EFFECTS OF MATERNAL ATTENTION-DIRECTING STRATEGIES ON PRETERM INFANTSAFFECTIVE EXPRESSIONS DURING JOINT TOY PLAY

Six-month-old, high-risk (HR) preterm (n = 33), low-risk (LR) preterm (n = 40), and full-term (FT) (n = 44) infants were observed during a 5 -min joint attention play situation with their mothers. The frequency with which the infants displayed smiles, high interest, low interest, and distress was recorded as well as the frequency of specific types o f attention-directing strategies used by their mothers. Results indica ted that the HR infants displayed fewer smiles than the other two infa nt groups. Differential relations were also found among the maternal a ttention-directing strategies and the affect measures for each of the three infant groups. In general, the frequency with which mothers atte mpted to maintain their infants' interest in a toy was positively asso ciated with increased displays of positive affect for the two preterm groups. Mother's use of strategies that introduced their infants' atte ntion to toys was associated with low-interest displays for die HR gro up. For the FT infants, low interest was predicted by mothers' use of strategies that attempted to redirect their attention from one toy to another.