Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology, cilt.34, sa.3, ss.210-220, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Our study aimed to investigate the factors associated with mothers’ shaking behavior of
their babies.
Methods: Sixty-three mothers who stated that they shook their babies (Group B) and 91 mothers
who stated that they did not (Group A) among those who applied to or were followed up from the
Pediatric Outpatient Clinics of our University Hospital were included. The mothers (with a baby aged
0-30 months) completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and psychiatric rating scales measuring
attachment styles, empathic tendency, perceived social support, and self-esteem. The severity of the
simulated shaking of the mothers was measured by an accelerometer placed on an infant manikin and
separately scored on a Numerical Rating Scale by the researchers and an Illustrated Numeric Rating
Scale by the mothers.
Results: In group B, babies’ crying frequency was higher (P = .008); soothing the babies when they cried
was more difficult (P = .019), mothers reported that they were exposed to physical violence more in their
childhood (P = .003), BSI hostility scores (P = .004) and BSI-anxiety scores (P = .034) of the mothers were
higher when compared with the group A. The age of the babies (P = .002, OR = 1.096), moderate crying
frequency (P = .035, OR = 2.900), the mothers’ difficulty in soothing their babies (sometimes P = .018,
OR = 3.705, often/always P = .014, OR = 7.777), and the mothers’ experience of physical violence in
childhood (P = .002, OR = 5.674) were found to be factors affecting the shaking behavior.
Conclusion: Clarifying the factors associated with the mothers’ shaking behavior of their babies would
be helpful in terms of protecting future generations.