Φτιαξε το βιογραφικο σου σημειωμα
Το βιογραφικό σημείωμα είναι ένα έγγγραφο που μας επιτρέπει να παρουσιάσουμε τις δεξιότητες και τα προσόντα μας με τρόπο σαφή και αποτελεσματικό.
Συνδέσου με το Europass κι ενημερώσου σχετικά!
europass.cedefop.europa.eu/el/documents/curriculum-vitae
Εναλλακτικά, συνδέσου με το Γραφείο Διασύνδεσης του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών και διάβασε σχετικές οδηγίες
Family-Infant Congruence: Routines and
Rhythmicity in Family Adaptations to a Young
Infant
Lewis W. Sprunger, W. Thomas Boyce, and
John A. Gaines
University of Arizona
SPRUNGERLE, WISW .; BOYCEW, . THOMASa;n d GAINESJ, OHNA .
Family-Infant Congruence:
Routines and Rhythmicity in Family Adaptations to a Young Infant. CHILID) EVELOPME1N9T8,5 ,
56, 564-572.
Previous work suggests that the degree of match or congruence between the behavioral characteristics of infants and their families may significantly influence the nature of their
interactions and the success of their mutual adaptation. We examined this hypothesis in a crosssectional study. of infant-family congruence on 1 behavioral measure: the degree of rhythmicity, defined for both infants and families as the extent of predictable regularity in ongoing daily life.
Questionnaires sampling demographic, behavioral, and adaptive outcome variables were completed by 285 mothers who had infants ranging in age from 2 to 13 months and who had at least 1 other child. Infant rhythmicity was measured using the Perception of Baby Temperament Scale, and family rhythmicity was assessed with the Family Routines Inventory. Multivariate analyses confirmed that the level of congruence between infant and famnilyr hythmicityw as significantly associated with mothers'p erceptions of overall family adjustment,c ontrollingf or other, potentially confounding independent variables. Results are discussed in the context of prior studies examining goodness-of-fitb etween the characteristicso f children and their caregivers.
Babies behave differently from each other at birth, and these individual differences
influence the mutual adaptation that occurs between an infant and its family.
Thomas, Chess, Birch, Hertzig, and Kom (1963) pioneered the investigation of infant
and child temperament with the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS), a project designed to identify, categorize, and serially observe individual differences in behavioral
styles. "Temperament" was used to describe the child's style of reactivity in terms of the
tempo, energy, focus, mood, and rhythmicity of individual behavior (Chess & Thomas,
1973). The NYLS concept of temperament was based on a firm commitment to an interactional concept of the developmental process and was thus regarded as most usefully addressed not in isolation, but in its interaction with the child's abilities, motives, and environmental resources.
The NYLS investigators (Thomas & Chess, 1984; Thomas, Chess, & Birch, 1968)
subsequently introduced the concept of "goodness-of-fit," "consonance," or "match"
to describe the degree of congruence between behavioral characteristics of infants
and families. Consonance or congruence occurs when characteristics or expectations are similar or when reorganization of functioning is possible for either the infant or the family. Dissonance or incongruity may result in maladaptive behavior on the part of the family or the child if the parties are unable to adapt to each others' demands and expectations. Although the idea of behavioral congruence and dissonance is conceptually useful to both clinicians and developmental researchers, little systematic investigation has addressed its validity. The study presented here was designed to explore the notion of infantfamily congruence using the construct of behavioral rhythmicity, defined as the degree of predictable regularity in the ongoing daily life of the infant and the family. Beginning with this general definition, the rhythmicity construct employs different operational definitions for the family and infant. The concept of rhythmicity has been applied to family functioning by Boyce, Jensen,and James (Boyce, Jensen, James, & Peacock, 1983; Jensen, James, Boyce, & Hartnett, 1983), who explored the idea of family
routinization as a descriptor of' family lifestyle. They defined family routines as observable, repetitive behaviors involving at least two family members and occurring with predictable regularity in the life of the family. Ethnographic observations of families in the process of ordinary, day-to-day living suggested that routines are universal attributes of'
family life, varying only in content and frequency from family to family. All families observed
had developed an identifiable collection of behavioral routines that provided a structural matrix around which the rhythm of daily life was established. These routines thus appeared to fiunction as a behavioral unit of rhythmicity in family life, serving as an organizing principle integrating diverse activities and fostering regularity in the family's collective life. Subsequent development of' this work has resulted in the Family Routines Inventory, a standardized epidemiologic instrument that measures the extent of predictability and routine in the everyday life of
families (Jensen et al., 1983). For the infant, rhythmicity refers to predictable
patterns of cyclic biological funimctions such as eating, crying, or elimination. This approach
is derived from the results of the NYLS, in which rhythmicity was one of the
nine dimensions of reactivity suggested by the study data (Chess & Thomas, 1973). Subsequent
investigators have included rhythmicity as one of the dimensions of infant temperament
measured by a variety of parentcompleted scales (Carey, 1970; Carey & McDevitt, 1978; Fullard, McDevitt, & Carey, 1978; McDevitt & Carey, 1978; Pedersen, Zaslow, Cain, Anderson, & Thomas, 1980). Field (1978) broadened the concept of infant rhythmicity to include not only biological functions but also behavioral phenomena as well. For example, infant behavioral rhythms
can vary from the long periodicity of sleepwake cycles to the short periodicity of alternating
attention and inattention during interactions with adults (Brazelton, Koslowski, & Main, 1974; Condon & Sander, 1974a, 1974b; Tronick, Als, & Adamson, 1979; Tronick, Als, Adamson, Wise, & Brazelton, 1978).
