Marjorie Beeghly
Biographic Data
| ID | 1464104 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Marjorie Beeghly |
| GIVEN NAMES | Marjorie |
| FAMILY NAME | Beeghly |
| SIGNATURE | BEEGHLY M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wayne State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4065-0812 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 145 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1982 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
The challenges of stillness: A longitudinal study about the associations between mothers’ violations of the still-face, infant patterns of regulatory behavior, mother-infant interactive behavior, and …
Possibly, mothers who violate the SF to soothe their infants are more empathic and more likely to be a "safe haven" in stressful situations, contributing to secure relationships. However, mothers who violated SF for other reasons need further investigation and are linked with disorganized/disoriented infant attachment
Continuity, Stability, and Prediction of Sensitivity and Involvement in Portuguese Father-Infant Free Play Interactions at 3 and 9 Months
Objective. Although continuity and stability in parental sensitivity promote a sense of security and predictability for infants and are linked to a variety of positive child outcomes, research with fathers is relatively rare. The present Portuguese longitudinal study investigates mean group-level continuity (vs. discontinuity) and individual-order stability (vs. instability) of ratings of paternal sensitivity and other dimensions of father-infant…
Maternal reflective functioning in pregnancy and parenting during the preschool period
Parental reflective functioning (PRF) refers to a parent's ability to understand their own and their child's mental states and connect them to behaviors. This longitudinal study evaluated (1) associations among prenatal PRF, using the Pregnancy Interview, demographics, prenatal maternal depressive symptoms, and maternal‐fetal attachment and (2) whether prenatal PRF predicted parenting quality assessed during unstructured and challenging mother‐ch…
Predicting attachment in Portuguese infants born very or extremely preterm: Understanding the roles of infant regulatory behavior, maternal sensitivity, and risk factors
A growing body of research shows that early attachment relationships are foundational for children's later developmental and psychosocial outcomes. However, findings are mixed regarding whether preterm birth predicts later attachment, but insecurity is generally more prevalent among infants at higher medical and/or social/familial risk. This longitudinal study aimed to identify specific relational, familial/demographic, and perinatal predictors o…
A self‐comfort oriented pattern of regulatory behavior and avoidant attachment are more likely among infants born moderate‐to‐late preterm
Infants born preterm (
Maternal caregiving representations of the infant in the first year of life: Associations with prenatal and concurrent reflective functioning
Few studies have examined whether maternal caregiving representations are associated with maternal reflective functioning (MRF), especially when MRF is evaluated longitudinally beginning in pregnancy. This study addresses this gap by evaluating whether prenatal and postnatal MRF are associated with mothers’ caregiving representations assessed at 7 months postpartum, and by exploring theoretically unexpected MRF scores in each of the representatio…
Household Chaos and Early Childhood Behavior Problems: The Moderating Role of Mother–Child Reciprocity in Lower‐Income Families
OBJECTIVE: The study examined whether mother-child reciprocity across increasingly challenging contexts moderated the association between household chaos and early childhood behavior problems. BACKGROUND: Living in a chaotic household is associated with behavioral dysregulation in childhood. An important goal in discordant household contexts is to establish positive aspects of relationships that are associated with more favorable developmental ou…
Associations between oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphisms, childhood trauma, and parenting behavior
Maternal oxytocin is connected to aspects of parenting including sensitivity, warmth, positive affect, and affectionate touch. Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphisms are associated with circulating oxytocin levels, altered brain activity, and parenting behaviors. This study aimed to replicate prior work on OXTR single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs1042778 and rs53576 in relation to maternal sensitivity, explore associations with other as…
Predicting Patterns of Regulatory Behavior in the Still‐Face Paradigm at 3 Months
The current study addressed two aims: (1) to describe different patterns of infant regulatory behavior during the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face ( FFSF ) paradigm at 3 months of age and (2) to identify specific, independent predictors of these patterns from an a priori set of demographic, infant (e.g., temperament), and maternal (e.g., sensitivity) variables. Analyses were based on data collected for 121 mother–infant dyads assessed longitudinally in th…
Robust stability and physiological correlates of infants’ patterns of regulatory behavior in the still-face paradigm at 3 and 9 months
