Objective: To examine the relative importance of mothers' versus medical staffs' behavior in the prediction of infant pain during routine immunization.
Methods: We video-recorded 60 infants' 6- or 18-month immunizations. Recordings were used to code infant pain behavior using the Neonatal Facial Action Coding System (NFCS, R. V. E. Grunau & K. D. Craig, 1987), and maternal and staff vocalizations using the Child-Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale-Revised (CAMPIS-R, R. L. Blount, J. W. Sturges, & S. W. Powers, 1990).
Results: Maternal and staff vocalizations showed different patterns of relation with infant pain behavior, depending upon the type of vocalization. Mothers' distress-promoting behavior (e.g., reassurance) predicted increased infant pain behavior, while staffs' coping-promoting behavior (e.g., distraction) predicted decreased infant pain behavior.