Parent characteristics and conceptualizations associated with the emergence of infant colic

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to examine parental characteristics associated with the emergence of infant colic using a prospective longitudinal study. When infants were 2 weeks of age, parent measures of personality, marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and social support were obtained. In addition, parents were asked about their definition of colic. When infants were 6 weeks of age, parents completed a 4 day, 24 hour cry diary. Parents also completed a stress questionnaire. Based on the fussing/crying data derived from the diaries, 22 of the 128 infants were identified as having colic. Results showed colic infants to have distinctive crying and fussing patterns. Differences in parent conceptualizations of colic were also identified for colic and non-colic families. Results indicated that parental variables, particularly parenting stress and marital satisfaction, may have contributed to the parents' report of excessive crying and fussing.