Effect of Bug-in-the-ear-feedback as an Intervention to Promote Attachment Behaviors in the Adolescent Mother/infant Dyad

of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy EFFECT OF BUG-IN-THE-EAR-FEEDBACK AS AN INTERVENTION TO PROMOTE ATTACHMENT BEHAVIORS IN THE ADOLESCENT MOTHER/INFANT DYAD By Afua Ottie Arhin December 2005 Chair: Jennifer Elder Major Department: Nursing Background: Previous studies have shown that compared with adult mothers, adolescent mothers are less verbally and emotionally responsive, show less positive affect, and have less intense emotional and behavioral attachment interactions with their children. These less than optimal adolescent mother/infant attachment interactions have been found to affect the child’s healthy growth and development. Objectives: The study aimed to identify and characterize the frequency of attachment behaviors exhibited in the infant/adolescent mother dyad and obtain a baseline of the frequency of the interaction on the NCAST Feeding Scale. The second aim was to implement an individualized bug-in-the-ear feedback parent training model to improve the frequency and quality of infant-mother interaction and assess its efficacy using the NCAST Feeding Scale. The third aim was to compare mother/infant attachment behavior frequencies pre and post training.