22nd Annual Student Research Conference
Measuring Parent-Infant Mutual Responsiveness in Dyadic and Triadic Play Interactions
Kenneth L. Raby*, Megan Dwyer, Ji-young Lee, Jaimie L. O'Gara, Breanne A. Palmer, Jennifer D. Schmidt, and Heather L. Talpers
Dr. Sherri A. Palmer, Faculty Mentor
The purpose of this project was to develop a coding system for assessing parent-infant mutual responsiveness in both dyadic and triadic interactions. Researchers created a micro-analytic coding system by examining archival dyadic and triadic play sessions and adapting existing methodologies. Coding occurs in 15-sec intervals. Infant-initiated bids are coded as one of five categories: play, distress, influence, unintentional, or physical bids. Parent-initiated bids are coded as one of four categories: play, affectionate, influence, or physical bids. Responses to each of the parent-initiated and infant-initiated bids are coded using a 5-point responsiveness scale. If a bid does not occur during an interval, coders assign that segment one of three alternate codes: unengaged, mutual engagement, or uncodeable. Preliminary reliability measures obtained from trained coders are promising, with intraclass correlation coefficients greater than 0.80. The work presented here allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the infant-parent relationship than current dyadic-based schemes.
Keywords: child development, parent-infant interactions, family systems, mutual responsiveness, methodology, behavioral coding
Topic(s):Psychology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 3-1
Location: PML
Time: 4:15