Dyadic parent-child interaction during early childhood: contributions of parental and child personality traits

Individual differences in personality play a major role for functioning in a multitude of important life domains, including one's interpersonal relationships. The present study examined the effects of parental personality and child temperament traits on dyadic parent-child interaction during early childhood. Participants were a community sample of 145 mothers, 145 fathers, and their 3- to 6-year-old children. Child traits were assessed using standardized laboratory paradigms, parents reported on their own traits, and parent-child interaction was assessed observationally. Parental positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and constraint subtraits were related to parental responsiveness; the number and type of parental bids and the quality of parental responsiveness were also a function of child positive emotionality and effortful control subtraits and, for mothers, child negative emotionality subtraits. Child traits were related to their own interaction behaviors; children higher on positive emotionality subtraits made more social bids, and children higher on effortful control subtraits made more influence attempts and fewer negative bids; child positive emotionality and effortful control subtraits were associated with higher quality child responsiveness. Findings speak to coherence in personality constructs across the life span, with comparable traits measured in adults and early childhood-aged children demonstrating remarkably consistent effects on dyadic interaction behavior.     

婴幼儿视频对1-2岁儿童亲子互动的影响

通过对年幼儿童与一方家长观看视频前、观看视频中以及观看视频后的亲子互动比较,考察视频提供的互动性示范以及视频的文化适宜性对1-2岁儿童亲子互动的影响。结果表明,视频丰富的互动内容对观看视频后的亲子互动可能产生积极影响, 此影响受视频的文化适宜性的制约。视频注意以及亲子互动质量的下降是观看视频中亲子互动得分减少的原因。研究最后对以婴幼儿为受众的视频内容设计提出了建议。     

Early communication in dyads with visual impairment

The ability of dyads with restricted access to the visual channel of communication to establish a reliable pre‐linguistic communicative signalling system has traditionally been viewed as problematic. Such a conclusion is due in part to the emphasis that has been placed on vision as central to communication by traditional theory. The data presented in this paper question these assertions. The results of a longitudinal study exploring the nature of early dyadic interactions in dyads with visual impairment are presented. The dyads' use of three types of non‐visual behaviour—touch, vocalizations and facial orientation—were investigated in terms of their potential as alternatives to visual communication. It is argued that the results are evidence that visually impaired dyads engage in sophisticated communicative exchanges prior to infants' acquisition of language. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal or Typical Performance? The Impact of Instructional Set on the Behavioral Assessment of Parent-Child Interactions

The behavioral assessment of parent-child interactions is an important component of treatment planning and evaluation in many evidence-based parent training programs. However, numerous factors unrelated to the parent-child interaction may add error to the assessment. This study investigated the impact of task instructions on parents’ behaviors during the analogue parent-child interaction observation, the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS). Forty-eight mother-child dyads were randomly assigned to one of two conditions that differed on level of specificity of instructions. Significant differences were observed between groups, with parents who received specific instructions using more praises during the DPICS tasks. Specific instructions may shift parents’ behaviors toward optimal, rather than typical, interaction patterns and should be considered in the context of the assessment goals.     

Examining parent-child interactions in British junior tennis: A conversation analysis of the pre-competition car journey

Research exploring the processes and effects of parent-child social interaction in youth sport has been limited by an overreliance on retrospective questionnaire and interview-based designs. The purpose of the current study was to examine the naturally occurring parent-child interactions which unfold during the pre-competition car journey within British tennis. Specifically, the research questions focused on identifying the parental communicative practices that enabled (or limited) affiliative conversations about children’s upcoming tennis performance. Audio and video recordings were made of 13 parent-child dyads resulting in 4 h 45 min of parent-child interactions. These recordings were transcribed using the Jefferson (2004) system for capturing the production, pace, and organisation of social interaction. Conversation analysis revealed that children resisted or disengaged from the interaction when parents positioned themselves as having authority over, and entitlement to know about, the child’s upcoming performance. This positioning was achieved through giving instructions or advice about the child’s performance and through asking ‘test’ questions to which they already knew the answer. However, asking ‘wh-questions’ that enabled children to talk about their own areas to focus on, lead to extended sequences of affiliative talk. From an applied perspective, these findings highlight the importance of asking genuinely open questions that construct the child as having ownership of their tennis development and performances.     

