Capturing touch in parent–infant interaction: A comparison of methods

Autor(en)
Alicja Brzozowska, Matthew R. Longo, Denis Mareschal, Frank Wiesemann, Teodora Gliga
Abstrakt

Naturally occurring high levels of caregiver touch promote offspring development in many animal species. Yet, caregiver touch remains a relatively understudied topic in human development, possibly due to challenges of measuring this means of interaction. While parental reports (e.g., questionnaires, diaries) are easy to collect, they may be subject to biases and memory limitations. In contrast, observing touch in a short session of parent-child interaction in the lab may not be representative of touch interaction in daily life. In the present study, we compared parent reports (one-off questionnaires and diary) and observation-based methods in a sample of German 6- to 13-month-olds and their primary caregivers (n = 71). In an attempt to characterize touching behaviors across a broad range of contexts, we measured touch both during play and while the parent was engaged in another activity. We found that context affected both the quantity and types of touch used in interaction. Parent-reported touch was moderately associated with touch observed in parent-child interactions and more strongly with touch used during play. We conclude that brief one-off questionnaires are a good indicator of touch in parent-child interaction, yet they may be biased toward representing particular daily activities and particular types of touch.

Organisation(en)
Externe Organisation(en)
University College London, The Procter and Gamble Company, University of East Anglia, University of London
Journal
Infancy
Band
26
Seiten
494-514
Anzahl der Seiten
21
ISSN
1525-0008
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12394
Publikationsdatum
03-2021
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
501005 Entwicklungspsychologie
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Developmental and Educational Psychology, Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/capturing-touch-in-parentinfant-interaction-a-comparison-of-methods(4be2c7cc-1bfb-4a50-a259-beb0c0dba0a4).html