RESUMEN
Implicitly-held unconscious associations and attitudes may not align with the beliefs we hold outwardly or explicitly but can affect our professional perceptions, decisions, and actions. In a phenomenological study identifying strategies used to support families in vulnerable circumstances, we conducted nine focus groups to examine how early interventionists (EIs) described families and children, the language they used, and how they used it. Thematic qualitative analysis revealed three themes about families: perceptions of parenting, perceptions of capability, and perceptions of priorities. How EIs characterized families and their interactions with families were both reflective of and counter to family-centeredness and, at times, indicative of implicit bias. This study addresses a critical gap in the field, given the lack of empirical research available about implicit bias in early childhood intervention professionals. Implications for personnel preparation and practice change are discussed to begin the necessary work of moving the field toward more culturally sustaining practices.
RESUMEN
Although prenatal opioid exposure and postnatal withdrawal (neonatal abstinence syndrome) are associated with infant neurobehavioral deficits, little is known about the impact of continued maternal opioid treatment in the postnatal period on maternal responsivity and relationship to mother's oxytocin release during dyadic interactions in the Still Face paradigm. Mother and infant dyads (N = 14) were recruited and comprised of mothers on opioid replacement throughout pregnancy and postpartum (opioid-exposed group, n = 7) and a demographically controlled, non-exposed group (n = 7). Salivary oxytocin was collected following 10 min of infant separation before and immediately after a 6-min Still Face paradigm. Oxytocin measures correlated strongly with sensitive and prosocial maternal behaviors in response to infant initiation. Opioid-exposed compared to non-exposed mothers had significantly lower pre-test to post-test rise in salivary oxytocin concentration level as well as fewer sensitive behaviors during the reunion condition of the Still Face paradigm. Maternal opioid dependence during early infancy may impair maternal responsivity and sensitivity through suppression of the oxytocin reflex to infant stimulation.
