Browsing by Author "Barbosa, Miguel"
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- Attachment and mother-infant interactions in dyads with infants born full-term, moderate-to-late preterm, and very-to-extreme pretermPublication . Fuertes, Marina; Martelo, Inês; Almeida, Rita; Gonçalves, Joana L.; Barbosa, MiguelBackground: The impact of prematurity status on attachment quality remains indeterminate. Some studies found no differences between infants born preterm (PT) and infants born full-term (FT), while other investigations present opposite results. Aims: We aim to contribute to this body of research by studying mother-infant interactive behaviors and quality of attachment in 3 independent samples: Full-Term (FT), Moderate-to-Late Preterm (MLPT) and Very-to-Extreme Preterm (VEPT). Study design: This is a longitudinal laboratory study conducted from 3 to 12 months of age (corrected-age in the case of infants born PT). Subjects: The participants are 213 Portuguese infants (FT =105; MLPT =52; VEPT =56) and their mothers. Outcome measures: Mother-infant interactive behavior was observed in free-play at 3 and 9 months (corrected- age). Infant attachment was observed in Strange Situation at 12 months. Results: Secure attachment is more prevalent in infants born FT, and ambivalent attachment is more prevalent in infants born VEPT. Infants with a secure attachment have higher gestational age and weight at birth. Infant and maternal interactive behavior quality is associated with attachment patterns and varies according to infant prematurity status. Last, the results indicate changes in maternal sensitivity and infant difficult behavior from 3 to 9 months of infant’s age. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that prematurity status impacts attachment quality. Changes in maternal and infant behavior from 3 to 9 months suggest a period of rapid non-linear development, supporting a transactional multilayered approach to the study of mother-infant relationship.
- Contributos para a auto-regulação do bebé no paradigma face-to-face still-facePublication . Seixas, Íris; Barbosa, Miguel; Fuertes, MarinaLogo após o nascimento o recém-nascido apresenta comportamentos instintivos de auto-regulação que lhe permitem controlar as suas respostas motoras e vegetativas isolando-se de estímulos perturba - dores, organizando-se face ao stress e iniciando ou terminando a interação com os pais. Estes comportamentos evoluem ao longo do primeiro ano de vida. A partir dos 3 meses estes comporta - mentos parecem organizar-se em estilos comportamentais e ter um peso moderado na qualidade da vinculação mãe-filho(a). No intuito de estudar os processos de auto-regulação do bebé e o papel materno na interação, observámos 98 bebés (46 meninas, 51 primíparos, nascidos com mais de 36 semanas de gestação) e as suas mães, na situação experimental Still-Face aos 3 e aos 9 meses. O comportamento dos bebés foi classificado ou descrito quanto à sua forma de organização comporta - mental (e.g., capacidade de recuperação após o episódio do Still-Face) e o comportamento materno quanto à qualidade do envolvimento e ao nível de intrusividade. Os resultados indicam diferenças individuais na auto-regulação do bebé, das quais descrevemos e apresentamos 3 padrões de organização de resposta subdivididos em sub-padrões comportamentais associados. Estas formas de auto-regulação apresentam uma elevada associação com as respostas maternas, género do bebé e paridade. Os dados deste estudo suportam a tese de que a auto-regulação infantil resulta da capacidade de mobilização dos recursos do bebé e da resposta que recebe para apoiar os seus esforços.
- Emerging patterns of infant regulatory behavior in the Still-Face paradigm at 3 and 9 months predict mother-infant attachment at 12 monthsPublication . Barbosa, Miguel; Beeghly, Marjorie; Moreira, João; Tronick, Ed; Fuertes, MarinaPrior research described three stable patterns of organized behavior employed by infants to manage stressful interactive situations with their mothers in the Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm (FFSF) at 3 and 9 months postpartum. The current longitudinal study expands this research by examining the extent to which these patterns predict infants' later attachment quality. For that purpose, 108 full-term infants and their mothers participated in the FFSF at 3 and 9 months, and in the Strange Situation at 12 months. Cross-tabulation analyses indicated a significant association between (1) the Social-positive oriented pattern and secure attachment, (2) the Distressed-inconsolable pattern and insecure-ambivalent attachment, and (3) the Self-comfort oriented pattern and insecure-avoidant attachment. Our results contribute to a growing body of studies suggesting that patterns of infants' regulatory behavior assessed during the FFSF during the first year, may be early developmental precursors of attachment patterns at 12 months.
- Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS): Confirmatory factor analysis of the six behavioral clustersPublication . Barbosa, Miguel; Moreira, João; Tronick, Edward; Beeghly, Marjorie; Fuertes, MarinaThe neonatal behavioral assessment scale (NBAS) is a widely used in the neurobehavioral assessment of neonates in clinical practice and research. Lester's data reduction system for the NBAS items is the most often used in research, but the few factor analytic studies carried out with it leave gaps in its validation. The current study aimed to test and compare (a) the factorial structure of the Lester's data reduction system for the NBAS and (b) an alternative data reduction system, slightly modified from Lester's system. The NBAS was administered to 196 healthy Portuguese full-term infants (51% male) in the first 72 h of life (M = 43.63 h). Construct validity of the data reduction systems was tested through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Lester's original system was compared to three alternative models, two of which included a revision of the scoring rules for three items and the exclusion of five items. The CFA generally supported the six-factor structure. However, fit indices for Lester's original model were only fair. An alternative, revised model with a second-order factor - Self-Organizing System - demonstrated a better fit. The results provide evidence to support a modified form of Lester's six behavioral clusters as a data reduction model for the NBAS items.
- Patterns of regulatory behavior in the still-face paradigm at 3 months: A comparison of Brazilian and Portuguese infantsPublication . Fuertes, Marina; Ribeiro, Camila; Barbosa, Miguel; Gonçalves, Joana; Teodoro, Ana Teresa; Almeida, Rita; Beeghly, Marjorie; Lopes dos Santos, Pedro; Lamônica, DionísiaThree infant regulatory behavior patterns have been identified during the Face-to-Face Still- Face paradigm (FFSF) in prior research samples: a Social-Positive Oriented pattern (i.e., infants exhibit predominantly positive social engagement), a Distressed-Inconsolable pattern (i.e., infants display conspicuous negative affect that persists or increases across FFSF episodes), and a Self-Comfort Oriented pattern (e.g., infants primarily engage in self-comforting behaviors such as thumb-sucking). However, few studies have examined these patterns outside US and European countries or evaluated potential cross-country differences in these patterns. In this study, we compared the regulatory behavior patterns of 74 Brazilian and 124 Portuguese infants in the FFSF at 3 months of age, and evaluated their links to demographic and birth variables. The prevalence of the three regulatory patterns varied by country. The most frequent pattern in the Portuguese sample was the Social-Positive Oriented, followed by the Distressed-Inconsolable and the Self-Comfort Oriented. However, in the Brazilian sample, the Distressed-Inconsolable pattern was the most prevalent, followed by the Social- Positive Oriented and the Self-Comfort Oriented. Moreover, in the Brazilian sample, familial SES was higher among infants with a Social-Positive pattern whereas 1st-minute Apgar scores were lower among Portuguese infants with a Distressed-Inconsolable Oriented pattern of regulatory behavior. In each sample, Social Positive pattern of regulatory behavior was associated with maternal sensitivity, Self-Comfort Oriented pattern of regulatory behavior with maternal control, and Distressed-Inconsolable pattern with maternal unresponsivity.
