Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mother-child interactions'

Within the context of increasing prevalence of childhood obesity over a number of decades, alongside a trend towards increasingly 'obesogenic' environments, this thesis explored cross-sectional and prospective relationships between maternal feeding behaviour and child adiposity at age one year and at age five years. The research aims were addressed over two empirical studies. Study 1 collected data on breastfeeding through structured interviews with mothers (N=290) of one-year-old infants, observed mother-infant feeding interactions, and measured infant weight and length. Study 2 followed up the same sample (N=197) through a survey at age five, to examine cross-sectional relationships between maternal feeding behaviours (both practices and styles), child eating behaviours, and child adiposity (Study 2 Part A) as well as longitudinal associations with breastfeeding, maternal feeding behaviours and adiposity in infancy (Study 2 Part B). Age five height and weight were provided by a child health administrative database. Several limitations in the current knowledge base were also addressed, including the over-reliance on maternal self-report of feeding behaviour, the relative paucity of research examining the role of breastfeeding, and the lack of prospective studies beginning in infancy. Overall, findings suggest that feeding practices may be a response to child attributes (in terms of adiposity and eating behaviour), rather than a cause. Further, feeding practices are distinguishable from 'feeding styles', which are established early and may not function as a response to child attributes. Findings suggest that breastfeeding may promote a more responsive feeding style, as mothers are accustomed to sharing control over food intake with their child. This effect may extend into later infancy, during the transition to family meals and self-feeding, and may, in turn, facilitate appetite regulation over the short- and longer-term, which protects against excess weight gain.

Pain is influenced by biological, social, emotional and cognitive factors. Emotions are not simply a consequence of pain but rather a fundamental part of the pain experience. In addition, the social context cannot be isolated when constructing the meaning of the child’s pain, and in understanding the influence of mother-child interactions on children’s physiology. This research consists of two studies, study one investigated the relationship between anxiety, depression and physical functioning in children and adolescents experiencing chronic pain. The participants were 73 childen and adolescents who were referred to either the Children’s Pain Management Clinic at the Royal Children’s Hospital or the Sydney Westmead Children’s Hospital aged between 7-18 years old. The results indicated that these young people were reporting anxiety and depression within the normal range with significant anxiety and depression levels both below prevalent rates found in the normal population. Furthermore, depression but not anxiety was associated with increasing leves of physical disablity in children and adolescents. This led to the investigation of the relationship between maternal emotions on children and adolescents’ anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms and physical functioing in children and adolescents experiencing chronic pain. Study two investigated the association of maternal and child emotions in children and adolescents with chronic pain. Participants included 62 mothers and 62 children and adolescents between the ages of 7-18 years (M=13). Mothers’ emotional distress (empathy, emotional involvement, and distress) was examined as a significant factor to be associated with children’s pain sensitive temperament and functional outcomes (anxiety, depression, somatisation, and physical functioning). Children’s perceptual sensitivity and avoidance of sensation, which are components of children’s pain sensitive temperament, were investigated in relation to children’s ability to regulate emotions. The association between maternal and child emotional regulation and children’s functional outcomes was also explored. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing children’s somatisation, their own difficulties with having a child with persisting pain and an empathy scale. Mothers also completed a semi-structured interview by Katz and Gottman (1991) the Meta-Emotion Interview which discusses mothers’ awareness of their own and their child’s emotions, mothers acceptance of their own and their child’s emotions, the regulation of their own and their child’s emotions and coaching of their child’s emotions. Children and adolescents completed quesionnaires measuring anxiety, depression, emotional involvement, somatisation and pain sensitive temperament. The results indicated low maternal emotional regulation was significantly associated with children's depression, anxiety and somatisation scores, whilst children’s emotional regulation was associated with children’s anxiety and depression, but not with somatisation scores. Maternal emotional distress was associated with children's pain sensitive temperament, emotional distress and reduced physical functioning. Furthermore, emotional regulation in children was associated with children's pain sensitive temperaments. It is proposed that young people with chronic pain may have a biological vulnerability to respond to stress and traumatic events as pain, and pain related symptoms. This biological sensitivity may be associated with children’s threshold of pain, whereby children’s perceptual sensitivity may be associated with reporting of somatic complaints. Thus, maternal emotions and social factors may be associated with children’s somatosensory processing and the chronic pain experience.