Even very young infants are sensitive to the varying rhythms of their caregivers and
alter their behaviors accordingly. Sander, Stechler, Burns, and Julia (1970) demonstrated
that neonates who were cared for by a consistent, sensitive caretaker through the
first 10 days of life were more readily regulated in terms of achieving day-night differentiations
than those cared for by a succession of caretakers. Thus, infants from the first days of life appear to have a sophisticated capacity to perceive and react to periodicity and
rhythm in the caregiving environment. The present availability of operational
measures of behavioral rhythmicity for both infants and families provided an opportunity
to test the empirical strength of the goodnessof- fit hypothesis. In the present study, we hypothesized that the degree of concordance or match between infant and family rhythmicity would significantly predict outcome variables describing infant-family adjustment over the
first year of life. More specifically, we hypothesized that the degree of match would be
directly associated with positive parental perceptions of the baby, parents' sense of competence, and overall family adjustment. Further, we predicted inverse associations between
infant-family congruence and both the degree of infant behavioral disturbances (such as
night waking) and maladaptive behavior in older siblings.
Method
Subjects.-The families of healthy infants who had at least one older sibling and were from 2 to 13 months of age were enrolled at one of seven different Tucson pediatric care sites (two health maintenance organizations, two pediatric group practices, two solo pediatricians, and a university pediatric clinic) to which they had presented for routine well-baby checks. Families with two or more children (including the index infant) were chosen for two reasons: First, we
were interested in the adjustment of an already established two-generational family to a
new infant, as opposed to the adjustment of parents only. Second, the Family Routines Inventory
(see below) presumes in several of its items the presence of at least one child beyond
infancy. Enrollments were stratified in order to obtain comparable numbers of infants
in the 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, and 8-13 month age ranges. Families learned of the study through posters in the physicians' waiting rooms or through office personnel who inquired about their interest. Those responding positively to an explanatory letter were given a questionnaire to be completed at home by the infant's mother. A research assistant made a follow-up telephone contact in order to encourage participation and to determine the age of the study infant at the time of the questionnaire's completion.
Child Development
Questionnaires were distributed to 334 mothers. Of the 292 (87%) returned, seven
could not be used because either the index child or the family did not meet the study
criteria. A final sample of 285 families were included in the study and comprise the population in which the reported analyses were conducted.
Measurement of variables.-All data were obtained by the use of the questionnaire,
which included the following components: 1. Demographic data included the sex and age of all persons living in the home, the marital status of the parents, mothers' educational level, and annual family income. 2. Infant rhythmicity was measured using
the Pedersen et al. (1980) Perception of Baby Temperament Scale. This 50-item scale,
demonstrating high split-half reliability, is designed and standardized for use with the parents of infants ranging from 2 to 12 months of age. The rhythmicity subscale consists of 10 questions regarding sleep, elimination, feeding, playing, and crying.
Arguments currently exist as to the validity of using parent perceptions to measure infant temperament (Carey & McDevitt, 1980;Sameroff, 1983; Vaughn, Deinard, & Egeland, 1980). However, in the current study, only the rhythm city subscale of the temperament questionnaire was utilized. This trait is a difficult variable for outside or "objective" observers to measure since it requires familiarity with the infant on a 24-hour basis. Furthermore, the Perception of Baby Temperament
rhythmicity items are quite specific (e.g., "She does not vary by more than half an hour
from one day to the next as to when she falls asleep at night"), thus tending to reduce the observer bias potentially inherent in parental opinion and interpretation.
