Parents’ concerns and understandings around excessive infant crying: qualitative study of discussions in online forums
Parents’ concerns and understandings around excessive infant crying: qualitative study of discussions in online forums
Crying is an essential behaviour in infants, occurring on a continuum, and only rarely indicates serious underlying diagnosis. Searching online for information about excessive crying has become common, using the internet to seek health information and support through forums. The aim of this study was to examine data systematically derived from discussion threads on two online parent forums to explore discussions around excessive infant crying. This study utilised two qualitative approaches; the first, a thematic analysis to explore concerns around excessive crying, and the second, discursive psychology, to explore how diagnostic labels (underlying medical cause of crying) are negotiated within an online thread. The thematic analysis identified a tension between interpreting what is ‘normal’ crying and when crying is a sign of an ‘underlying problem’ leading to a search for a diagnostic label. This tension seemed to be heightened when expectations that infancy should be a ‘happy time’ were threatened by excessive crying. Responses to original posts offered support for parents/caregivers to ‘trust their instincts' and to explore different diagnostic labels. The discursive psychology analysis explored responders' accounts of their experiences to increase credibility and showcase expertise. Forums play an important social role, meeting needs for reassurance, validation, and empowerment. This study suggests that labels are used interchangeably, and further work is needed to understand how perceptions are developed and acted on in the community, as well as online. Furthermore, this study suggests there is a need for supporting parents/caregivers in understanding and managing common behaviours such as excessive crying.
Infant crying, Colic, Qualitative, Online forums
Ghio, Daniela
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Muller, Ingrid
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Vestergren, Sara
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Mandangu, Chenai
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Dennison, Laura
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Sykes, Kate
bf33f385-1f65-4e54-8a1d-b1f2a0ea5293
Boyle, Robert
5e72dbea-6d1d-4745-906f-0a912d6498f6
Santer, Miriam
3ce7e832-31eb-4d27-9876-3a1cd7f381dc
8 August 2022
Ghio, Daniela
3883f706-2f5b-4607-a4ab-4d911dff9e55
Muller, Ingrid
2569bf42-51bd-40da-bbfd-dd4dbbd62cad
Vestergren, Sara
6a24bd89-837d-495c-af79-7abfa579b617
Mandangu, Chenai
3d573585-dae0-4098-a847-b8d044a93933
Dennison, Laura
15c399cb-9a81-4948-8906-21944c033c20
Sykes, Kate
bf33f385-1f65-4e54-8a1d-b1f2a0ea5293
Boyle, Robert
5e72dbea-6d1d-4745-906f-0a912d6498f6
Santer, Miriam
3ce7e832-31eb-4d27-9876-3a1cd7f381dc
Ghio, Daniela, Muller, Ingrid, Vestergren, Sara, Mandangu, Chenai, Dennison, Laura, Sykes, Kate, Boyle, Robert and Santer, Miriam
(2022)
Parents’ concerns and understandings around excessive infant crying: qualitative study of discussions in online forums.
Qualitative Research in Health, 2, [100146].
(doi:10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100146).
Abstract
Crying is an essential behaviour in infants, occurring on a continuum, and only rarely indicates serious underlying diagnosis. Searching online for information about excessive crying has become common, using the internet to seek health information and support through forums. The aim of this study was to examine data systematically derived from discussion threads on two online parent forums to explore discussions around excessive infant crying. This study utilised two qualitative approaches; the first, a thematic analysis to explore concerns around excessive crying, and the second, discursive psychology, to explore how diagnostic labels (underlying medical cause of crying) are negotiated within an online thread. The thematic analysis identified a tension between interpreting what is ‘normal’ crying and when crying is a sign of an ‘underlying problem’ leading to a search for a diagnostic label. This tension seemed to be heightened when expectations that infancy should be a ‘happy time’ were threatened by excessive crying. Responses to original posts offered support for parents/caregivers to ‘trust their instincts' and to explore different diagnostic labels. The discursive psychology analysis explored responders' accounts of their experiences to increase credibility and showcase expertise. Forums play an important social role, meeting needs for reassurance, validation, and empowerment. This study suggests that labels are used interchangeably, and further work is needed to understand how perceptions are developed and acted on in the community, as well as online. Furthermore, this study suggests there is a need for supporting parents/caregivers in understanding and managing common behaviours such as excessive crying.
Text
1-s2.0-S2667321522001081-main
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 29 July 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 8 August 2022
Published date: 8 August 2022
Keywords:
Infant crying, Colic, Qualitative, Online forums
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 469485
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/469485
ISSN: 2667-3215
PURE UUID: 20f92419-f9fe-49e9-9284-27516db61f08
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Date deposited: 15 Sep 2022 16:46
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:18
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Contributors
Author:
Daniela Ghio
Author:
Sara Vestergren
Author:
Chenai Mandangu
Author:
Kate Sykes
Author:
Robert Boyle
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