The study examined Latino/Hispanic mother-child interactions and shared book reading behaviors before and after participation in a random-assignment Spanish web-based responsive parenting intervention called Play and Learning Strategies (ePALS), as compared with a Spanish web-based developmental assessment intervention (DAS). The efficacy of PALS was previously demonstrated for improving mother and child behaviors within play contexts, everyday activities, and standardized measures of child language. We did not observe statistical changes in mother-child interactions as measured by the Bilingual Child-Mother Coder Impression; but changes were observed in shared reading interactions as measured by the Adult-Child Interactive Reading Inventory. Mothers enrolled in ePALS slightly increased some reading interactive behaviors, while mothers enrolled in DAS decreased on the use of interactive reading skills. Children enrolled in ePALS significantly increased in their use of interactive reading behaviors, while children’s interactive reading skills in the DAS conditions decreased. These results add to the dual language learners’ literature base, but also add to the supporting importance of targeting responsive behaviors in everyday activities such as shared-reading to facilitate children’s development. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

This thesis examines how mothers, as primary caretakers, might promote the development of critical thinking of their 4- and 5-year-olds. Interest in critical thinking in very young children can be traced back to the early years of the 20th century with views expressed by philosophers such as John Dewey and John Stuart Mill that were in favour of giving young children opportunities that might encourage their free expression and inquiring, critical nature in the school context. Educators like Frobel and Montessori who developed programs for kindergartens worked on similar assumptions. However, how the home environment especially maternal support might foster the development of critical thinking in young children has received only minimal attention. The rise of the critical thinking movement in the 1970s enhanced the conceptualization of critical thinking, and how to assess the critical thinking ability. But studies of the precursors of critical thinking in young children received only minimal attention. Two theoretical perspectives, the constructivist and the socio-cultural, represented by their most authoritative figures, Piaget and Vygotsky, respectively, have provided the conceptual basis for this research. While Piaget viewed children’s cognition as developing through active construction while dealing with concrete, practical problems, Vygotsky considered children’s cognitive development as evolving through the internalization of interactions with more able people in their immediate environment. In this thesis, Piaget’s approach to investigating children’s higher thinking processes was applied to the design of tasks that assessed critical thinking features in very young children whilst Vygotsky’s notion of the zone of proximal development was used to design the overall intervention program to develop very young children’s critical thinking through meaningful interactions with their mothers. How critical thinking in young children might develop through mothers’ interaction strategies was investigated in the context of Indonesian participants in their home settings. In that cultural context, critical thinking is not nurtured, and even children’s curiosity is often regarded as irritating by adults. The challenge for this study, therefore, was to design a program that would challenge the mothers’ personal and cultural assumptions and to empower them to support the development of critical thinking in their young children. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated against whether and, if so, how the children’s precursors of critical thinking improved across the intervention period. The main contributions this study was expected to make are: (1) advance the conceptualization of the nature of critical thinking in very young children (2) develop and test innovative methods to identify the features of critical thinking in very young children; and (3) identifying how mothers, having been empowered through the metacognitive program, may promote the development of critical thinking in very young children. The nature of critical thinking in very young children was operationalised through two different assessment methods specifically developed for this purpose. One was a dynamic qualitative assessment where each child interacted with his or her mother in a teaching-learning setting. The other consisted of a series of quantitative, Piagetian-like assessments, using play settings. The research used a pre- and post-intervention control group design in order to allow for comparisons both within-subjects, across the intervention period, and between-subjects as another group of mother-child pairs served as control receiving no intervention. The findings revealed that very young children are able to show precursors of critical thinking consisting of both cognitive and affective elements, such as questioning, authentication, moral reasoning, and appropriate emotion. Features indicating inhibitors of critical thinking (such as passivity and over-compliance) were also found. Through the intervention program, the experimental group mothers learned to notice, encourage and support children's attempts at inquiry as the children grappled with making sense of their environment. Although the precursors of critical thinking identified before the intervention continued to develop over time due to maturation (as shown by the performance of the control group children), the experimental group children performed even better over time. In addition, the mothers of children with better performance in critical thinking tasks were observed to emphasize informing and reasoning, and to enjoy interacting with their children, rather than pressuring or commanding them. This research has highlighted conceptual and methodological issues in identifying and assessing very young children’s critical thinking, as well as the educational implications for the promotion of children’s critical thinking at home and in schools through similar metacognitive programs for parents and teachers. More research into the assessment of very young children’s critical thinking in different settings and with persons other than mothers is indicated, as is a focus on other factors that may influence the development of critical thinking.

