Michael Jasnow

Adult-like temporal characteristics of mother-infant vocal interactions

29 mothers and their 9-month-old-infants participated in a semistructured play episode. The temporal patterning of their vocal behavior was analyzed by means of a computerized analogue-to-digital conversion system (AVTA). Time-series regression analysis was employed to determine interpersonal influence over the course of the exchange for a variety of temporal parameters. The analysis revealed that the dyads engaged in alternating vocalization to a greater degree than simultaneous vocalization, and that there is a pattern of mutual influence (interpersonal accommodation) for switching pauses. The results suggest that some of the formal attributes observed in conversational exchanges between adult speakers are observable prior to the emergence of linguistic competence.

Coordinated Interpersonal Timing of Down-Syndrome and Nondelayed Infants with Their Mothers: Evidence for a Buffered Mechanism of Social Interaction

A longitudinal study of four- and nine-month-old infants indicates that they coordinate the timing of their vocal behavior with that of their mothers and vice versa. Maternal interactions of Down-syndrome and nondelayed infants were analyzed and found not to differ with regard to such temporal coordination, indicating that it is independent of level of cognitive functioning. The capacity for coordinated timing is proposed as a mechanism for the facilitation of social interaction. Such coordination parallels temporal matching observed in a variety of species along the phylogenetic scale.

Identifying the multi-risk family prenatally: antecedent psychosocial factors and infant developmental trends

Little is known about the relationship between mother and infant within multiproblem, so-called “hard to reach” families. In an effort to understand factors contributing to problems in caring for the young children of these parents, a group of 47 families was recruited for study by the Clinical Infant Development Program of the National Institute of Mental Health. Serious social pathology was found within 75 percent of families. The lives of mothers in these families was marked by long term disruptions: 64 percent were from families characterized by recurring poverty and psychiatric illness, and 69 percent reported disruptions in parental care prior to age twelve, while more than two-thirds reported a history of being physically and/or sexually abused as children. More than 75 percent of this group of women presently showed psychiatric distress. Many of these women have difficulty in providing adequately for their young children and require innovative intervention programs in order to facilitate parenting.

II. Literature Review

Population ageing is an inevitable outcome of the demographic transition. Due primarily to declines of fertility, and secondarily to mortality declines, the age structure of a population becomes older, with a growing number and proportion of elderly persons. While many countries, especially those in the more developed regions, have experienced such a demographic process for some time, there is great variation among them in terms of the level and pace of population ageing. In recent years, the issue of population ageing has received renewed attention in developed countries, because of the continuance of fertility below the replacement level and ongoing trends towards lower mortality. Thus, the trends of population ageing are expected to increase further in these countries and their populations are projected to level off and decline in the foreseeable future. These changes have profound consequences and far-reaching implications, especially for pension schemes, heath-care systems and the economic vitality and growth of a country. The future population size and age-sex structure of any country depends basically on the three demographic components: fertility, mortality and international migration. As no policies to increase the mortality of a population are socially acceptable, there are, in theory, two possible ways of retarding or reversing demographic ageing. First, a reversal of declines of fertility would lead the age structure of the population back towards a younger one, thus slowing down the ageing process. However, the recent experience of low-fertility countries suggests that there is no reason to assume that their fertility will return anytime soon to the above-replacement level (United Nations, 1997). Hence, as a second option, the potential role that international migration could play in offsetting population decline and population ageing has been considered. Given the possibility of attracting larger number of immigrants into economically affluent developed countries, virtually all of which are experiencing low fertility, it appears appropriate to consider the impact that international migration may have on the demographic challenges of ageing. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) commissioned research on these issues and published in 1991 a special report on the demographic impact of migration (OECD, 1991). A number of studies have examined the demographic impact of a constant influx of migrants on the growth of a population with below replacement fertility. For example, taking the twelve countries in Europe or members of then the European Community (EC) together, Lesthaeghe and others (1988) carried out population projections. With …