Overview: Infant Mental Health Theoretical Perspectives, Research in Social-Emotional and Cognitive Development, and the Importance of Context

Infant mental health, an interdisciplinary clinical science field of research and practice, has been defined as, “the developing capacity of the child from birth to age three to experience, regulate and express emotions, form close and secure interpersonal relationships, and explore the environment and learn, all in the context of family, community and cultural expectations for young children” (Pailakian & Seibel, 2002). The definition embraces four theoretical perspectives that collectively provide the philosophical foundation of infant mental health as a transdisciplinary field of clinical science: evolutionary theory, systems theory, cognitive developmental theory, and psychoanalytic theory (Fitzgerald & Barton, 2000; Fitzgerald et al., 2011).