[Empirical basis of the Questionnaire for Crying, Feeding and Sleeping]. / Empirische Grundlagen des Fragebogens zum Schreien, Füttern und Schlafen (SFS).

The Questionnaire for Crying, Feeding and Sleeping of an infant, constructed based on theory and factor analysis, is assessed for internal consistency, inter-correlations, and its relation to a behaviour diary. A clinical and a non-clinical sample are compared. The sample of in total 704 infants younger than one year consists of different subsamples. To test the differences between a clinical and a non-clinical sample assessed with the questionnaire, data of 134 infants brought to the outpatient unit for parents with their infants and toddlers and a matched sample are used. The principal components analysis results in three well-interpretable scales correlating with each other, which all show a high internal consistency. The connections to the diary records and the differences between the means of the clinical and the non-clinical sample are found in the expected directions. The results of the Questionnaire for Crying, Feeding and Sleeping, including the criterion of Wessel, are consistent with the behaviour diary as well as the clinical diagnostics. The Questionnaire for Crying, Feeding and Sleeping shows validity according to these criteria and can therefore be used in research and clinical practise for the assessment of problems concerning crying, feeding and sleeping in the first year of life.

[Persistent, excessive crying in 5-month-old infants and the pre-, peri- and postnatal adversities of their mothers in a high-risk sample]. / Das exzessive Schreien bei 5 Monate alten Säuglingen und prä-, peri- und postnatale Belastungen ihrer Mütter in einer Hoch-Risiko-Stichprobe.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between persistent, excessive crying in 5-month-old infants and the pre- and perinatal adversities as well as postpartal mood of their mothers. METHOD: A sample of 300 mother-child dyads was examined at infants' age of 18.5 weeks. All mothers exhibited psychosocial risks such as poverty, lack of social support, being underage, drug abuse or mental disorders. Excessive crying was assessed by the Wessel's «rule of threes¼. Pre-, peri- and postnatal problems were measured by self-report questionnaires. RESULTS: Multivariate data analysis revealed an increased risk for social adversities during pregnancy (OR = 17.66) and unwanted pregnancy (OR = 13.77). For the postnatal period persistent crying was associated with a higher rate of maternal postpartum depressive symptoms, maternal stress, dysfunctional mother-child interactions, perception of the infant as being «difficult¼ as well as bonding problems. CONCLUSIONS: The results point to the influence of prenatal stress in mothers and a primarily unwanted pregnancy on infants' persistent crying. An increased need for support is suggested in cases of considerably reduced well-being of the mother or bonding problems. The combined effect of prenatal variables and relationship variables influences the occurrence and perpetuation of early regulation problems.

[Birth as a stressful experience of parents with newborns and infants showing regulatory disorders]. / Die Geburt als Belastungserfahrung bei Eltern von Säuglingen mit Selbstregulationsstörungen.

Parents with 0-3 years-old children seen in our outpatient clinic often report a difficult start in parenthood, with the experience of child birth overshadowed by medical complications and/or psychological stress. Besides the syndrome of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the individual perinatal stress experience of mother/father--as a factor hardly considerated up to now--may contribute to the development of postpartal psychological disturbances in the mother and to dysfunctional mother/parent-child interactions. The current state of empirical research into this area of investigation is unsatisfactory. This article approaches this subject on the basis of research in early infant development and explores the relationship between stressful or traumatic perinatal experiences of the parents and the consequences on affect regulation of the child and relational and attachment processes.