3. Family rhythmcity was assessed using the Family Routines Inventory, which, as
noted previously, is a self-administered instrument designed to measure the degree of
routinization in the daily life of families. The Inventory asks for frequency ratings (every day, 3-5 times per week, 1-2 times per week, or almost never) of routines such as "Family eats at the same time each night," or "Children do the same things each morning as soon as they wake up." Prior work with this instrument has documented strong reliability and validity characteristics (Jensen et al., 1983).
4. The degree of infant-family congruence in behavioral rhythm city was calculated as the difference between standardized scores on infant and family rhythm city. Both rhythm city variables were first standardized to z scores based on distributions within the study population. Two versions of the rhythm city mismatch variable were then calculated, one representing the signed difference between the two scores and the other being the absolute value of that difference. The first variable thus reflects both the magnitude and direction of the difference, while the latter is a measure only of its magnitude.
5. Maternal satisfaction with the infant was measured using the Neonatal Perception
Inventory (Broussard & Hartner, 1971). This instrument asks the mother to judge the degree of difficulty inherent in various aspects of the infant's care, compared to the difficulty which might be expected from an "average" baby. Satisfactory e liability and validity characteristics for the NPI have been previously confirmed by Broussarda and Hartner( 1971) in a population of mothers with newborn babies.
To our knowledge, this scale has not been previously used with infants older than 1
month. However, since the Neonatal Perception Inventory addresses behaviors common to older infants as well, we elected to extend its use to the entire age range of infants studied. A negative score indicates that the infant is perceived as being less difficult or less trouble than an average infant.
6. Satisfaction with parenting was determined using the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (Gibaud-Wallston,1 978; Gibaud- Wallston & Wandersman, 1978). This scale was developed to appraise the parent's confidence and self-esteem in the parenting role. It consists of 17 statements about parenting (e.g., "I honestly believe I have all the skills necessary to be a good mother to my baby"), each of which is rated on a 6-point scale, with high scores corresponding to a strong sense of competence.
7. Information regarding the mutual adjustment of infant and family was gathered
using questions designed for this study. The amount of night waking was calculated by multiplying the mother's estimate of the average number of awakenings per night by the number of nights per week that the baby awoke at least once. Sibling adjustment was measured using a checklist that ascertained the occurrence of sibling behavior problems over the preceding 2 months. Behavior problems assessed included: jealousy toward the infant, increased need for attention, increased crying, more difficulty minding, breakdown in the usual routines such as bedtime, getting
into more arguments, acting like a younger child, and other problems as defined by the
mother.
8. Finally, overall family adjustment was evaluated using the sum of scaled responses
to three questions regarding the mother's perceptions of the current state of her family. The questions rated the family's adjustment to the baby, the happiness and contentment of the older children, and general impressions of the degree of current well-being among family members. This measure was regarded as the most comprehensive and summative representation of family adaptation. Analytic methods.-After examining the basic distributions of each variable, initial data analysis was directed toward exploration of bivariate relations among independent and outcome variables. Bivariate associations were assessed using Pearson correlation
Coefficients and provided a picture of the basic relations among variables. However, since associations between independent and outcome variables could be due wholly or in part to the variance a factor shared with another variable, multivariate analyses were used to determine which variables contributed to outcomes independently of other variables' effects. In the multivariate portion of the analysis, standard multiple regression procedures were used to generate a path model of the overall relations among independent and outcome variables. Variables were first arranged in four tiers, representing a theoretical ordering of their causal relations. Infant age and
sex, maternal education, and family income were placed in the first tier because they
Were viewed as conceptually antecedent to the second-tier variables of infant and family rhythmicity and rhythmicity mismatch. These in turn were viewed as precursors to the outcomes in the third tier, which included infant waking, mother's perceptions of the infant, mother's sense of competence, and sibling behavior problems. Finally, items in all three tiers were hypothesized as prior determinants of overall family adjustment. Variables in each tier were sequentially regressed on all theoretically antecedent variables, providing an overview of the significant associations
controlling for the possible confounding effects of other variables.