This thesis examines how mothers, as primary caretakers, might promote the development of critical thinking of their 4- and 5-year-olds. Interest in critical thinking in very young children can be traced back to the early years of the 20th century with views expressed by philosophers such as John Dewey and John Stuart Mill that were in favour of giving young children opportunities that might encourage their free expression and inquiring, critical nature in the school context. Educators like Frobel and Montessori who developed programs for kindergartens worked on similar assumptions. However, how the home environment especially maternal support might foster the development of critical thinking in young children has received only minimal attention. The rise of the critical thinking movement in the 1970s enhanced the conceptualization of critical thinking, and how to assess the critical thinking ability. But studies of the precursors of critical thinking in young children received only minimal attention. Two theoretical perspectives, the constructivist and the socio-cultural, represented by their most authoritative figures, Piaget and Vygotsky, respectively, have provided the conceptual basis for this research. While Piaget viewed children’s cognition as developing through active construction while dealing with concrete, practical problems, Vygotsky considered children’s cognitive development as evolving through the internalization of interactions with more able people in their immediate environment. In this thesis, Piaget’s approach to investigating children’s higher thinking processes was applied to the design of tasks that assessed critical thinking features in very young children whilst Vygotsky’s notion of the zone of proximal development was used to design the overall intervention program to develop very young children’s critical thinking through meaningful interactions with their mothers. How critical thinking in young children might develop through mothers’ interaction strategies was investigated in the context of Indonesian participants in their home settings. In that cultural context, critical thinking is not nurtured, and even children’s curiosity is often regarded as irritating by adults. The challenge for this study, therefore, was to design a program that would challenge the mothers’ personal and cultural assumptions and to empower them to support the development of critical thinking in their young children. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated against whether and, if so, how the children’s precursors of critical thinking improved across the intervention period. The main contributions this study was expected to make are: (1) advance the conceptualization of the nature of critical thinking in very young children (2) develop and test innovative methods to identify the features of critical thinking in very young children; and (3) identifying how mothers, having been empowered through the metacognitive program, may promote the development of critical thinking in very young children. The nature of critical thinking in very young children was operationalised through two different assessment methods specifically developed for this purpose. One was a dynamic qualitative assessment where each child interacted with his or her mother in a teaching-learning setting. The other consisted of a series of quantitative, Piagetian-like assessments, using play settings. The research used a pre- and post-intervention control group design in order to allow for comparisons both within-subjects, across the intervention period, and between-subjects as another group of mother-child pairs served as control receiving no intervention. The findings revealed that very young children are able to show precursors of critical thinking consisting of both cognitive and affective elements, such as questioning, authentication, moral reasoning, and appropriate emotion. Features indicating inhibitors of critical thinking (such as passivity and over-compliance) were also found. Through the intervention program, the experimental group mothers learned to notice, encourage and support children's attempts at inquiry as the children grappled with making sense of their environment. Although the precursors of critical thinking identified before the intervention continued to develop over time due to maturation (as shown by the performance of the control group children), the experimental group children performed even better over time. In addition, the mothers of children with better performance in critical thinking tasks were observed to emphasize informing and reasoning, and to enjoy interacting with their children, rather than pressuring or commanding them. This research has highlighted conceptual and methodological issues in identifying and assessing very young children’s critical thinking, as well as the educational implications for the promotion of children’s critical thinking at home and in schools through similar metacognitive programs for parents and teachers. More research into the assessment of very young children’s critical thinking in different settings and with persons other than mothers is indicated, as is a focus on other factors that may influence the development of critical thinking.

