Atypical maternal behavior toward feeding-disordered infants before and after intervention

The display of atypical behaviors and disrupted communication during parent-infant interactions, as assessed by the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE), has been linked to disorganized infant attachment, which, in turn, has been linked to psychopathology. The present study examined the usefulness of the AMBIANCE as an indicator of the efficacy of two brief interventions in reducing atypical behaviors and disrupted communication during play interactions. Twenty-eight mother-infant dyads participated (14 per intervention). All infants had feeding problems. One intervention. Interaction Guidance, focused on training caregivers to respond sensitively to their infants (play-focused intervention). The other intervention focused on training mothers to use new feeding techniques (feeding-focused intervention). Results showed a significant decrease in AMBIANCE scores in the play-focused group from pre- to postintervention. but not in the feeding-focused group. There was a significant decrease in the level of disrupted communication from pre- to postintervention sessions in the play-focused group but not in the feeding-focused group. 73% of mothers from the play-focused group and 17% of mothers from the feeding-focused group initially classified as "disrupted" attained a classification of "nondisrupted" at the postintervention session. Some limitations of the study include small sample size, differences in timing of assessment for each intervention, and use of samples of convenience. Nonetheless, these findings provide preliminary evidence both of the usefulness of AMBIANCE as an instrument for assessing clinical efficacy and the efficacy of Interaction Guidance.