Cultural Models of Infant Emotions and Needs Among the Gamo People of Southern Ethiopia

Bibliographic Data

ID11275949
AuthorsLauren R Bader (0000-0002-9347-2132, University of Michigan, corresponding author), H N Fouts (0000-0003-4794-268X, University of Tennessee at Knoxville)
Year2018
Volume39
Issue5
Pages497-510
Publication date2018-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInfant Mental Health Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-9641 • E-ISSN: 1097-0355
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/imhj.21734
PMID30080935
OpenAlexW2885838463
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited51

How mothers perceive their infants’ emotions and their subsequent responses are influenced by cultural values and beliefs. Mothers who live in particularly harsh environments may have perceptions about their infants’ emotions that reflect not only cultural values but also constraints of the environment. In this qualitative study, 29 Gamo mothers living in rural Ethiopia were interviewed about perceptions of their infants’ emotions, how they felt about these emotions, and what they believed their infants needed in response. Through constant comparative analysis and thematic coding, several patterns emerged in mothers’ perceptions about their infants’ emotions and what constituted appropriate responses. Mothers said that their infants’ negative emotions were possibly related to illness and that appropriate responses were focused mostly on breastfeeding, complementary food, and needing to be held. Mothers also discussed their work demands and how they conflicted with their desire to respond to their infants; however, many mothers said that they relied on their older children to help. Mothers’ responses were centered on a parenting strategy aimed at promoting infant health and survival, which is consistent with research on parents living in rural environments who subsist by farming and have relatively high risk for infant mortality

Breastfeeding · Cultural values · Developmental psychology · Feeling · Perception · Qualitative research · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Child and Animal Learning Development · Early Childhood Education and Development · Gender Studies · Medicine · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology · Pediatrics