Results
Table 1 lists demographic characteristics of the 285 index children and their families. Additional data showed that 34% of mothers had a college degree, and 59% had a high
school diploma. Sixty-three percent were courage of fathers = 31.5 years. Median family income = $20,000-$25,000. rently not working outside the home, and 278
(98%) were married. In 281 families (99%), two parents were living in the home. Eighteen families (6%) had more than two adults present in the home. Scores for both infant rhythmicity (M = 2.20, SD = 0.43) and family routinization (M = 55.2, SD = 8.3) approximated a normal distribution. As shown in Figure 1, the joint distributions
of the standardized infant and family rhythmicity measures were used in the
calculation of mismatch scores. Families were visualized as occupying a two-dimensional behavioral space with a location determined by their infant and family rhythmicity scores.
The degree of mismatch was then represented by the distance between the family's
point location and the line signifying perfect identity between infant and family scores.
This distance, calculated as shown, represents the extent to which infants and families
occupied different locations on the range of behavioral rhythmicity. As noted previously, two versions of the rhythmicity mismatch score were derived-one representing the absolute difference in scores and the other the signed difference, reflecting the direction of mismatch (i.e., infant more rhythmic than family vs. family more rhythmic than infant).
The distributions of each of the five outcome variables were also approximately normal. Infants awoke at night a mean of 5.4 times per week (SD = 6.2, range = 0 to 35).
The mean Neonatal Perception Inventory score was -2.75 (SD = 3.24, range = - 13 to
11), reflecting an overall tendency for mothers to view their own infants as less difficult than an average infant. The mean score on the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale was 75.4 (SD = 10.4, range = 41 to 101). Mothers identified a mean of 2.5 sibling problems (SD= 1.9, range = 0 to 8). The mean score for overall family adjustment was 8.5 (SD = 1.2,
range = 5 to 10). Bivariate correlations.-Pearson correlation coefficients testing associations among the 12 independent and outcome variables previously described are shown in Figure 2. Both the sex and the age of the infant were significantly related to infant rhythmicity, with older females having higher scores. Family rhythmicity was also significantly and positively associated with the infant's age and the family's income. In addition, family and infant rhythmicity scores were correlated,indicating a general tendency for more rhythmic infants to be found in more routinized families. Finally, the degree of rhythm city mismatch was significantly associated with both the infant's sex and infant rhythm city scores. A greater degree of mismatch was
found in families with less rhythmic, male infants. Turning to associations with outcome variables, infant rhythm city was strongly and inversely related to both infant waking and maternal perceptions of the baby. Family rhythm city scores were highly predictive of the mother's sense of competence and overall family adjustment, with more routinized families having higher scores on both outcomes. As expected, the infant's age was also related to outcomes, with fewer sibling problems
and better family adjustment found with increasing infant age. Only one significant association was found between outcomes and the degree of rhythm city mismatch: mismatch scores bore a significant, but weak, relation to the extent of infant waking. Thus, at the bivariate level, several important associations were found between independent and outcome variables, but no substantial support
for the rhythm city mismatch hypothesis was forthcoming. However, because of the degree of inter correlation among independent variables, a multivariate analysis was completed in order to test for variables' isolated predictive contributions, controlling for the potentially confounding effects of other independent variables.
Multivariate analysis.--Standard multiple regression procedures were carried out in
order to examine the hypothesized sequential relationship between independent and out- come variables. Figure 3 summarizes the resulting regression models by displaying statistically significant relations between independent and outcome variables, controlling for the effects of the demographic factors. All relations noted in Figure 3 are thus controlled for any potential confounding effects of theoretically antecedent variables such as the infant's age or the family's income. Infant rhythmicity remains significantly associated with both infant waking and maternal perceptions
of the infant, and family rhythmicity is a strong predictor of the mother's sense of competence.
Significant effects on overall family adjustment are found for rhythmicity mismatch,
mother's sense of competence, and sibling behavior problems. The significant association of mismatch with adjustment is modest in magnitude but lies in the expected direction, with incongruent families experiencing greater difficulties with adjustment to the infant. More difficult adjustments were also seen in families with mothers having a lower sense of competence and with siblings who displayed more frequent behavior problems. Taken together, all variables in the model account for 42% of the variance in overall family adjustment in this population.
Discussion
Our results offer support for the hypothesis that incongruity between infant and
family behavioral styles is a predictor of difficulties in a family's adjustment and adaptation to a new baby. We found that incongruity between infant and family rhythmicity was one of several significant predictors of overall adjustment, controlling for the effects of confounding variables. It is notable that it was the degree of absolute rhythmicity mismatch, rather than its direction, that predicted adjustment. That is, the mismatch could result from either the infant or the family being more routinized and rhythmic than the other. By contrast, neither infant rhythmicity nor family routinization alone was significantly predictive of overall family adjustment.