Researchers have long argued the importance of shared book reading and its potential impact on future reading growth. With the increasing popularity of e-books and the introduction of interactive iPad books, more and more parents are sharing books with their children in digital format. This may have a direct impact on the nature of the interactions that occur during young children's early book sharing experiences. This multiple-case study examined the nature of the interactions between six mother-child dyads as they read a story on an iPad compared with the interactions that happened during a traditional book reading. A coding system was developed to categorize behaviors during the reading sessions. The categories included (a) meaning talk, (b) text and print talk, (c) technology talk, and (d) the nature of the affective climate.The results of this study indicate that mother-child traditional read-alouds and digital iPad read-alouds are different experiences. During digital readings there was an increase in the number of vocabulary-related (a subcategory of meaning) interactions but a decrease in the number of interactions related to text and print. The results also showed that as the dyad shared a digital storybook, they engaged in many interactions about the technological elements of the iPad texts, which may be important to the development of digital literacies in young children. The findings also indicate that a child is more engaged with digital texts than with traditional texts, which is important because engagement is an essential component in literacy development. However, sometimes the child's increased engagement with the digital texts resulted in both members of the dyad being less sensitive to the other. Digital storybook reading is a relatively new experience for many parents and thus, they may not know how to interact with their children in ways that promote the development of traditional and digital literacies.

Little is known about how maternal positive affect (PA) relates to maternal patterns of emotion socialization about positive emotions. The current study examined the hypothesis that mothers’ self-reported PA, independent of their negative affect (NA), is associated with increased and more appropriate modeling of verbal and nonverbal expressions of positive emotions in mothers. I examined associations between self-reported maternal PA and behaviors during video-taped discussions of times when the mothers and children were happy in 53 healthy mother-child dyads. These tapes were coded using standard observational coding schemes. Results suggest that mothers with higher ratings of PA, independent of NA, positively predicted levels of observed maternal positive involvement and communication while reminiscing. Maternal PA was unrelated to observed dyadic mutual enjoyment, positive emotion words and teaching during mother-child reminiscing. Results add to the existing literature on positive psychology in important ways. Theoretical implications for understanding positive emotions are discussed.

Nineteen mothers of elementary-aged (5--12 years old) piano students were videotaped once a week supervising their children's piano practice at home for three consecutive weeks. Children were assigned a new piece to work on one week prior to the commencement of the study. A 12-minute segment from the 57 practice sessions (19 parent-child pairs, across 3 practice sessions) was viewed three times by the investigator and by two expert piano pedagogues: one time to record parent behaviors, a second time to record child behaviors, and a third time to note the parent and child's practice approach and to rate the effectiveness of the practice sessions. Three piano pedagogues also rated the quality of each child's uninterrupted performance. Mothers recorded in a practice log the amount of time they spent assisting their children. At the conclusion of the treatment period, the investigator interviewed mothers and children individually.
The main results of the study were as follows: (1) mothers were more likely not to show any observable behavior during their children's practice session than they were to show any specific behavior; (2) the majority of time in practice sessions was spent playing the instrument without any verbal or physical interruption; (3) children frequently practiced without any specific structure in their practice procedure, nor with any specific directives from their mothers; (4) mothers with little or no musical training practiced more efficiently with their children than did mothers who had a moderate to high level of musical training; (5) the children of mothers who had little or no musical training received higher performance ratings than the children of mothers who had a moderate to high level of musical training; (6) high performance quality ratings were associated with high ratings for practice effectiveness; (7) longer practice times resulted in higher performance quality ratings; (8) longer practice times were associated with more efficient practice sessions; and (9) 85% of children said that they enjoyed practicing with their mothers.

The number of Latino families in the United States is increasing dramatically. For some of the children in these families, the acquisition of reading skills is hampered by inadequate early language development. Early language development is a key predictor of reading success. Identifying ways in which parents in these families can help children acquire early language skills will better prepare them for acquiring reading skills. This study used a new parenting measure, PICCOLO, to identify parenting behaviors that are related to children's language development. The primary focus of this project was on Spanish-speaking Latino families, but a group of English-speaking European-American families was used as a contrast group. Parenting behaviors, parenting differences between cultures, and relations between PICCOLO data and children's language outcomes were explored. Results indicated that there were fewer correlations between parenting behaviors of Latino parents and children's language than there were between European American parents and children's behavior. Behaviors that were related to children's language for Latino families were combined into a factor that significantly predicted children's language. The behaviors that made up this factor seemed to be from an aspect of parenting that could be described as "hands-off responsiveness."

Parents' perceptions of their child's behavior may differ for mothers and fathers. Differences in parental perception may also be apparent in cases of special needs adoptive families with high demands of their child for time, interventions and attention. This paper examines the differences in mother-child and father-child interactions, child behavior as reported by mothers, and fathers and changes in both after participation in an intervention program. Results suggest notable differences between mothers' and fathers' parent-child interaction scores and reports of child behavior. In addition, interaction scores and behavior reports showed some correlations. Finally, there seemed to be notable differences in the trends for the Child Behavior Checklist compared to the two attachment measures (Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire and Beech Brook Attachment Disorder Checklist). Several possible explanations for mother and father differences are discussed.

