Prematurity Stereotyping: Effects on Mother-Infant Interaction
Child DevelopmentPublished 1 April 1986
Marilyn Stern, Katherine A. Hildebrandt
Citations71
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.19
SNIP2.13
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TL;DR
The results of this study further support the existence of a prematurity stereotype and the impact of expectations on perceptions and behavior.
Abstract
The possibility that the self-fulfilling prophecy process can adversely affect the caregiving environment of premature infants was explored in this study. A portion of this process was investigated experimentally by assessing cognitive and behavioral reactions of 27 mothers to unfamiliar full-term infants who were labeled either full-term or premature. Infants who were described as premature were touched less and given a more immature toy to play with, were rated as smaller, finer-featured, and less cute, and were liked less than infants who were labeled full-term. In turn, infants labeled premature were less active during the interaction than infants labeled full-term. College students who later observed the videotapes made of the mother-infant interactions were able to accurately guess which label was assigned to the infants. The results of this study further support the existence of a prematurity stereotype and the impact of expectations on perceptions and behavior.
Keywords
PsychologyHealth ProfessionsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
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