亲子关系与问题行为的动态相互作用模型：对儿童早期的追踪研究

通过对81名幼儿的父母历时两年的三次追踪测查,考察了父子、母子关系与儿童问题行为的动态相互作用模型。结构方程模型的分析结果表明：一方面,相邻两次测查的母子、父子关系、各种问题行为之间的路径系数都非常显著;另一方面,母子关系与退缩、攻击问题的双向作用,父子关系与攻击、违纪问题的双向作用都得到了支持,焦虑问题对父子、母子关系的作用,违纪问题对父子关系的作用也都得到了支持     

Mind-Mindedness of Male and Female Caregivers in Childcare and the Relation to Sensitivity and Attachment: An Exploratory Study

Mind-mindedness refers to the caregiver’s ability to be attuned to the child’s mental states. Within the parent-child relationship, mind-mindedness relates to parents’ sensitive caregiving, and to children’s secure attachment. However, the same relations are still unexplored in out-of-home care settings. We investigated the associations between childcare professionals’ mind-mindedness, sensitive responsiveness and respect for autonomy, and child-caregiver attachment security. Moreover, we examined whether these relations are influenced by caregivers’ and children’s gender. Participants were 17 caregiver couples (17 males, 17 females) and 34 three-year-old children (17 boys, 17 girls), recruited in childcare centers. Mind-mindedness toward the boy or the girl (dyadic) or both children (non-dyadic), sensitive responsiveness and respect for autonomy were assessed during a semi-structured play. Attachment security was assessed through observations. Male and female caregivers had equivalent scores of mind-mindedness, sensitive responsiveness, and respect for autonomy. Similarly, children were securely attached to male and female caregivers. Girls’ and boys’ secure attachment was predicted by caregivers’ use of non-dyadic mind-related comments. For girls, but not for boys, the relation was partially mediated by caregivers’ respect for autonomy. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance for the quality of child-caregiver relationships, and children’s socio-emotional development.     

Clinical Assessment of Prementalizing Modes of Psychic Functioning in Children and Their Parents in the Context of Trauma

ABSTRACT

As psychoanalytic psychotherapy for children depends on their capacity to mentalize, it is essential to integrate this dimension in their psychological assessment. Mentalization refers to the capacity to identify and comprehend the mental states (feelings, thoughts and intentions) underlying and explaining one’s own behaviors and those of others. This vital ability, which develops during the first five or six years of life in the context of a secure parent-child attachment, is often impaired in children subjected to neglect and maltreatment. Based on rigorous and systematic clinical observations made in youth protection and child psychiatry services, the authors suggest that the children in these settings, along with their parents, frequently present a prementalizing mode of psychic functioning. Further, the authors propose operationalizing the teleological, psychic equivalence, and pretend modes as they might be observed in older children and their parents. To this end, they begin by identifying behaviors, attitudes, and relational patterns potentially linked to each of these modes within a theoretical framework. Next, they describe the characteristics of these children’s narratives, play, and artistic productions. Lastly, three clinical vignettes are used to illustrate how the prementalizing modes are manifested. The results of this clinical assessment can guide the choice of techniques to be used in child psychotherapy.     

Success at Catching and Keeping Toddler's Attention: An Examination of Joint Attention Among Low-Income Mothers and Their 2-Year-Olds

Recent research suggests that competent caregiving by low-income parents may serve to buffer young children from some of the deleterious consequences of economic hardship. As one means of exploring competent caregiving in the context of poverty, this study examined the structuring of joint attention among 47 low-income mothers and their 24-month-old toddlers. Findings revealed that, on the whole, dyads spent approximately half of a 10-minute play period in bouts of collaborative joint attention. While mothers made social overtures, or bids, more frequently than children, children played a significant role in initiating bouts of joint attention. Highly engaged dyads generated significantly higher numbers of reciprocal maternal bids and fewer reciprocal child bids overall than did disengaged dyads. Sequential analyses suggested that reciprocal bids initiated by children were likely to lead to periods of collaborative joint attention among engaged dyads, but not among disengaged dyads. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are mothers of stutterers different? An investigation of social-communicative integration

Many speech-language pathologists assume that parent-child communicative interactions are critical precipitating or maintaining factors in the onset and development of stuttering. Although parents are frequently counseled to alter their attitudes or behaviors, no studies have pinpointed specific parental behaviors as increasing children's disfluency. The purpose of this study was to analyze differences between 12 mothers of stutterers and 12 mothers of nonstutterers in their social-communicative interactions with their own child, an unfamiliar stutterer, and an unfamiliar nonstutterer. Ten minutes of free-play interaction between each mother and child were video recorded from behind a one-way mirror. Results indicate that the two groups of mothers differed significantly only in their use of routine statements. Other findings indicate that stuttering children used significantly more positive and imperative statements than nonstuttering children. All children asked significantly more questions of their own mothers than of unfamiliar mothers.     