Background: Pregnancy and allergic disease have both been postulated as T-helper 2 (Th2) phenomena. Thus, the increased propensity of allergic mothers to mount Th2-responses might generate favourable effects on the maintenance of pregnancy, but might also be unfavorable, as fetal exposure to a strong Th2 environment could influence the immune development in the offspring to a Th2-like phenotype, favouring IgE production and possibly allergy development later in life. The influence of the intrauterine environment on the immunity and allergy development in the offspring needs to be further investigated. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to explore the Th1/Th2 balance in allergic and non-allergic women during pregnancy and its influence on the shaping of the Th1/Th2 profile in the neonate and the development of allergic diseases in the offspring. Material and methods: The study group included 20 women with and 36 women without allergic symptoms followed during pregnancy (gestational week 10-12, 15-16, 25, 35, 39) and 2 and 12 months postpartum, and their children followed from birth to 6 years of age. The circulating Th1-like chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, Th2-like chemokines CCL17, CCL18 and CCL22, and the allergen-induced secretion of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), CXCL10 and CCL17 were measured by Luminex and ELISA. The allergen-specific and total IgE levels were quantified using ImmunoCAP Technology. mRNA expression of Th1-, Th2-, Treg- and Th17-associated genes were measured by PCR arrays and real-time PCR. Results: We found that sensitised women with allergic symptoms had increased total IgE levels and birch- and cat-induced IL-5, IL-13 and CCL17 responses during pregnancy as compared with postpartum. The non-sensitised women without allergic symptoms had elevated cat-induced IL-5 and IL-13 responses and lower birch- and cat-induced IFN-γ during pregnancy, but similar IgE levels as compared with postpartum. Maternal total IgE levels during and after pregnancy correlated with cord blood (CB) IgE and CCL22 levels (regardless of maternal allergy status). Circulating CXCL11, CCL18 and CCL22 levels during pregnancy and postpartum correlated with the corresponding chemokine levels in the offspring at various time points during childhood. Maternal IL-5 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was associated with neonatal Galectin-1, and placental p35 expression was negatively associated with neonatal Tbx21 expression. Increased mRNA expression of CCL22 in cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMC), and increased CCL17 and CCL22 levels in CB were observed in children later developing allergic symptoms and sensitisation as compared with children who did not. Development of allergic symptoms and sensitisation were associated with increased total IgE, CCL17, CCL18 and CCL22 levels during childhood. Conclusions: Maternal allergy was associated with a pronounced Th2 deviation during pregnancy, shown as increased total IgE levels and birch- and cat-induced IL-5, IL-13 and CCL17 responses during pregnancy, possibly exposing their fetuses to a particular strong Th2 environment during gestation. Correlations were shown between the maternal immunity during pregnancy and the offspring’s immunity at birth and later during childhood, indicating an interplay between the maternal and fetal immunity. Allergy development during the first 6 years of life was associated with a marked Th2 deviation at birth and a delayed down-regulation of this Th2-skewed immunity during childhood.

The present research expanded on the literature investigating mother-child feeding and playing interactions during the transition to self-feeding (18-30 months) in the preterm population. Maternal and infant factors were also considered. A total of 69 mother-child dyads (44 preterm and 25 full-term) participated in the research. Assessments took place at 18, 24, and 30 months of the child. At each assessment, mother-child interactions during feeding (Study 1) and during a doll-play (DP) situation representing feeding (Study 2) were video recorded and later coded, respectively through the SVIA (Ammaniti et al., 2006) and the EAS (Biringen, 2008). Moreover, the child’s development was assessed through the Griffiths Scale (Griffiths, 1996, 2006) and mothers filled the BDI-II (Beck & Steer, 1996), the STAI (Spielberg, 1983), and an anamnestic questionnaire built Ad-Hoc. Results of Study 1 showed a greater occurrence of dysfunctional feeding interactions in the preterm compared to the full-term group from 18 to 30 months. Specifically, preterm dyads reported greater maternal negative affective state, greater interactional conflict and lower dyadic reciprocity. Moreover, a significantly lower percentage of children in the preterm group reached eating autonomy compared to the full-term group during the 18-30 months period. Furthermore, adverse past feeding history (difficult breastfeeding and reflux) and lower total scores on the Griffiths were associated to a higher risk of child’s food refusal. Results of Study 2 showed that the preterm group displayed lower emotional availability than the full-term group during mother-child DP interactions from 18 to 30 months, with lower maternal sensitivity, greater maternal intrusiveness, and lower child’s involvement. These findings indicate that special attention should be paid to support mother-child interactions during the transition to self-feeding in the preterm population in order to foster the mother-child relationship and promote the child’s healthy eating behavior and affective development.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-87). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

