Parents' physiological regulation may support infants' regulation. Mothers (N= 152) and 6-month-old male and female infants were observed in normal and disrupted social interaction. Affect was coded at 1-s intervals and vagal tone measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Maternal sensitivity was assessed in free play. Mothers and infants showed opposite patterns of RSA change. During disrupted interaction, mothers' RSA increased and infants' decreased, suggesting self-regulation of distress. During reunion, although the typical pattern was for infants to return to baseline levels, infants of sensitive mothers and sensitive mothers both showed a significant decrease in RSA from baseline. Mothers' and infants' physiological responses may be a function of mutual responsiveness.

This study evaluated a five-item screening measure of Callous Unemotional (CU) traits using items drawn from the Preschool Form of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA). Using data from the Durham Child Health and Development study (N=178), confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that CU items could be distinguished from Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant (ODD) items. The two-year stability (N=137) of CU (ϕ=.84) was comparable to that of ADHD (ϕ=.79) and ODD (ϕ=.69). Three groups of children were selected based on parent-rated ODD and CU behaviors at the 36-month assessment (N=37; ODD+CU, N=7; ODD-only, N=12; non-ODD, N=18). Multiple measures of infant temperament predicted group membership with 84% accuracy. Consistent with Frick and Morris' (Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 33(1): [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68] 2004) hypotheses, ODD+CU and ODD-only children exhibited temperamental profiles in infancy that were consistent with low fear and emotionally dysregulated pathways into conduct problems, respectively. Keywords Callous Unemotional; Screening measure; Early childhoodThe construct of Callous Unemotional (CU) traits refer to a set of behaviors that include diminished guilt following negative actions, low empathy and fear, poor recognition of fear or distress in others, reduced reactivity to challenging events, and an over-focus on reward and insensitivity to punishment (Frick and White 2008). There is a growing recognition that CU traits provide unique information relative to more well established conceptualizations of disruptive behavior in childhood, including oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (APA 2000). For example, factor analytic studies show that CU traits emerge as a distinct factor even when measures of ADHD, ODD and NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptCD are also included in the analysis Frick et al. 2000;Pardini et al. 2006). Moreover, approximately one-third of all youth who exhibit elevated levels of conduct problems (CP) also exhibit elevated levels of CU traits (e.g., Christian et al. 1997;Frick et al. 2000;Murrie and Cornell 2002; Woodworth and Waschbusch 2008).Compared to children with elevated conduct problems (CP) but low on CU (CP-CU), children who are high on both CP and CU (CP+CU): (a) exhibit a higher frequency, severity, and greater persistence of antisocial behavior; (b) are less likely to exhibit a hostile attribution bias but more likely to have positive evaluations of aggression; (c) have higher rates of antisocial behavior in their families and higher heritability estimates of their antisocial behavior; (d) are more likely to exhibit fearless (low fear) temperamental styles; (e) show lower physiological responses to negative emotions; (f) are less likely to show empathy toward victims; and (g) are less accurate in identifying emotions in others (see Blair et al. ...

Vagal reactivity and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) were assessed in infants (M age = 13.55 months) and their mothers during the Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP) to investigate differences in physiological responses in a sample of insecure-avoidant and securely-attached dyads (N = 132). Infants classified as insecure-avoidant had significantly higher vagal withdrawal during the SSP and higher sAA overall, suggesting that the avoidant attachment pattern is associated with a greater allostatic load. During separation episodes of the SSP, all mothers showed significant vagal withdrawal, suggesting greater attempts at regulation. During the last reunion, typically the most stressful episode for infants, mothers of secure infants showed greater vagal withdrawal than mothers of insecure-avoidant infants, suggesting greater attempts by these mothers at interactive repair. Results for mothers and infants supported the allostatic load theory.

We examined variations in maternal sensitivity at 6 months of child age as a function of child negativity and maternal physiology. We expected maternal vagal withdrawal in response to infant negative affect to facilitate the maintenance of sensitivity, but only for mothers of securely attached children. One hundred and forty-eight infant-mother dyads were observed in multiple contexts at 6 months of child age, and associations among maternal and child variables were examined with respect to 12-month attachment quality. Mothers of later securely attached children were more sensitive than mothers of avoidant children. However, sensitivity decreased for all mothers at high levels of infant negative affect. Furthermore, for mothers of avoidant children, vagal withdrawal was associated with sensitivity to child distress. No association was found between vagal withdrawal and sensitivity for mothers of securely attached children. This suggests that mothers of avoidant children may be uniquely challenged by the affective demands of their infants.

This study examined whether music education was associated with improved performance on measures of academic achievement and executive functions. Participants were 265 school-age children (Grades 1 through 8, 58% female, and 86% African American) who were selected by lottery to participate in an out-of-school program offering individual- and large-ensemble training on orchestral instruments. Measures of academic achievement (standardized test scores and grades in English language arts and math) were taken from participants’ academic records, whereas executive functions (EFs) were assessed through students’ performance on a computerized battery of common EF tasks. Results indicated that, relative to controls, students in the music education program scored higher on standardized tests, t(217) = 2.74, p = .007; earned better grades in English language arts, t(163) = 3.58, p < .001, and math, t(163) = 2.56, p = .011; and exhibited superior performance on select tasks of EFs and short-term memory. Further analyses revealed that although the largest differences in performance were observed between students in the control group and those who had received the music program for 2 to 3 years, conditional effects were also observed on 3 EF tasks for students who had been in the program for 1 year. These findings are discussed in light of current educational policy, with a particular emphasis on the implications for future research designed to understand the pathways connecting music education and EFs.