Compensatory behaviour of visually impaired cyclists in everyday settings

This study investigated whether visually impaired cyclists, compared to cyclists without visual limitations, take other, potentially safer routes to destinations in their own living environment and whether they ride at a lower speed. In total, 19 matched pairs of a visually impaired cyclist and a normally sighted peer from the same neighbourhood recorded their everyday bicycle rides, using GPS action cameras. In addition, they completed an ‘assigned ride’, a ride for which only a starting and an ending point were provided by the researcher. A risk-assessment procedure showed that the route taken by visually impaired cyclists during this assigned ride was not less risky than the route taken by the normally sighted cyclists. Analysis of the everyday rides showed that, on average, cyclists with a visual impairment more frequently (i.e. for longer periods) cycled at a speed below 10 km/h compared to cyclists without visual impairment. Also, the visually impaired participants’ cruising speed was 1.4 km/h lower than that of their normally sighted counterparts. In conclusion, no evidence was found that visually impaired cyclists compensate strategically by taking different, potentially safer routes than normally sighted cyclists when riding in their own environment. They may (unconsciously) compensate tactically for their visual function limitations by riding at a lower speed when necessary. Mobility trainers in vision rehabilitation as well as road designers could apply these findings to optimise the cycling mobility of visually impaired people.     

Parental toy play and toddlers’ socio-emotional development: The moderating role of coparenting dynamics

This study examined the moderating role of coparenting supportiveness in the association between parental toy play and toddlers’ socio-emotional development. Seventy-seven triads (mother, father, toddler) participated in the study. Coparenting dynamics and parental toy play were observed during family interaction and toddlers’ socio-emotional development was reported by mothers. Results indicated that maternal toy play was positively associated with toddlers’ socio-emotional development but only when this interaction occurred within a supportive coparenting context. No significant associations were observed between fathers’ toy play and toddlers’ socio-emotional development. This study highlights the critical role played by family dynamics in parent-child play interaction.     

Parent-Child Interactions in Anxious Families

A considerable amount of research has examined factors associated with the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders in children. The familial nature of anxiety has been well-established, with genetic studies showing that approximately 30% of the variance is accounted for by genetic factors. Research into the family environment documents behavioral differences in interactions between non-anxious parent-child and anxious parent-child dyads, including less granting of autonomy, and parental withdrawal and disengagement. Recent theoretical work in the field of anxiety suggests that attachment models and coercive operant patterns could create a bi-directional coercive interaction pattern, similar to that seen in interactions of parents and aggressive children. The current study investigated parent and child behaviors coded from interaction tasks across four groups based on anxiety status: anxious parent/anxious child, non-anxious parent/anxious child, anxious parent/non-anxious child, and non-anxious parent/non-anxious child to empirically examine hypothesized interactive patterns. The study sample consisted of 158 parent-child (ages 3–12 years) dyads. Results support an interaction between parent and child anxiety on behavior within dyads. The current study provides an important step in identifying processes linked to familial anxiety.     

家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响：一个有调节的中介模型

本研究基于广州市基础教育质量监测项目,以2380名初中生及其家长为被试,构建一个有调节的中介模型,考察了家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响机制。研究发现：（1）家校合作对青少年学业成绩具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）在家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响中,亲子沟通发挥了部分中介作用;（3）独生状况调节了家校合作→亲子沟通→学业成绩的后半段,即相对于非独生子女而言,独生子女亲子沟通对学业成绩的促进作用更为显著。     

家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响：一个有调节的中介模型

本研究基于广州市基础教育质量监测项目,以2380名初中生及其家长为被试,构建一个有调节的中介模型,考察了家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响机制。研究发现：（1）家校合作对青少年学业成绩具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）在家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响中,亲子沟通发挥了部分中介作用;（3）独生状况调节了家校合作→亲子沟通→学业成绩的后半段,即相对于非独生子女而言,独生子女亲子沟通对学业成绩的促进作用更为显著。     

祖辈共同养育背景下多重依恋关系及对幼儿社会-情绪性发展的影响

采用依恋Q-Set分类程序考察72名幼儿(M=17.51个月)的母子依恋和祖孙依恋的安全性,用《婴幼儿社会-情绪性评价量表》(ITSEA)同时评估了幼儿的社会-情绪性(包括外显行为域、内隐行为域、失调域和能力域)的发展状况。结果发现:(1)在祖辈参与共同养育的背景下,大多数幼儿可以形成安全型的母子依恋和祖孙依恋,母子依恋的安全性高于祖孙依恋;(2)母子依恋和祖孙依恋存在着中等强度的相关,36%幼儿的母子依恋和祖孙依恋的安全性水平不一致;(3)回归分析表明,与祖孙依恋的安全性相比,母子依恋的安全性对幼儿的社会-情绪性发展的各领域具有更大的相对预测力,支持主导性假说;(4)拥有高安全性母子依恋和祖孙依恋的幼儿,其外显行为域和内隐行为域的得分显著低于其他3组,高安全性母子依恋或祖孙依恋不能补偿对方的低安全性依恋的消极影响。在失调域上,母子依恋和祖孙依恋的安全性存在着交互效应。     

