parent-child interactions Flashcards
What do we know about typical parent-child interactions?
There is an essential need for the formation of an attachment relationship
- creates a solid foundation for all future social relationships
- If either the child or the parent lacks the ability to engage with or respond to the other adequately, the quality of the relationship may deteriorate.
- Compensatory strategies may be employed by either the child or the parent to establish adequate reciprocity and emotional nurturance
In infancy, social competence may be defined in terms of the quality of the parent-child relationship
Evidence that the infant is attuned to parent from an early age
E.g., Still face paradigm: sensitivity to mother’s emotions
Child attachment styles to parent
- Strange Situation to assess quality of child attachment to caregiver
- Secure, insecure, avoidant, ambivalent/resistant
Attachment and attunement to parent may affect joint attention and learning
- Dyadic
– 0-9 months - Parent –child
- Child-object
- Triadic interactions
– 9-12 months - Coordinated Parent –child-object
Pointing in triadic interactions
- Imperative point
– When they need something out of reach - obtaining something for self
- Declarative point
– Interest in an object or person - sharing attention and interest with another
- Why is the distinction important in the context of parent-child interaction?
Social referencing: Sharing with but also learning from parent
Taking cues from parent for emotional reactions in potentially ambiguous or fearful situations
Joint attention encourages development in a few areas
- Language (e.g., labeling objects; vocabulary)
- Social-emotional (e.g., “reading” a social-emotional situation)
- Cognitive (e.g., theory of mind)
How are children with DD different to parent?
- Emotional reaction to parent
- Attachment to parent
- Joint attention to parent
- How does the parent react differently to a child with DD?
- *Recall lecture 3 on genetics gene-environment interactions evocative interaction
What is syndrome specific effects on parenting?
- Each child with DD has a different cognitive, social and emotional profile and will elicit different reactions from their parents.
- E.g., child with Down syndrome versus child with William’s syndrome
– *Recall lecture 3 on genetics gene-environment interactions evocative interaction
Etiology/syndrome specific effects on parenting
historical view
The study of parent-child interactions in DD: What can it teach us?
- The role of the parent, parenting style on child’s developmental outcome
- The role of the child, child temperament/behaviour, etiology specific profile on parental efficacy and well being
- Alternative/specific parenting strategies needed to match the child’s developmental profile
- The specific interventions needed for parent and child to improve the match
- Helps us understand diversity in outcome even in children with similar condition(s)
The Barnard Model of parent-child interaction
Caregiver/Parent Characteristics
*Sensitivity to cues
*Alleviation of Distress
*Providing Growth-Fostering Situations
Infant/Child Characteristics
*Clarity of Cues
*Responsiveness to Caregiver/Parent
Attunement to child
- If a child points to a toy on a shelf and appears excited
– Example of attunement
attentional
emotional
cognitve (perspective taking)
– Example of lack of attunement
The parent-child interaction cycle and the potential effects of DD
- healthy attachment:
- behavioural synchrony
- turn taking
- reciprocity
- Infants with DD
– may show less predictability, clarity and frequency in social cueing
– show fewer approach behaviors, less persistence, lower thresholds for sensory stimulation and more passivity during play
– Parents are more likely to misinterpret, over-interpret and/or occasionally miss cues - may lead to a lack of synchrony or compatibility in the interaction.
Increased structure and guidance in parenting
can lead to:
– improved functional use of objects
– compliance with requests
– increased activity during play
- However, Under these conditions, parents may focus their attention to structuring, scaffolding and controlling the interaction and less on emotional attachment
- may disrupt the synchrony between the parent and child
– Greater risk for insecure attachment
Quality of parentchild relationship: child characteristic and community supports
- The quality of parent-child interactions may vary as a function of child characteristics
- Emotional responsiveness
- Lethargy, poor muscle tone
- Readability of cues
- Attention to cues
- The quality of parent-child interactions may vary as a function of family and community resources and supports
- Within the first year parents
- make sense of a host of medical and other diagnostic information on DD
- procure specialized professionals and services
- procure resources to finance such services
- possibly experience negative attitudes from health professionals and others in their social networks, particularly with regard to expectations about their child’s future
Adjusting to child characteristics
- Mothers of children with DS provide more directives in their social interactions
– This may limit children’s development of executive function
– Attachment
* Muted or less readable distress upon separation
* Less need for consoling
– Joint attention
* Less frequent
Maladjustment to child characteristics
Harsh parenting
- Greater risk of behaviour problems
Inconsistent parenting
- Insecure attachment
- poorer social skills
Bio-anthropological perspective on parenting children with DD
- Parental investment in offspring
– Parents show different levels of investment in offspring depending on different situational characteristics and characteristics in the offspring - Availability of resources (food, shelter, dependable mate)
- Signs of health and reproductive fitness
- In order to promote their genetic lineage
– Implications for children with DD (e.g., foster care, neglect)
- Parental preparedness (expectations, prototype for healthy offspring)
– Expectations leading to differences in behaviour
– What does identical twin sisters study show? (One has autism the other doesn’t) - Parent does not receive reinforcement from child (who was later diagnosed with autism). The dyadic interaction was different than twin sibling (e.g., less eye contact, sharing of attention and enjoyment )
Cues that may influence parent behaviour
- Baby crying (communicative signal)
- Baby has attractive features
Parental Insightfulness may buffer effect of DD on attachment
- Positively insightful
– Considering underlying motives of the child’s behaviour
– Holding on to an emotionally complex view of the child
– Showing openness to new and unexpected information about the child
Naturalistic fallacy
- Because it happens does not mean it’s right or morally desirable
– Unconscious processes
– Can inform decisions about intervention/support for parents during vulnerable times
What does the bio-anthropological perspective on parenting teach us about parenting children with DD?
- To be aware of potential risks that affect both the child and parent (mostly the parent-child interaction over time) and areas for prevention or intervention
- Examples: Parents need support to parent child with DD
– Financial and emotional
– To avoid risk of abuse/neglect
– Respite
The Down syndrome advantage
- Parents of children with Down syndrome have better experience parenting as compared to parents of other types of DD (e.g., autism)
- Child or other factors involved?
– Child characteristics (e.g., social motivation and engagement is high, fewer behaviour problems)
– Parents may be older and more prepared to deal with child issues