We further found that the separate rhythmicity variables-that is, the degree of both
infant and family rhythmicity individuallywere also significantly predictive of certain
outcomes. It is perhaps no surprise that more rhythmic, predictable babies tended to awaken less often at night and were perceived as less difficult by their mothers. A less intuitive finding, however, was the significant, positive association between family rhythmicity and the mother's sense of competence as a parent. Predictable, consistent family routines were an important correlate of positive self assessments
in the area of parenting skills. From our frame of reference, this association can be viewed as one manifestation of the beneficial effects that accompany predictability
and consistency in family life. However, it is also possible to develop a reverse account for the association-by postulating that strong family routines are a product of self-assured, competent parenting. Finally, our results show that the mother's sense of competence and the frequency of maladaptive behavior in siblings were also significant predictors of perceived adjustment. These findings are consistent
with the work of Dunn and Kendrick (1982), who studied sibling problems as an important reflection of the family's adaptive capacity in the presence of changes. Taken together, three variables-mismatch in rhythmicity, sense of competence, and sibling behavior problems-accounted for nearly half the variability in overall family adjustment in our study population.
In evaluating these conclusions, it is important to note several limitations inherent in
the design of the study. First, all data gathered were generated by the mother, raising
the possibility that some of the significant correlations found could be the result of a response set on the part of study subjects. In future research, simultaneous data collection from other observers might help in addressing this problem. For example, fathers could complete parts of the questionnaire (the Perception of Baby Temperament, the Family Routines Inventory, or portions dealing with family adjustment), or an independent evaluator could assess parent self-esteem and
family adjustment in a clinical interview. Second, the study was cross-sectional rather than longitudinal and thus provides no coherent picture of developmental changes in infantfamily adjustment over time. Third, our study population was unusual and highly selected.
By design, all study families contained at least one older sibling, and nearly all were recruited from private pediatric practices. The population thus represents a relatively stable, upper-middle-class group in which no randomization
process was used in the selection of subjects. The generalizability of the conclusions
is therefore uncertain. Finally, although the rate of non response was small
(13%), it is possible that the non responding families differed systematically from the
study population, another selective force which could have undermined the generalizability of our results. Since Thomas et al. (1968) first introduced
the concept of congruence or goodness-of-fit, their ideas have received only
limited attention from the standpoint of hypothesis- testing research. A small number of investigators, however, have attempted to apply the concept to a spectrum of psychosocial issues. Mueller (1980), in a review of the social network as a construct in social epidemiology, pointed out that psychopathology appears more prevalent in persons who are incongruent with regard to their surrounding social context. French, Rodgers, and Cobb (1974) addressed the importance of concordance in the person-environment fit in adjusting to stressful life experiences, and Boyce and Boyce (1983) found that Navajo students whose home communities and families were culturally incongruent had higher rates of medically attended illnesses during their first
year in a boarding school program. Extension of the person-environment fit
concept into the area of child development has been promulgated by the work of several investigators. Cameron's (1977, 1978) analyses of data from the NYLS subjects showed that children's behavior problems could result from a mismatch between their styles and the behavioral responses of their parents.
Gordon (1981) further tested the goodness-offit hypothesis by dividing 3-year-olds by sex and temperament (difficult vs. easy children) and examining their responses to imposed adult behaviors (controlling or permissive) in a laboratory setting. She found that adults adjusted their controlling behavior as a function of the child's temperament and sex. Finally, Lerner and co-workers (Lerner, Palermo, Spiro, & Nesselroade, 1982; Lerner, personal communication, June 8, 1983) have discussed the goodness-of-fit model in terms of the interaction of child temperament with parents' (or teachers') contextual demands and expectations.
Several lines of investigation suggest the importance of behavioral or psychological
congruence between the person and the social environment. Available evidence supports the conclusion that the extent of congruence or "fit" may have significant effects on biological, behavioral, and adaptive outcomes in human populations. Other work specifically indicates that the degree of predictability or rhythmicity may represent one important dimension in the study of behavioral congruence. Our results provide new evidence that the degree of match between infants
and families is a salient and significant predictor of family adjustment during the first
year of life. While our conclusions should be regarded as tentative, it is our hope that they will foster new interest in the concept of behavioral congruence as a developmentally and epidemiologically relevant dimension in the process of infant-family adaptation.