GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON TACTILE REACTIVITY FROM INFANCY TO TODDLERHOOD
Open Access
- Author:
- Mammen, Micah Ashley
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- April 17, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Ginger A Moore, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Ginger A Moore, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Jenae Marie Neiderhiser, Committee Member
Pamela Marie Cole, Committee Member
Cynthia Stifter, Outside Member - Keywords:
- touch
infancy
genetic - Abstract:
- Touch is the main modality through which infants learn from and interact with their environments and caregivers, and infants who have prolonged difficulty tolerating or responding to tactile input may be at risk for atypical development and social-emotional problems. Using a prospective adoption design, the current study examined the development of tactile reactivity between 9 and 18 months, in relation to genetic and environmental influences. This study measured children’s (N = 561; 57% male) tactile reactivity at 9 and 18 months during a novel tactile task in which adoptive parents painted children’s hands and feet and pressed them to paper to make a picture. Adoptive parents were rated, using the physical involvement subscale from the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment inventory, on the amount of support they provided children for engaging in their physical environments. Birth parents reported their level of negative affect on the Adult Temperament Questionnaire – Short Form, and birth mothers reported on prenatal environment. Overall, children showed a significant decrease in tactile reactivity from 9 to 18 months; however, children whose birth mothers reported higher levels of negative affect showed significantly less change in tactile reactivity. Findings suggest that 9 to 18 months is a time period characterized by significant change, namely a normative decrease, in tactile reactivity, but some children show more persistent tactile reactivity due to genetic influences, which may have an impact on their cognitive, motor, and social-emotional development.