The intent of this thesis was to study, in depth, the experiences of four adolescent mothers who underwent a home intervention program. I studied two mothers who did well with teaching their 12-month old children during play, and two mothers who did not do as well. All four mothers received weekly intervention from the time of their child's birth through 12-months of age. I studied the following variables: 1) how much time the home visitors spent on selected child development and parenting topics; 2) the mother's perceived social support; 3) how many community resources the mother used; and 4) if the infant was healthy and within normal developmental range. All of the mothers struggled in their lives, yet varied in the quality and time of most of the variables. It was striking how different each one was from the other. The implications of the study are important for child development specialists who can use the qualitative data within this document to better understand first time adolescent mothers in order to improve the outcomes of the home visitation services that they provide to mothers and infants. After spending time studying these four adolescent mothers, I would recommend that adolescent women not get pregnant. Adolescence is a time that is meant for experiences and self-discovery and should be spent free from a dependent child who critically needs them. Future research and funding should be spent on preventing adolescent pregnancy and ensuring that flexible curriculum be utilized by the home visitors in order to meet the varying needs of adolescent mothers.
B.S.
Bachelors
Education and Human Performance
Early Childhood Development

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior
Como toda crise de desenvolvimento, a gravidez desequilibra o ciclo de vida do indivÃduo. Para a mulher portadora de HIV/aids, a este desequilÃbrio da geraÃÃo de um filho acrescentam-se as especificidades da soropositividade. Dessa forma, vÃrios podem ser os fatores que influenciam a relaÃÃo entre mÃe HIV positiva e seu filho. Por ser a comunicaÃÃo nÃo-verbal o tipo de linguagem predominante na relaÃÃo entre mÃe e filho, a presente pesquisa objetivou analisar a comunicaÃÃo nÃo-verbal mÃe-filho na vigÃncia do HIV materno em ambiente experimental. Estudo descritivo-explorÃtorio desenvolvido com cinco binÃmios cuja mÃe era sabidamente HIV positivo, em ambiente simulado no LaboratÃrio de ComunicaÃÃo em SaÃde, localizado no Departamento de Enfermagem, no segundo semestre de 2007. Utilizou-se a filmagem como recurso de coleta de dados. Cada mÃe foi filmada uma Ãnica vez, no desenvolvimento dos cinco principais cuidados maternos: troca de roupa, banho, alimentar, ninar e brincar. A cada trinta segundos, os vÃdeos foram analisados por dois juÃzes, os quais preenchiam roteiro de observaÃÃo baseado em aspectos referentes à comunicaÃÃo nÃo-verbal e à teoria do Apego. Os dados foram analisados mediante utilizaÃÃo de testes estatÃsticos apropriados e as anÃlises foram confrontadas com a histÃria de vida do binÃmio. Foram observados alguns fatores ligados à soropositividade que influenciaram a comunicaÃÃo nÃo-verbal entre mÃe e filho, a saber: o diagnÃstico recente de soropositividade, a discriminaÃÃo sofrida por portar o HIV, o medo de repreensÃo no cuidado ao filho e o desejo de cuidar do seu bebà cujo diagnÃstico ainda à incerto, valendo-se de outros estÃmulos nÃo-verbais para suprir a falta do contato da crianÃa ao seio. Como se percebe, a filmagem em ambiente simulado provavelmente influenciou o comportamento materno no cuidado ao filho. Quanto à comunicaÃÃo nÃo-verbal durante os cuidados maternos foi verificado que o brincar à a atividade de maior interaÃÃo entre mÃe e filho. Nesta atividade predomina a variedade de signos comunicativos, principalmente iniciados pela mÃe, como forma de estimular o filho pequeno no desenvolvimento de habilidade e de avaliÃ-lo com vistas a detectar precocemente qualquer anormalidade que poderia sugerir soropositividade ao HIV.
Like all development crisis, pregnancy provokes an unbalance in a personâs life cycle. For an HIV-positive woman, specific aspects of seropositivity add to the unbalance caused by the birth of a child. Thus, there are many factors affecting the relationship between an HIV-positive mother and her child. Non-verbal communication may be the predominant means of communication in mother-child interaction. This study aims at analyzing non-verbal mother-child communication in HIV maternal presence in an experimental environment. Itâs a descriptive- investigative study, developed with five binomials of HIV- positive mothers and it was carried out at the Nursery Department of the Laboratory of Health Communication during the second semester of 2007. Videotaping was used as the main data collection resource. Each mother was videotaped once, performing the five main maternal activities: dressing and undressing the child, bathing, playing, feeding and lulling. Videos were analyzed by two evaluators every thirty seconds, completing an observation plan form based on aspects related to non-verbal communication and the attachment theory. Data was analyzed with adequate statistical tests. Analysis was confronted with each binomialâs life history. Some aspects related to seropositivity that affected mother-child non-verbal communication were observed, such as recent seropositivity diagnosis, discrimination suffered due to being HIV-positive, scolding freight in child care and the desire of looking after the child whose diagnosis is still uncertain using other non-verbal stimuli to compensate for the childâs lack of contact with the motherâs breast. Videotaping in a simulated environment may have affected mother behavior during child care. As for non-verbal communication during child care, it was verified that playing is the most interactive mother-child activity, in which various communicative signs, mainly started by the mother, are predominant as a means to stimulate the small child in skill development and to evaluate him/her for early detection of any abnormality that might suggest HIV seropositivity.

