Development of regulation from infancy to adolescence : The role of early caregiving

This thesis studies the role of the early caregiving environment in the development of regulation from infancy through adolescence. First, Chapter 2 assesses the time mothers spend walking and carrying their infants outdoors, as well as for how much time the infant is put outdoors to sleep, and which infant, maternal, and environmental characteristics predict these variables. Chapter 3 studies the experimental effects of being walked outdoors and infant carrying on infant sleep and cortisol recovery, maternal mood and cortisol, and mother-infant adrenocortical synchrony. Chapter 4 assesses the effects of a skin-to-skin contact intervention on full-term infants’ cortisol and behavioral reactions, mother-infant adrenocortical synchrony and the quality of the maternal caregiving behavior. Chapter 5 assesses the effects of the skin-to-skin contact intervention on full-term infants’ behavior and executive functioning at age three, as well as a possible moderation of this effect through maternal prenatal stress and anxiety. Lastly, Chapter 6 assesses associations of infant colic with sleeping problems from childhood through adolescence and the moderating role of room sharing. Taken together, the knowledge generated by this thesis may inspire future research focused on improving the early caregiving environment.