Poster #175 - Maternal sensitivity in rural Andean and Amazonian Peru

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Introduction
Observational studies on sensitivity are rare in non-Western communities (Mesman & Emmen, 2013). Nonetheless, it has been suggested that sensitivity can be found across cultures, including rural ones (Mesman et al., 2017). In Peru, some studies have been carried out in the last years, but almost all of them with urban populations (Nóblega, 2012; Conde et al., 2017).

The majority of the rural areas in Peru are characterized by high levels of poverty and harsh living circumstances, which have been shown to adversely affect maternal sensitivity in other communities (Mesman, Van IJzendoorn, & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2012). In this context, the current study aims to provide a detailed analysis of sensitive responsiveness in rural Andean and Amazonian mothers and their infants.

Method
Participants were 12 mother-infant dyads. Children’s average age was 9.42 months (SD = 5.09, range: 4-21), and five of them were male. The mean age of mothers was 28.25 years (SD = 6.39, range: 19-42).

Dyads were observed during their daily activities for around three hours per dyad, focusing on daily caregiving practices such as feeding, bathing, and soothing in rural multiple-caregiver cultural contexts. Mothers’ interactions with their infants were rated for sensitivity and non-interference, using the Ainsworth scales, both rated on 9-point scales (Ainsworth et al., 1974).

Results/discussion
Maternal sensitivity levels were high, with an average of 7.33 (out of 9), and seven out of the twelve mothers scoring in the high range (scores 7-9), and the remaining five in the good-enough range (scores 5-6). For Non-Interference, half of the mothers scored as Not at all interfering, five of them as very rarely or rarely interfering, and only one as somewhat interfering.

These findings were surprising. High levels of sensitivity were not expected due to the relatively harsh economic conditions of these rural areas, that had been associated with lower scores (Mesman et al., 2012), and because previous studies with Peruvian mothers found quite low levels of sensitivity, especially mothers from low socio-economic status (Conde et al., 2017).

In-depth analysis of mother-infant interactions showed that these high sensitivity levels were related to mothers’ ability to multitask, combining household and agricultural chores with high sensitive responsiveness to their infants’ signals. Also, maternal sensitivity is complemented by the presence of multiple caregivers that seemed to allow mothers to make sure the infants were well-attended when they were temporarily unavailable, but combined with quick renewed availability if the infant seemed to need maternal proximity. Moreover, a flexibility of daily care routines was observed.

The results of this study contribute to the existing literature by showing specific cultural elements of care practices that contribute to maternal sensitivity, even under adverse circumstances.

Authors

• Katherine Fourment, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú/Leiden University
  Presenting Author

• Magaly Nóblega, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gabriela Conde, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
  Non-Presenting Author

• Juan Nuñez del Prado, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
  Non-Presenting Author

• Judi Mesman, University of Leiden
  Non-Presenting Author