This study examined the stability of three patterns of infant regulatory behavior identified in the face-to-face still-face (FFSF) paradigm at 3 and 9 months-social-positive oriented, distressed-inconsolable, and self-comfort oriented-and whether variations in infants' heart-rate were correlated with them. Although some studies have examined the stability of discrete infant behaviors, none have investigated the stability of early regulatory patte…
Associations Between Early Maternal Depressive Symptom Trajectories and Toddlers’ Felt Security at 18 Months: Are Boys and Girls at Differential Risk
The goal of this study was to evaluate whether there are sex differences in children's vulnerability to caregiving risk, as indexed by trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms assessed from 2 to 18 months’ postpartum, and children's rated attachment security in toddlerhood, adjusting for maternal social support and demographic risk. Analyses utilized longitudinal data collected for 182 African American mother–child dyads from economically div…
Does Child Sex Moderate Vulnerability to Postpartum Risk among Infants of Mothers at Risk for Psychopathology
Early childhood behavior problems may indicate risk for subsequent psychopathology (Shaw, Gilliom, Ingoldsby, & Nagin, Developmental Psychology, 39, 2003, 189). There is some evidence to suggest that boys and girls may be differentially susceptible to postpartum risk factors that predict problem behaviors in early childhood (Kochanska, Coy, & Murray, Child Development, 72, 2001, 1091; Martel, Klump, Nigg, Breedlove, & Sisk, Hormones and Behavior …
Social and Emotional Development in Infancy
The study of “socioemotional” development reflects the intertwining nature of the processes of social and emotional growth. In this chapter, we focus on social and emotional development of infants and toddlers. We begin by outlining the contextual frames that inform our review: psychobiological, relational, and cultural. Emotions have been referred to as the “language of infancy,” and our profile of early emotional development focuses on several …
Predictors of infant positive, negative and self-direct coping during face to face still-face in a Portuguese preterm sample
Past studies found three types of infant coping behaviour during Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm (FFSF): a Positive Other-Directed Coping; a Negative Other-Directed Coping and a Self-Directed Coping. In the present study, we investigated whether those types of coping styles are predicted by: infants’ physiological responses; maternal representations of their infant’s temperament; maternal interactive behaviour in free play; and infant birth and …
Intrauterine substance exposures and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II scores at 11 years of age
The goal of this study was to evaluate whether intrauterine exposure to cocaine, alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana was associated with unique variance in children's academic achievement test scores after controlling for other substance exposures and contextual variables. Academic achievement scores (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II)) were collected from 119, low-income, urban 11-year-olds enrolled in a prospective longitu…
Infants' meaning-making and the development of mental health problems
We argue that infant meaning-making processes are a central mechanism governing both typical and pathological outcomes. Infants, as open dynamic systems, must constantly garner information to increase their complexity and coherence. They fulfill this demand by making nonverbal "meaning"-affects, movements, representations-about themselves in relation to the world and themselves into a "biopsychosocial state of consciousness," which shapes their o…
Effects of maternal depression and panic disorder on mother–infant interactive behavior in the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face paradigm
The present study evaluated the interactive behavior of three groups of mothers and their 3‐month‐old infants in the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face paradigm. The mothers had either a clinical diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD, n = 33) with no comorbidity, a clinical diagnosis of panic disorder (PD, n = 13) with no comorbidity, or no clinical diagnosis ( n = 48). The sample was selected to be at otherwise low social and medical risk, and all mo…
Prevalence, Stability, and Socio-Demographic Correlates of Depressive Symptoms in Black Mothers During the First 18 Months Postpartum
Subsyndromal depressive symptoms and major depression in postpartum women
This study documents differences in the psychosocial functioning of women three months postpartum with subclinical depression, major depression prior to the birth of the baby, major depression both pre- and post-birth, and no depression. An understanding of these differences may have implications for intervention insofar as maternal depression places at risk not only the mother's functioning but her infant's development, as well
Postpartum exuberance: Not all women in a highly positive emotional state in the postpartum period are denying depression and distress
The question addressed in this study was whether or not mothers who scored low on self-report depression scales—so-called “deniers”—were denying their symptoms and suffering from an illusion of mental health. The findings did not support the interpretation that low-scoring mothers were denying other symptoms. Rather, low-scoring mothers: 1) experienced a wide range of emotions and similar levels of positive emotions compared to mid-symptom mother…
Effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine in early infancy: Toxic effects on the process of mutual regulation
In this paper, recent studies of the effects of prenatal cocaine abuse and other toxic substances on infant behavior and development during early infancy are critically reviewed. The inevitable conclusion from this review is that compromising main effects of single drugs such as cocaine on infant behavior and development have not been reliably established. It is argued that the long-term developmental outcome of prenatally drug-exposed infants ca…
Communicative functioning in maltreated toddlers
Symbolic development in maltreated youngsters: An organizational perspective
The study of the developmental sequelae of maltreated children illustrates that socioemotional factors play important roles in the ontogenesis of communication
An organizational approach to symbolic development in children with down syndrome
Taking an organizational perspective can help illuminate processes of symbolic development in both normal and abnormal populations
Talking about internal states: The acquisition of an explicit theory of mind
Talking about internal states: The acquisition of an explicit theory of mind
Infants' meaning-making and the development of mental health problems
We argue that infant meaning-making processes are a central mechanism governing both typical and pathological outcomes. Infants, as open dynamic systems, must constantly garner information to increase their complexity and coherence. They fulfill this demand by making nonverbal "meaning"-affects, movements, representations-about themselves in relation to the world and themselves into a "biopsychosocial state of consciousness," which shapes their o…
Communicative functioning in maltreated toddlers
Associations Between Early Maternal Depressive Symptom Trajectories and Toddlers’ Felt Security at 18 Months: Are Boys and Girls at Differential Risk
The goal of this study was to evaluate whether there are sex differences in children's vulnerability to caregiving risk, as indexed by trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms assessed from 2 to 18 months’ postpartum, and children's rated attachment security in toddlerhood, adjusting for maternal social support and demographic risk. Analyses utilized longitudinal data collected for 182 African American mother–child dyads from economically div…
Robust stability and physiological correlates of infants’ patterns of regulatory behavior in the still-face paradigm at 3 and 9 months
This study examined the stability of three patterns of infant regulatory behavior identified in the face-to-face still-face (FFSF) paradigm at 3 and 9 months-social-positive oriented, distressed-inconsolable, and self-comfort oriented-and whether variations in infants' heart-rate were correlated with them. Although some studies have examined the stability of discrete infant behaviors, none have investigated the stability of early regulatory patte…
Maternal caregiving representations of the infant in the first year of life: Associations with prenatal and concurrent reflective functioning
Few studies have examined whether maternal caregiving representations are associated with maternal reflective functioning (MRF), especially when MRF is evaluated longitudinally beginning in pregnancy. This study addresses this gap by evaluating whether prenatal and postnatal MRF are associated with mothers’ caregiving representations assessed at 7 months postpartum, and by exploring theoretically unexpected MRF scores in each of the representatio…
Effects of maternal depression and panic disorder on mother–infant interactive behavior in the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face paradigm
The present study evaluated the interactive behavior of three groups of mothers and their 3‐month‐old infants in the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face paradigm. The mothers had either a clinical diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD, n = 33) with no comorbidity, a clinical diagnosis of panic disorder (PD, n = 13) with no comorbidity, or no clinical diagnosis ( n = 48). The sample was selected to be at otherwise low social and medical risk, and all mo…
Talking about internal states: The acquisition of an explicit theory of mind
Symbolic development in maltreated youngsters: An organizational perspective
The study of the developmental sequelae of maltreated children illustrates that socioemotional factors play important roles in the ontogenesis of communication
An organizational approach to symbolic development in children with down syndrome
Taking an organizational perspective can help illuminate processes of symbolic development in both normal and abnormal populations
Communicative functioning in maltreated toddlers
Effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine in early infancy: Toxic effects on the process of mutual regulation
In this paper, recent studies of the effects of prenatal cocaine abuse and other toxic substances on infant behavior and development during early infancy are critically reviewed. The inevitable conclusion from this review is that compromising main effects of single drugs such as cocaine on infant behavior and development have not been reliably established. It is argued that the long-term developmental outcome of prenatally drug-exposed infants ca…
