Infancy and Culture: An International Review and Source Book

Given the extreme paucity of research conducted to date with Latin American infants and families, the field is wide open for investigation. Survival needs must continue to be addressed: birth-weight and perinatal survival, infant and child mortality, and physical growth and nutritional needs. However, in addition to describing rates of mortality and patterns of growth, cultural attitudes, beliefs, values, and traditions that maintain risk factors or contribute to resilience must also be investigated. Furthermore, beyond the few studies described in this chapter, research is notably absent on the social environment of Latin American infants, especially given the strong emphasis these cultures place on kinship bonds, extended family relationships, respect for elder family members, and a collective worldview. Current research conducted in more industrialized countries points to the differential role of culture in infant psychophysiological development. Yet it appears that investigators are of the mind that before we study such issues in Mexico, Central America, and South America, basic needs must first be addressed. Interestingly, however, similar economic and political difficulties are present in many African nations, yet the African infancy literature contains studies examining not only mortality and birth-weight, but also child-rearing practices and other psychosocial questions. Perhaps an additional area of investigation would query reasons that so little research is conducted in Latin America compared to other regions; only then can we begin to remedy this glaring omission in our knowledge of the world’s children.

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