Journal
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Volume 92, Issue 3, Pages E236-E251Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13503
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Funding
- Academy of Finland
- National Research Foundation, South Africa [2501271617]
- Emil Aaltonen Fountain, Finland
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- SA Medical Research Council
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Two studies conducted in South African mothers from different socioeconomic backgrounds revealed differences in maternal physiological and attentional responses to infant distress expressions, indicating the impact of socioeconomic status.
Maternal responses to infant facial expressions were examined in two socioeconomically diverse samples of South African mothers (Study I, N = 111; and Study II, N = 214; age: 17-44 years) using pupil and gaze tracking. Study I showed increased pupil response to infant distress expressions in groups recruited from private as compared to public maternity clinics, possibly reflecting underlying differences in socioeconomic status (SES) across the groups. Study II, sampling uniformly low-SES neighborhoods, found increased pupil dilation and faster orientation to expressions of infant distress, but only in the highest income group. These results are consistent with maternal physiological and attentional sensitivity to infant distress cues but challenge the universality of this sensitivity across socioeconomic diversity.
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