Postpartum exuberance: Not all women in a highly positive emotional state in the postpartum period are denying depression and distress
The question addressed in this study was whether or not mothers who scored low on self-report depression scales—so-called “deniers”—were denying their symptoms and suffering from an illusion of mental health. The findings did not support the interpretation that low-scoring mothers were denying other symptoms. Rather, low-scoring mothers: 1) experienced a wide range of emotions and similar levels of positive emotions compared to mid-symptom mother…
Subsyndromal depressive symptoms and major depression in postpartum women
This study documents differences in the psychosocial functioning of women three months postpartum with subclinical depression, major depression prior to the birth of the baby, major depression both pre- and post-birth, and no depression. An understanding of these differences may have implications for intervention insofar as maternal depression places at risk not only the mother's functioning but her infant's development, as well
Prevalence, Stability, and Socio-Demographic Correlates of Depressive Symptoms in Black Mothers During the First 18 Months Postpartum
Effects of maternal depression and panic disorder on mother–infant interactive behavior in the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face paradigm
The present study evaluated the interactive behavior of three groups of mothers and their 3‐month‐old infants in the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face paradigm. The mothers had either a clinical diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD, n = 33) with no comorbidity, a clinical diagnosis of panic disorder (PD, n = 13) with no comorbidity, or no clinical diagnosis ( n = 48). The sample was selected to be at otherwise low social and medical risk, and all mo…
Infants' meaning-making and the development of mental health problems
We argue that infant meaning-making processes are a central mechanism governing both typical and pathological outcomes. Infants, as open dynamic systems, must constantly garner information to increase their complexity and coherence. They fulfill this demand by making nonverbal "meaning"-affects, movements, representations-about themselves in relation to the world and themselves into a "biopsychosocial state of consciousness," which shapes their o…
Social and Emotional Development in Infancy
The study of “socioemotional” development reflects the intertwining nature of the processes of social and emotional growth. In this chapter, we focus on social and emotional development of infants and toddlers. We begin by outlining the contextual frames that inform our review: psychobiological, relational, and cultural. Emotions have been referred to as the “language of infancy,” and our profile of early emotional development focuses on several …
Predictors of infant positive, negative and self-direct coping during face to face still-face in a Portuguese preterm sample
Past studies found three types of infant coping behaviour during Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm (FFSF): a Positive Other-Directed Coping; a Negative Other-Directed Coping and a Self-Directed Coping. In the present study, we investigated whether those types of coping styles are predicted by: infants’ physiological responses; maternal representations of their infant’s temperament; maternal interactive behaviour in free play; and infant birth and …
Intrauterine substance exposures and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II scores at 11 years of age
The goal of this study was to evaluate whether intrauterine exposure to cocaine, alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana was associated with unique variance in children's academic achievement test scores after controlling for other substance exposures and contextual variables. Academic achievement scores (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II)) were collected from 119, low-income, urban 11-year-olds enrolled in a prospective longitu…
Does Child Sex Moderate Vulnerability to Postpartum Risk among Infants of Mothers at Risk for Psychopathology
Early childhood behavior problems may indicate risk for subsequent psychopathology (Shaw, Gilliom, Ingoldsby, & Nagin, Developmental Psychology, 39, 2003, 189). There is some evidence to suggest that boys and girls may be differentially susceptible to postpartum risk factors that predict problem behaviors in early childhood (Kochanska, Coy, & Murray, Child Development, 72, 2001, 1091; Martel, Klump, Nigg, Breedlove, & Sisk, Hormones and Behavior …
Associations Between Early Maternal Depressive Symptom Trajectories and Toddlers’ Felt Security at 18 Months: Are Boys and Girls at Differential Risk
The goal of this study was to evaluate whether there are sex differences in children's vulnerability to caregiving risk, as indexed by trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms assessed from 2 to 18 months’ postpartum, and children's rated attachment security in toddlerhood, adjusting for maternal social support and demographic risk. Analyses utilized longitudinal data collected for 182 African American mother–child dyads from economically div…
Robust stability and physiological correlates of infants’ patterns of regulatory behavior in the still-face paradigm at 3 and 9 months
