Attachment in Rural Sri Lanka: The Shape of Caregiver Sensitivity, Communication, and Autonomy

Chapin, Bambi

doi:10.1057/9781137386724_6

Cited by 30 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The sensitivity observations among the Dogon in Mali also emphasized the physical nature of appropriate responding, and maximum scores were described in terms of physical contact and supportive holding (True et al., ). Furthermore, mothers in rural Sri Lanka have been described as being acutely aware of and responding promptly to very subtle infant elimination signals, putting the infant in a place where they can empty their bowels (Chapin, ). These patterns are likely to relate to customs regarding infant proximity to their caregivers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several ethnographic accounts describe distressed infants being soothed by others than the mother. Qualitative observations of sensitive responsiveness by nonmaternal caregivers can be found in, for example, rural Sri Lanka (Chapin, ), the Hadza foragers in Tanzania (Marlowe, ), the Aka and Bofi foragers in Congo (Fouts, ), and the Yucatec Mayans (Gaskins, ). In a very valuable study among the Aka foragers in the Congo Basin Rain Forest, Meehan and Hawks (, ) showed that mothers and alloparental (i.e., nonmaternal) caregivers, including juvenile caregivers, show similar latency times in responding to infant distress and were also equally effective in soothing the infants.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Universality Without Uniformity: A Culturally Inclusive Approach to Sensitive Responsiveness in Infant Caregiving

Mesman

Minter

Angnged³

et al. 2017

Child Development

148

141

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Do caregivers in non-Western communities adapt their behaviors to the needs of infants? This question reflects one of the most long-standing debates on the universality versus culture-specificity of caregiver-infant interactions in general and sensitive responsiveness to infants in particular. In this article, an integration of both points of view is presented, based on the theoretical origins of the sensitive responsiveness construct combined with the ethnographic literature on caregivers and infants in different parts of the world. This integration advocates universality without uniformity, and calls for multidisciplinary collaborations to investigate the complexities and nuances of caregiver-infant interactions in different cultures. Salient issues are illustrated with observations of infants (ages 7-31 months) in Mali, the Republic of Congo, and the Philippines.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Universality Without Uniformity: A Culturally Inclusive Approach to Sensitive Responsiveness in Infant Caregiving

Mesman

Minter

Angnged³

et al. 2017

Child Development

148

141

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Caregivers speak on children’s behalf (Gottlieb, 2004; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986). And caregivers rely on children’s subtle cues (e.g., postural shifts) to address children’s needs, or to anticipate them, rather than waiting for children to make them explicit (Chapin, 2013; deVries & deVries, 1977; Friedlmeier & Trommsdorff, 1999; Harwood, 1992; Keller, Kärtner, Borke, Yovsi, & Kleis, 2005).…”

Section: Ways Of Caring For Children In Rural Subsistence Lifestylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical Challenges of Parenting Interventions in Low- to Middle-Income Countries

Morelli

Quinn

Chaudhary

et al. 2017

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

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This article explores ethical issues raised by parenting interventions implemented in communities in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) with rural, subsistence lifestyles. Many of these interventions foster “positive parenting practices” to improve children’s chances of fulfilling their developmental potential. The practices are derived from attachment theory and presented as the universal standard of good care. But attachment-based parenting is typical primarily of people living Western lifestyles and runs counter to the different ways many people with other lifestyles care for their children given what they want for them. Thus, such parenting interventions involve encouraging caregivers to change their practices and views, usually with little understanding of how such changes affect child, family, and community. This undermines researchers’ and practitioners’ ability to honor promises to uphold ethic codes of respect and beneficence. Support for this claim is provided by comparing positive parenting practices advocated by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF; with the world health organization [WHO]) Care for Child Development (CCD) intervention with parenting practices typical of communities with rural, subsistence lifestyles—the most common of lifestyles worldwide and largely observed in LMICs. As UNICEF has a considerable presence in these countries, the CCD intervention was selected as a case study. In addition, parenting interventions typically target people who are poor, and the issues this raises regarding ethics of fairness and justice are considered. Recommendations are made for ways change agents can be sensitive to the living conditions and worldviews of communities, and, thus, be appropriately effective and ethically sensitive to the diverse needs of different communities.

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“…There is also contingent responsiveness, but not in the distal channel; there are rather proximal regulations, subtle bodily adjustments and interventions [43]. Another important parenting dimension is motor stimulation, for example massage in India or rhythmical movement in the case of the North West Cameroonian Nso.…”

Section: The Hierarchical Relational Pathwaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological autonomy and hierarchical relatedness as organizers of developmental pathways

Keller¹

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Attachment in Rural Sri Lanka: The Shape of Caregiver Sensitivity, Communication, and Autonomy

Cited by 30 publications

References 9 publications

Universality Without Uniformity: A Culturally Inclusive Approach to Sensitive Responsiveness in Infant Caregiving

Universality Without Uniformity: A Culturally Inclusive Approach to Sensitive Responsiveness in Infant Caregiving

Ethical Challenges of Parenting Interventions in Low- to Middle-Income Countries

Psychological autonomy and hierarchical relatedness as organizers of developmental pathways

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