Abstract
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to examine the types of soothing behaviors used by mothers
and fathers of infants, differences in use trajectories over time, and associated
parenting outcomes.
Methods
A longitudinal study of 241 families expecting their second child was performed. Data
were collected at 1, 4, and 8 postnatal months and included measures of parental soothing
techniques, involvement in soothing, distress in response to infant crying, and parenting
self-efficacy.
Results
The average number of soothing techniques used was 7.7 for mothers and 5.9 for fathers.
Soothing frequency decreased over time, and change patterns of soothing differed over
time by gender. In couples who shared responsibility for soothing, fathers felt more
efficacious in parenting and mothers were less upset by infant crying.
Discussion
Clinicians are encouraged to support fathers' engagement in infant soothing, facilitate
the development of fathers' parenting confidence, and promote fathers' involvement
in children's health and health care.
Key Words
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Biography
Carolyn Joy Dayton, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Wayne State University, and Associate Director, Infant Mental Health Program, Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, Detroit, MI.
Biography
Tova B. Walsh, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.
Biography
Wonjung Oh, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Biography
Brenda Volling, Professor, Department of Psychology, and Director, Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 23, 2014
Footnotes
This research was supported by grants R01HD042607 and K02HD047423 to B.V. from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The NICHD had no role in role in the analysis or interpretation of the data or the decision to submit this article for publication.
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
