Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-09-01T00:00:00Z
The relationship between child maltreatment and physiological reactivity to infant crying was evaluated using measures of heart rate (HR) in a sample of 30 maltreating and 24 non-maltreating...Show moreThe relationship between child maltreatment and physiological reactivity to infant crying was evaluated using measures of heart rate (HR) in a sample of 30 maltreating and 24 non-maltreating mothers. For the maltreating group, child maltreatment had been substantiated. During a standardized cry paradigm, mothers listened to nine cry sounds of three different pitches. Each fundamental frequency was presented three times, over three blocks. Mothers rated the urgency of each sound and indicated what their caregiving responses would be. Maltreating mothers showed a lower HR reactivity than non-maltreating mothers to the first and second block of cry sounds as compared to baseline. A lack of functional physiological reactivity when required may explain their impaired ability to respond adequately to their children.Show less