This study examined the stability of three patterns of infant regulatory behavior identified in the face-to-face still-face (FFSF) paradigm at 3 and 9 months-social-positive oriented, distressed-inconsolable, and self-comfort oriented-and whether variations in infants' heart-rate were correlated with them. Although some studies have examined the stability of discrete infant behaviors, none have investigated the stability of early regulatory patte…
Associations between oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphisms, childhood trauma, and parenting behavior
Maternal oxytocin is connected to aspects of parenting including sensitivity, warmth, positive affect, and affectionate touch. Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphisms are associated with circulating oxytocin levels, altered brain activity, and parenting behaviors. This study aimed to replicate prior work on OXTR single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs1042778 and rs53576 in relation to maternal sensitivity, explore associations with other as…
Predicting Patterns of Regulatory Behavior in the Still‐Face Paradigm at 3 Months
The current study addressed two aims: (1) to describe different patterns of infant regulatory behavior during the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face ( FFSF ) paradigm at 3 months of age and (2) to identify specific, independent predictors of these patterns from an a priori set of demographic, infant (e.g., temperament), and maternal (e.g., sensitivity) variables. Analyses were based on data collected for 121 mother–infant dyads assessed longitudinally in th…
Household Chaos and Early Childhood Behavior Problems: The Moderating Role of Mother–Child Reciprocity in Lower‐Income Families
OBJECTIVE: The study examined whether mother-child reciprocity across increasingly challenging contexts moderated the association between household chaos and early childhood behavior problems. BACKGROUND: Living in a chaotic household is associated with behavioral dysregulation in childhood. An important goal in discordant household contexts is to establish positive aspects of relationships that are associated with more favorable developmental ou…
A self‐comfort oriented pattern of regulatory behavior and avoidant attachment are more likely among infants born moderate‐to‐late preterm
Infants born preterm (
Maternal caregiving representations of the infant in the first year of life: Associations with prenatal and concurrent reflective functioning
Few studies have examined whether maternal caregiving representations are associated with maternal reflective functioning (MRF), especially when MRF is evaluated longitudinally beginning in pregnancy. This study addresses this gap by evaluating whether prenatal and postnatal MRF are associated with mothers’ caregiving representations assessed at 7 months postpartum, and by exploring theoretically unexpected MRF scores in each of the representatio…
Predicting attachment in Portuguese infants born very or extremely preterm: Understanding the roles of infant regulatory behavior, maternal sensitivity, and risk factors
A growing body of research shows that early attachment relationships are foundational for children's later developmental and psychosocial outcomes. However, findings are mixed regarding whether preterm birth predicts later attachment, but insecurity is generally more prevalent among infants at higher medical and/or social/familial risk. This longitudinal study aimed to identify specific relational, familial/demographic, and perinatal predictors o…
The challenges of stillness: A longitudinal study about the associations between mothers’ violations of the still-face, infant patterns of regulatory behavior, mother-infant interactive behavior, and …
Possibly, mothers who violate the SF to soothe their infants are more empathic and more likely to be a "safe haven" in stressful situations, contributing to secure relationships. However, mothers who violated SF for other reasons need further investigation and are linked with disorganized/disoriented infant attachment
Continuity, Stability, and Prediction of Sensitivity and Involvement in Portuguese Father-Infant Free Play Interactions at 3 and 9 Months
Objective. Although continuity and stability in parental sensitivity promote a sense of security and predictability for infants and are linked to a variety of positive child outcomes, research with fathers is relatively rare. The present Portuguese longitudinal study investigates mean group-level continuity (vs. discontinuity) and individual-order stability (vs. instability) of ratings of paternal sensitivity and other dimensions of father-infant…
Maternal reflective functioning in pregnancy and parenting during the preschool period
Parental reflective functioning (PRF) refers to a parent's ability to understand their own and their child's mental states and connect them to behaviors. This longitudinal study evaluated (1) associations among prenatal PRF, using the Pregnancy Interview, demographics, prenatal maternal depressive symptoms, and maternal‐fetal attachment and (2) whether prenatal PRF predicted parenting quality assessed during unstructured and challenging mother‐ch…
Psychology (22 works) · Developmental psychology (18 works) · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development (17 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (13 works) · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum (11 works) · Clinical Psychology (9 works) · Medicine (9 works) · Psychiatry (9 works) · Pregnancy (8 works) · Anxiety (6 works)