Mother-infant interaction and father-infant interaction at three months: a descriptive and comparative study

Abstract

The present study aims to describe and compare interactive behaviors of mother-infant and father-infant dyads, in free interaction and in the Face-to-Face Still-Face (FFSF) procedure, at three-month old babies. The study will include 10 mother-infant and 10 father-infant dyads identified in the charts of an extension project that follows the development of infants during the first year of life. The FFSF consists of a nine-minute shoot of the interaction of each parent with the baby, divided into three episodes of three minutes each. In episodes one and three, the participating parent will be requested to interact with their baby as they are accustomed to do in other contexts. In episode two, the parent will be instructed to stop responding to the baby's requests. The baby behaviors emitted during the FFSF will be coded into three categories: positive social orientation, negative expression and regulation, composed of subcategories. For the maternal and paternal behaviors, a protocol will be used that classifies the behaviors in positive social orientation and negative expression, also composed by subcategories. The dyads will also be filmed in free interaction and, for that moment, toys will be made available. The behaviors of the dyad emitted during the free interaction will be analyzed through the Revised Mother-Child Interaction Coding System. Regardless of the protocol, the analyzes will be done in intervals of five seconds and, later, statistical analyzes will be carried out with pertinent tests. Studying mother-baby and father-baby interactions allows planning interventions that optimize positive interactions and increase their effects on child development.