Hierarchy of interactive functions in father‐mother‐baby three‐way games

In developmental research, the family has mainly been studied through dyadic interaction. Three‐way interactions have received less attention, partly because of their complexity. This difficulty may be overcome by distinguishing between four hierarchically embedded functions in three‐way interactions: (1) participation (inclusion of all participants), (2) organization (partners keeping to their roles), (3) focalization (sharing a common focus) and (4) affective contact (being in tune). We document this hierarchical model on a sample of 80 families observed in the Lausanne Trilogue Play situation across four different sites. Hierarchy between functions was demonstrated by means of Guttman scalability coefficient. Given the importance of the child's development in a threesome, the pertinence of this model for family assessment is discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Family Alliance Assessment Scales: Steps Toward Validity and Reliability of an Observational Assessment Tool for Early Family Interactions

We present the first steps in the validation of an observational tool for father-mother-infant interactions: the FAAS (Family Alliance Assessment Scales). Family-level variables are acknowledged as unique contributors to the understanding of the socio-affective development of the child, yet producing reliable assessments of family-level interactions poses a methodological challenge. There is, therefore, a clear need for a validated and clinically relevant tool. This validation study has been carried out on three samples: one non-referred sample, of families taking part in a study on the transition to parenthood (normative sample; n = 30), one referred for medically assisted procreation (infertility sample; n = 30) and one referred for a psychiatric condition in one parent (clinical sample; n = 15). Results show that the FAAS scales have (1) good inter-rater reliability and (2) good validity, as assessed through known-group validity by comparing the three samples and through concurrent validity by checking family interactions against parents’ self-reported marital satisfaction.     

Relationships among experience level and value orientation and the performance of paraprofessional telephone counselors

The effectiveness of indigenous paraprofessional helpers is thought to be partially due to the similarity in style and values between then and their clients. However, there is a concern that as they gain experience in an agency, their identification may shift from the clients to the agency. Also, there is a question as to how effective paraprofessionals (selected due to their shared values with a target population) are with value-dissimilar clients. Truax and Carkhuff's scales of facilitative conditions as well as a technique functioning scale were used to assess the helping behavior of paraprofessional telephone counselors at three levels of experience in response to value-similar and value-dissimilar simulated calls. The results indicate that performance generally improved with training and experience and that instead of a uniform deterioration with dissimilar value calls, a complex relationship existed between performance, values, and experience level.     

A BEHAVIORAL MODEL OF INFANT SLEEP DISTURBANCE

Chronic sleep disturbance, such as bed refusal, sleep-onset delay, and night waking with crying, affects 15% to 35% of preschool children. Biological factors, particularly arousals associated with recurrent episodes of rapid-eye-movement sleep, render infants vulnerable to repeated awakenings. Parental failure to establish appropriate stimulus control of sleep-related behaviors and parent-mediated contingencies of reinforcement for sleep-incompatible behaviors may shape and maintain infant sleep disturbance. Treatment and prevention strategies are discussed, and research needs are identified.     

Auditory frequency discrimination in adult developmental dyslexics

Developmental dyslexics reportedly discriminate auditory frequency poorly. A recent study found no such deficit. Unlike its predecessors, however, it employed multiple exposures per trial to the standard stimulus. To investigate whether this affects frequency discrimination in dyslexics, a traditional two-interval same-different paradigm (2I_1A_X) and a variant with six A-stimuli per trial (2I_6A_X) were used here. Frequency varied around 500 Hz; interstimulus interval (ISI) ranged between 0 and 1,000 msec. Under 2I_1A_X, dyslexics always had larger just noticeable differences (JNDs) than did controls. Dyslexic and control JNDs were equal at shorter ISIs under 2I_6A_X, but dyslexics became worse than controls at longer ISIs. Signal detection analysis suggests that both sensory variance and trace variance are larger in dyslexics than in controls.     

The Impact of Breast Cancer Genetic Risk Assessment on Intentions to Perform Cancer Surveillance Behaviors

One hundred and fifty-four women undergoing breast/ovarian cancer genetic risk assessment completed questionnaires at entry into the Cancer Genetic Service for Wales (CGSW) assessment program and following risk provision, mapping the strength of intentions to engage in a number of preventive/surveillance behaviors, including seeing specialists, breast self-examination, and involvement in screening programs, including mammography. A number of potential predictors of intentions were also assessed, including participants' mood and emotional response to receiving risk information, the perceived benefits (in terms of reassurance and early disease detection) of engaging in each preventive behavior, and the perceived desires of their family and General Practitioner. Intentions to self-examine did not change following risk provision, although strength of intentions to engage in some other preventive behaviors did lessen. Family and General Practitioners appeared to be strong social influences on behavioral intentions, as were the perceived benefits of gaining reassurance and/or early detection of disease.     

Sense of Competence and Beliefs About Parental Roles in Mothers and Fathers as Predictors of Coparenting and Child Engagement in Mother–Father–Infant Triadic Interactions

The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which a sense of competence and beliefs about parental roles in mothers and fathers influence coparenting and child engagement in triadic interactions during the first 2 years of the child's life, after other influential variables such as marital satisfaction and postpartum depression have been controlled for. The sample constituted 69 mother–father–infant families, whose sense of competence, beliefs in parental roles, postpartum depression, and marital satisfaction were assessed in our laboratory at 3, 9, and 18 months with self‐reported questionnaires. Coparenting support and conflict and child engagement were assessed with the Lausanne Trilogue Play. Results show that (i) predictors of coparenting and child engagement are not the same at each time point; (ii) a sense of competence in mothers is positively linked with coparenting support, particularly at 3 months, whereas in fathers, it is negatively linked with support, particularly at 18 months; (iii) discrepancies between mothers and fathers in beliefs about the importance of the mother's role is the main predictor of coparenting conflict at 18 months; and (iv) paternal beliefs about the importance of the father's and mother's roles are the main predictor of child engagement at 18 months. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.