Caregiving Burden and Parent–Child Quality of Life Outcomes in Neurodevelopmental Conditions: The Mediating Role of Behavioral Disengagement

The aim of this study was to analyze the direct and indirect effects, via parents’ behavioral disengagement coping, of caregiving burden on the quality of life (QL) of parents and their children with neurodevelopmental conditions. Self-completion questionnaires on the target variables were administered to a sample of 156 parents who had a child with a neurodevelopmental condition, namely epilepsy (n = 65) and cerebral palsy (n = 91). Structural equation modeling was used to test a mediation model and ascertain direct and indirect effects among study variables. Significant direct effects of caregiving burden on parents’ and their children’s QL were found. Additionally, caregiving burden had a significant indirect effect on parents’ QL, via behavioral disengagement, but not on their children’s QL. Finally, this model was found to be invariant across conditions and patients’ age groups. Caregiving burden may be elected as a strategic intervention target to improve parent–child QL outcomes in neuropediatric settings. Parents should be encouraged to avoid or reduce behavioral disengagement coping in relation to their caregiving stress, and alternatively adopt active coping strategies that may positively affect their children’s QL and impede or attenuate the deleterious effects of caregiving burden on their own QL.     

Parent-child interaction and developmental outcomes in children with typical and elevated likelihood of autism

BackgroundEarly parent-child interactions have a critical impact on the developmental outcomes of the child. It has been reported that infants with a family history of autism and their parents may engage in different patterns of behaviours during interaction compared to those without a family history of autism. This study investigated the association of parent-child interactions with child developmental outcomes of those with typical and elevated likelihood of autism.MethodThis longitudinal study investigated the relationship between global attributes of parent-child interaction and the developmental outcomes of infant siblings with elevated likelihood (EL: n = 29) or typical likelihood (TL: n = 39) of developing autism. Parent-child interactions were recorded during a session of free-play when the infants were six months of age. Developmental assessments were carried out when the children were 12 and 24 months of age.ResultsThe intensity of mutuality was significantly higher in the TL group than in the EL group, and developmental outcomes were poorer in the EL group when compared to the TL group. Positive associations between parent-child interaction scores at six months and developmental outcomes at 12 months were observed only in the TL group. However, in the EL group, higher levels of infant positive affect and attentiveness paid to the caregiver is associated with lower autism symptoms. Due to the sample size and design of the study, the findings must be viewed as indicative.ConclusionThis preliminary investigation demonstrated differences in the association between parent-child interaction quality and developmental outcomes for children with typical and elevated likelihood for autism. Future studies should combine micro-analytic and macro-analytic approaches to parent-child interaction to further examine the nature of this relationship.     

Improving the quality of parental interaction with very low birth weight children: A longitudinal study using a Mediated Learning Experience model

Cognitive performance of 3-year-old, very low birth weight children (N = 42) was found to be more significantly related to the quality of parent-child interaction than to early measures of cognitive performance or measures of developmental risk such as birth weight and APGAR. The subjects were randomly divided into an intervention and a control group. The intervention group was visited at home, infrequently, by a mediator who identified basic criteria of quality of parent-child interaction and provided the parents with feedback on the quality of interaction with their own children. The intervention procedure continued for 7 months. The extent of a family's participation in the intervention varied depending upon the initial quality of parent-child interaction and the amount of time it took a family to reach criteria. Quality of parent-child interaction and children's cognitive performance were pretested and reassessed 3 years after the intervention. The sample was reduced to 29 due to attrition over time. Parental behavior following the intervention had changed significantly with respect to all criteria. Parents who had received intervention, as compared to the control group parents, provided their children with more behaviors related to focusing attention, exciting and rewarding, expanding children's understanding of the world around them, preplanning and regulating behavior. Three years after the relatively unintensive intervention, parents continued to show significant gains in quality of mediation. Differences were found between parents of Small for Gestational Age (SGA) and Appropriate for Gestational Age (AGA) children in favor of the SGA group. In children's cognitive performance, scores of the intervention group on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) were significantly higher than those of the control group. On other cognitive measures, a consistent trend in favor of the intervention group was noted. More children in the control as compared to the experimental group were rated by their parents as having difficulties with language, fine motor, and sociability skills 3 years after the intervention.     

A Review of: “Treating Chronic Illness: A Biosocial Therapy Approach”

Abstract

This article suggests that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is frequently misdiagnosed, even overdiagnosed, and provides an alternative way of viewing such problem behaviors in children. It presents a framework, based on systems and attachment theory, that views children's behaviors within the context of the parent-child attachment patterns, and it suggests interventions that shift the focus from the child to the parent-child interaction.