- Predicting Patterns of Regulatory Behavior in the Still‐Face Paradigm at 3 MonthsPublication . Barbosa, Miguel; Beeghly, Marjorie; Gonçalves, Joana L.; Moreira, João; Tronick, Edward; Fuertes, MarinaThe current study addressed two aims: (1) to describe different patterns of infant regulatory behavior during the Face-to-Face Still-Face (FFSF) paradigm at 3 months of age and (2) to identify specific, independent predictors of these patterns from an a priori set of demographic, infant (e.g., temperament), and maternal (e.g., sensitivity) variables. Analyses were based on data collected for 121 mother–infant dyads assessed longitudinally in the newborn period and again at 3 months. In the newborn period, infants’ neurobehavior was evaluated using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) and mothers reported on their caregiving confidence and their newborns’ irritability and alertness. At 3 months, mothers reported on their infant’s temperament, and mother–infant interactions were videotaped during free play and the FFSF. Three patterns of infant regulatory behavior were observed. The most common was a Social-Positive Oriented Pattern, followed by a Distressed-Inconsolable Pattern, and a Self-Comfort Oriented Pattern. Results of multinomial logistic regression indicated that categorical assignment was not associated with demographic or infant characteristics, but rather with dyadic regulatory processes in which maternal reparatory sensitivity played a crucial role.
- Robust stability and physiological correlates of infants’ patterns of regulatory behavior in the still-face paradigm at 3 and 9 monthsPublication . Barbosa, Miguel; Beeghly, Marjorie; Moreira, João; Tronick, Edward; Fuertes, MarinaThis study examined the stability of three patterns of infant regulatory behavior identified in the face-to-face still-face (FFSF) paradigm at 3 and 9 months—social-positive oriented, distressed-inconsolable, and self-comfort oriented—and whether variations in infants’ heart-rate were correlated with them. Although some studies have examined the stability of discrete infant behaviors, none have investigated the stability of early regulatory patterns across FFSF episodes over time. Healthy full-term infants and their mothers (N = 112) were videotaped in the FFSF when infants were 3 and 9 months old. Infants’ regulatory patterns were scored with the Coding System for Regulatory Patterns in the FFSF. Infants’ heart-rate level during each episode of the FFSF was also assessed. The social-positive-oriented pattern was the most prevalent at both ages. Cross-tabulation analysis showed a robust stability (Cohen’s κ = .72) of the regulatory patterns from 3 to 9 months. The heart-rate level of infants with a social-positive-oriented pattern at 3 and 9 months showed recovery to baseline levels following the still-face. In contrast, the heart-rate level of infants with a distressed-inconsolable pattern at 9 months increased from the still-face to the reunion episode, whereas the heart-rate level of infants with a self-comfort-oriented pattern at 9 months did not change from the still-face to the reunion episodes. These results suggest that infants exhibit distinct organized regulatory patterns as early as 3 months that are stable over a 6-month interval and associated with variations in infants’ physiological responses across FFSF episodes at both ages.
- A self‐comfort oriented pattern of regulatory behavior and avoidant attachment are more likely among infants born moderate‐to‐late pretermPublication . Fuertes, Marina; L. Gonçalves, Joana; Barbosa, Miguel; Almeida, Rita; Lopes‐dos‐Santos, Pedro; Beeghly, MarjorieInfants born preterm (<37 gestational weeks, GW) are at increased risk for regulatory difficulties and insecure attachment. However, the association between infants' regulatory behavior patterns and their later attachment organization is understudied in the preterm population. We addressed this gap by utilizing a Portuguese sample of 202 mother-infant dyads. Specifically, we compared the regulatory behavior patterns of 74 infants born moderate-to-late preterm (MLPT, 32-36 GW) to those of 128 infants born full-term (FT, 37-42 GW) and evaluated the associations of these regulatory patterns with later attachment. Infants' regulatory behavior patterns (Social-Positive Oriented, Distressed-Inconsolable, or Self-Comfort Oriented) were evaluated in the Face-to-Face-Still-Face paradigm at 3 months, and their attachment organization (secure, insecure-avoidant, or insecure-ambivalent) was evaluated in the Strange Situation at 12 months corrected age. In both samples, the Social-Positive-Oriented regulatory pattern was associated with secure attachment; the Distressed-Inconsolable pattern with insecure-ambivalent attachment; and the Self-Comfort-Oriented pattern with insecure-avoidant attachment. However, compared to FT infants, infants born MLPT were more likely to exhibit a Self-Comfort-Oriented pattern and avoidant attachment. Most perinatal and demographic variables were not related to infant outcomes. However, infants with a higher 1-min Apgar were more likely to exhibit the Social-Positive-Oriented regulatory pattern and secure attachment.