UNIDAD DIDÁCTICA 2: AUTOESTIMA Y AUTONOMÍA 46

Maternal scores

Maternal responsiveness towards infants differs by culture, and mothers in different cultures may initiate feeding in response to different infant behaviours. Differences in the control caregivers allow infants in relation to food intake during feeding have also been shown to vary with culture.

xi. Maternal scores will differ by ethnicity

xii. Within ethnic groups, mothers will have similar scores at three and six months

xiii. There will be differences, by ethnicity, in maternal responsiveness to infant

cues to initiate the feeding

xiv. There will be differences, by ethnicity, in maternal responsiveness to infant

cues to regulate the pace o f the feeding

X V. There will be differences, by ethnicity, in maternal responsiveness to infant cues to terminate the feeding

Infant scores

Hunger and satiation are not identified by a single cue, but will be signalled by the infant by a cluster o f cues prior to and/or at the beginning o f the feed and at the end o f the feed. There will be differences in the ability and avidity with which the infants signals these cues, but the type of cues infants use to communicate hunger and satiation will not differ by culture

xvi. Infant scores will not differ by ethnicity

xvii. Within ethnic groups, infants will have similar scores at three and six months

xviii. There will be no differences, by ethnicity, in the infants' abilities to express cues

5.6.3 Confounding factors

The literature reviewed suggests that there are factors that affect the nature o f the mother-infant interaction which could confound the Feeding Scale scores. With the exception o f differences in mothers that breast and bottle feed, the individual factors that mediate patterns o f response within are currently not well understood.

The hypotheses xix to xxviii refer to these confounding factors and their impact on the composite scores, and for those confounding factors that the literature has

identified as affecting maternal responsiveness to specific infant cues during feeding. The results are discussed in Chapter Eight (8.6)

5.6.3.a Maternal age

Maternal age appears to be associated with different patterns o f maternal

responsiveness during feeding, as adolescent mothers, defined here as those less than 20 years of age, have been found to be significantly less sensitive to their infants' cues.

xix. Within each ethnic group, adolescent mothers will have lower composite scores

5.6.3.b Maternal years of education

Mothers with less than 12 years of education have scored lower on the NCAST Feeding Score. Studies across cultures indicate that mothers with more years of education have higher levels of reciprocity during interactions with their infants. Thus, it is predicted that mothers with more years of education will have less culturally specific behaviour during their interaction with their infants.

jo:. Within each ethnic group, mothers with few er years o f education will have lower composite scores

xxi. Mothers with more years o f education will show less culturally specific

patterns o f behaviour than those with few er years o f education

xxii. Within each ethnic group, mothers with few er years o f education will be less

responsive to infant cues regulating initiation, pacing and termination o f the

feed.

5.6.3.C Breast feeding

The type of feeding method is an important determinant o f mother and infant behaviour during the feeding interaction. Greater levels o f reciprocity have been reported in the interactions of those mothers that breast feed compared to those who bottle feed.

The evidence from the literature on cross-cultural feeding practices suggests differences in the incidence, prevalence and duration o f breast-feeding by ethnicity.

xxiii. Within each ethnic group, mothers who ever breast feed, compared with those

who never do so , will have higher composite scores

xxiv. Within each ethnic group, mothers who breast fe e d fo r longer will have higher

composite scores

o v . Within each ethnic group, mothers who breast feed fo r longer will be more responsive to infant cues regulating initiation, pacing and termination o f the

5.6.3.d Socio-economic status

Lower maternal socio-economic status has been associated with poorer synchrony during mother-infant interactions. Lower status, in its extreme form described as poverty, has been shown to have a significant impact in different cultures on infant feeding and the feeding interaction. It is predicted that:

xxvi. Within each ethnic group, mothers classified as lower socio-economic status

will have lower composite scores

5.6.3.C Maternal Depression

Psychological and social stressors may have associations with maternal

psychological functioning. Mothers reporting higher scores on indices o f depression can be expected to have lower scores on the NCAST Feeding Scale.

xxvii. Within each ethnic group, mothers with higher levels o f depressive symptoms

will have lower composite scores

xxviii. Within each ethnic group, mothers with higher levels o f depressive symptoms

will be less responsive to infant cues regulating initiation, pacing and

termination o f the feed.

5.6.3.f Maternal satisfaction with social support

It is contended that the degree o f social support and the level of maternal satisfaction with her support have been found to be key influences on parental functioning. Migration involves unusual disturbance, although this may be mitigated in the UK by residence in the ethnic community's locale. It is predicted that mothers reporting lower levels o f satisfaction with their support system will have lower scores on the NCAST Feeding Scale.

xxix. Within each ethnic group, mothers who report low levels o f satisfaction with

social support will have lower composite scores

5.6.3.g Infant gender

The influence of gender on the nature of the feeding interaction is inconsistent.

XXX. Within each ethnic group, the gender o f the infant will not affect the composite scores

5.6.3.h Infant birth weight

It has been averred that the birth weight o f the infant can affect the nature o f the feeding dyad

xxxi. Within each ethnic group, the birth weight o f the infant will not affect the

composite scores

5.6.4. Infant weight

Patterns o f early weight gain have been found to vary by ethnicity, with that of the infants of West African origin above and infants o f Asian origin below the norm for White UK infants.

xxxii. There will be differences, by ethnicity, in the mean weights o f infants during

infancy: the mean weight o f the Nigerian infants will consistently be greater

than the norm; the White UK infants' mean weight will follow the norm; the

mean weight o f the Bangladeshi infants will consistently be lower than the

CHAPTER SIX: