when infant-caregiver interaction in Kenya is compared with infant-caregiver interaction with U.S. preterms, previously reported differences between Kenyan and U.S. caregiving behaviors also become less evident. These findings are particularly important in that they counter the concern that the development of children in environments such as rural Kenya is compromised by lower levels of stimulation from mothers.