Development of infants and toddlers in ethnoracial families

Fathers and Families: Risk and Resilience. An Introduction

The articles in this special issue are informed by the historic changes in the twentieth century (i.e., decreasing family size, changing family roles, and youth demonstrating more independent behaviors) that propelled intensive study of fathers’ impacts on child development. The papers are conceptualized within a developmental systems framework and focused on a father’s presence rather than on his absence in the family, going beyond the study of merely father involvement. Papers reflect longitudinal and cross-sectional methods and examine issues related to paternal mental health, parenting behavior, cultural context, and children’s physical and mental health.

Toddler socioemotional behavior in a northern plains Indian tribe: associations with maternal psychosocial well-being

M.C. Sarche, C.D. Croy, C. Big Crow, C. Mitchell, and P. Spicer (2009) provided first-ever information relating the socioemotional development of American Indian toddlers to the immediate context of their mothers' lives. The current study sought to replicate and build on their earlier work by examining the impact of additional maternal risk factors, identified in previous research with non-American Indian populations, on the development of American Indian toddlers: maternal depression, negative social influences, and mother's feelings of isolation. At 27 months, American Indian mothers (N = 110) completed the Parent Demographic Questionnaire, which measured maternal psychosocial characteristics (e.g., depressed affect, social support, drug and alcohol use, isolation) and demographics. Mothers also completed the Infant-Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (A.S. Carter & M.J. Briggs-Gowan, 2006) and the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscale of the Parenting Stress Index (R.R. Abidin, 1995, 1997). Some results replicated the original study, but others did not. Reports of a dysfunctional mother-child relationship related to externalizing and internalizing problems, replicating the earlier study. This study also found associations between a dysfunctional mother-child relationship and socioemotional competence as well as dysregulation. The previous finding of a relationship between American Indian identity and socioemotional competence was supported. Adding the effects of maternal depressed affect and isolation significantly increased prediction of toddler behavior problems.

Culture and infant mental health

The purpose of this article is to summarize key findings in cross-cultural research to guide infant mental health practice in pediatric settings. This overview highlights 3 main themes: the distribution of care-giving in families and communities, the persistent and paramount importance of physical health and survival, and the need to understand diverse practices of infant socialization. In each of these areas, simple guidance that can be implemented by diverse clinicians is offered.