NCJ Number
223497
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: May-June 2008 Pages: 191-200
Date Published
May 2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study sought to describe mothers’ opinions of the crying behavior of infants under 1 year of age.
Abstract
This study suggests themes and directions for further research. Findings show that mothers suffer feelings of guilt when they are not able to console a crying infant, and that they perceive that fathers would respond to a crying baby by passing it to a female caregiver. Mothers’ interpretations of infant crying behavior indicate that they think that infants will cry to gain attention and as a reaction to parental stress and that tiredness influences their ability to cope with a crying infant. The data collected provides information regarding how parents cope with and perceive a crying infant which can be usefully incorporated into parenting programs. The focus of this study arose from a review of literature related to the part infant crying may play in shaken baby syndrome (SBS). The aim of the study was to describe mothers’ opinions of the crying behavior of infants under 1 year of age to establish some baseline information that could be utilized in the design of preventative programs and parent education. References