Early Mother/Child Interaction Flashcards
Describe the beginning of the relationship between caregiver and child.
- By 22 weeks baby responding to sound especially mother
- In womb baby has preference for mother’s voice and native language
- At birth auditory pathways developed in womb enable baby to match mother’s voice with her face
- Neural pathways laid down antenatally for smell to enable baby to identify smell of mother’s breast milk
- All are important factors in development of bonding and attachment
Identify risk factors to the fetal brain.
1) Maternal stress and anxiety
2) Alcohol and drug
3) Eating disorders
4) Domestic abuse
Identify the main fetal pathology/symptoms associated with maternal stress and anxiety.
Small head circumference, earlier gestational age, lower birth weight, language delay, conduct disorder, autism, physical abnormalities e.g. cleft palate
Identify the main fetal pathology/symptoms associated with maternal intake of alcohol and drugs.
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (growth impairment, abnormal facial features, problems with learning attention, memory, problem solving, speech and hearing)
Identify the main fetal pathology/symptoms associated with maternal eating disorder.
May affect closure of neural tube
Identify the main fetal pathology/symptoms associated with maternal domestic abuse.
Often starts 3rd trimester. Stress (cortisol) restricts blood flow to fetal brain. Child more anxious, also associated with ADHD.
Describe how early experiences determine brain architecture and mental health.
- Early experience determines which parts of the brain grow and which parts of the brain do not
- Memories of early experiences, especially strongly emotional ones, are not dependent on conscious processes
- Early exposure to negative experiences e.g. abuse and neglect, limits long-term capacity to regulate feelings, as well as ability to develop empathy, or social skills, which can increase risk of mental health problems, relationship difficulties, antisocial behaviour and aggression
- Good early attachment to primary caregiver serves to promote resilience to later traumatic experiences (warm, caring relationships with caregiver also serve to the development of empathy, trust and well-being)
Identify myths about the human brain.
- We can fix any damage done early with love and affection later
- How we develop is mostly determined by the environment
- How we develop is mostly determined by genetics
- We aren’t affected by experiences we had as tiny babies because we didn’t have language yet and we can’t remember things that young
Identify some theoretical concepts used to understand the significance of early interaction.
- Attachment
- Mentalisation
- Containment
- Reciprocity
- Rupture and Repair
Describe attachment theory.
Attachment is a universal need to form close affectionate bonds with others.
•Infants are born with a need to bond
•They have instinctual behaviours that trigger responses
in their mother: sucking, clinging, crying, smiling, etc…
• Maternal separation or loss is dramatic because it prevents the development of a biological need.
Attachment system:
• “Secure base” - the essence of what the attachment figure represents for the child. A secure base provides a safe haven to return to in case of danger or anxiety and a launch pad from which the child can explore.
• There is a paradox: the “attachment system” gets triggered and becomes evident at times of danger or when disrupted and is turned down when all goes well.
Identify the main contributions of the child to the interaction with their mother.
- Difficult temperament; lack of fit with caregivers
- Premature birth
- Medical conditions
- Hospitalisations, separations
- Failure to thrive
- Neurological impairments
Identify the main contributions of the mother to the interaction with their child.
•Parental mental health
–Perinatal depression and anxiety
•Parents’ own parenting experiences
–Abuse
–Neglect
–Attachment (Adult Attachment Interview)
•Parents’ attributions/beliefs
Identify the main environmental contributions to the interaction between an infant and their mother.
- Poverty
- Violence:victim or witness
- Lack of social support
- Multiple caregivers
- High stress from marital conflict
- Lack of stimulation
Describe the theory of mentalisation.
(expansion of attachment theory)
• ‘Mentalisation refers to the ability to reflect upon, and to understand one’s state of mind; to have insight into what one is feeling, and why.’
• Mentalisation is assumed to be an important coping skill that is necessary for effective emotional regulation.
• Caregivers’ insightful understanding of children’s’ experience, coupled with feedback to children about that experience, provides a useful model for children.
• It helps children learn how to pay attention to, and to understand what they are experiencing. This modeling ultimately culminates in children learning to reflect upon, and understand their own states of mind.
• When early caregivers are unable to reflect on children’s state of mind orwhen this feedback to children is either completely missing or inaccurate, children are unable to fully develop the capacity to mentalise. Therefore, they do not learn how to understand their own thoughts, feelings, and motivations; nor the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of others.
Describe the theory of containment.
- Containment is linked to Klein’s concept of Projective Identification
- Containment is the notion of another person being able to hold onto these feelings, and then give them back detoxified and bearable.
- This relies on the person “doing the containing” having a certain amount of self-knowledge and the ability to know what is “mine” and what is “another’s”.
E.g. A mother who has herself been unloved may project her feelings of unlovableness into her child and then identify with the child as unloved and unlovable.
-Containment of emotional experience:
• When a particular feeling is aroused, old neural networks automatically become activated to manage the arousal in the old way.
• The process of having feelings recognised and acknowledged by another person can facilitate the development of new ways of relating, and develop new pathways