L'étude des interactions précoces est complexe mais essentielle à la compréhension de la psychopathologie de la petite enfance. La négligence émotionnelle est une forme courante mais discrète de maltraitance. Elle correspond à une défaillance chronique de la part du parent à offrir à l'enfant, au sein de leur relation, un environnement affectif suffisamment bon pour son développement. Notre recherche explore les interactions précoces mère-enfant de ces situations de négligence émotionnelle par une approche transdisciplinaire à travers deux dimensions : la synchronie et la mentalisation réflexive maternelle. La synchronie est une caractéristique dyadique et temporelle de l'interaction qui traduit la fluidité et la qualité d'un échange par une adaptation dynamique et réciproque des comportements et états émotionnels des partenaires interactifs. Elle constitue un signal social en soi, facteur de qualité de l'interaction. La mentalisation réflexive, traduction du terme Insightfulness (Oppenheim, 2001), évoque la capacité du parent à prendre le point de vue de l'enfant et à comprendre, de façon empathique, les motivations sous-jacentes à ses comportements. Les objectifs de cette recherche sont (1) d'analyser la dynamique comportementale des interactions précoces en élaborant une méthodologie d'analyse computationnelle et (2) d'évaluer l'influence des capacités maternelles de mentalisation réflexive et notamment de leur dynamique intrapsychique, sur la dynamique interactive, dans les situations de négligence émotionnelle. Des mères et leur enfant de 13 à 38 mois, appartenant au groupe en situation de négligence émotionnelle (N=10) et au groupe contrôle sans trouble des interactions (N=9), sont filmés au cours d'un jeu interactif libre. Les vidéos font l'objet d'une double évaluation clinique et computationnelle. La première permet d'obtenir une évaluation clinique globale de la qualité de l'interaction par le Coding Interactive Behavior (Feldman et Keren 1998; Viaux 2014). La seconde, par les techniques de traitement du signal social, offre l'accès à une micro-analyse computationnelle des mouvements des partenaires et de leurs échanges dyadiques. Dans un second temps, 14 mères (n=7 mères en situation de négligence et n=7 mères sans trouble des interactions) ont visionné des extraits de la vidéo de leurs interactions, au cours d'un entretien semi-structuré, l'Insightfulness Assessment (Oppenheim et Koren-Karie, 2001) afin d'évaluer leurs capacités de mentalisation réflexive. Une analyse additionnelle des verbatim a permis d'accéder à des éléments de la dynamique intrapsychique. Les résultats mettent en évidence de nombreuses corrélations significatives les dimensions du CIB (notamment la sensibilité, l'intrusivité maternelle et la réciprocité dyadique) et la micro-analyse automatique (à travers l'activité du corps de la mère). Par ailleurs, les situations de négligence émotionnelle présentent des difficultés de mentalisation empathique. Les entretiens sont caractérisés par des représentations appauvries de leur enfant et des difficultés d'élaboration autour des affects et de la relation mère enfant. La dynamique intrapsychique, influencée par les problématiques inconscientes, s'associe en partie à la dynamique interactive comportementale. Il apparaît que la compréhension de la qualité de l'interaction peut passer par une observation sur une échelle de temps réduite de la dynamique interactive. Par ailleurs, un entretien avec support vidéo étaye l'élaboration de la mère et favorise une mise en mouvement intrapsychique, pouvant constituer ainsi un levier thérapeutique
Studying early interaction is complex but essential for understanding psychopathology during infancy. Emotional Neglect is a common but insidious form of child maltreatment. It refers to parental failure to give children an emotional environment that allows adequate psychological, cognitive and physical development. We explore mother-infant interaction in these situations following a transdisciplinary approach which consider Synchrony and Insightfulness. Synchrony is a dynamic and reciprocal adaptation of the temporal structure of behaviour and shared affect between interactive partners. It is regarded as a social signal per se. Insightfulness involves the parents' ability to see things from the child point of view and to empathically think about and consider the motives underlying their childrens' behaviour. The aims of this research are (A) to report a novel method to assess features of interactive behavioral dynamics and (B) to assess/underline the impact of Insighfulness, in particular its dynamics, on interactive behavioral dynamics in case/situations of severe emotional neglect. Mothers and children aged from 13 to 38 months (10 in situation of severe emotional neglect and 10 controls) are video recorded during free play. Features of social signal extract by our automatic computational method are compared to qualitative interaction assessment by using the Coding Interactive Behaviour in its French version (Feldman et Keren 1998; Viaux 2014). Secondly, 14 mothers (7 in situation of emotional neglect and 7 without interaction problem) are interviewed during a video-feedback session by using the Insightfulness Assessment (Oppenheim, Koren-Karie, 2001) to assess Insightfulness. An additional qualitative verbatim analysis was performed to explore intrapsychic dynamics. Self-administered questionnaires (BITSEA and Care Support) are proposed to mothers. Results show that individual and synchrony motion features perfectly correlates CIB composite scores trough maternal sensitivity, intrusivity and dyadic reciprocity. Furthermore, pathological mothers are mostly categorised as non-Insighful. Interviews are characterized by poor representations and a lack of elaboration. Intrapsychic dynamics is partly associated with interactive behavioral dynamics. We conclude that computational method might be promising for future studies. It opens an observation window to understand early interactions by changing the time scale. Moreover, interview with a video support seems to underpin maternal elaboration and enhance an intrapsychic movement

Ausgangspunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die gut belegte Assoziation zwischen mütterlicher Depression und ungünstigen emotionalen und behavioralen Folgen für ihre Kinder. Allerdings sind die Faktoren, die zu der transgenerationalen Übertragung der Depression beitragen, noch nicht geklärt. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, zwei möglicherweise dazu beitragende psychologische Faktoren zu untersuchen: (1) Affekterkennung von Gesichtsausdrücken in Mutter-Kind Dyaden und (2) mütterliche emotionale Verfügbarkeit. Dazu wurden drei Studien durchgeführt. Studie I untersucht mittels funktioneller Magnetresonanztomographie (fMRT) unterscheidbare und überlappende Aktivierungsmuster bei gesunden Müttern, während sie fröhliche und traurige Gesichter ihres eigenen Kindes sehen. Studie II verwendet eine Morphing-Aufgabe, um die Affekterkennung in Müttern mit remittierter Depression und ihren Kindern zu untersuchen. In Studie III wird die emotionale Verfügbarkeit von Müttern mit remittierter Depression in einer Verhaltensbeobachtung untersucht. Ergebnisse der Studie I zeigen eine größere Gehirnaktivierung der Mütter bei traurigen eigenen Kindergesichtern in der Amygdala und anterioren Cingulum, hingegen bei fröhlichen im Hippocampus und inferioren Frontalgyrus. Überlappende Aktivierung wurde in der Insula gefunden. Diese Aktivierungsmuster könnten feinfühliges mütterliches Verhalten erleichtern und das Aufrechterhalten der Mutter-Kind Beziehung unterstützen. Ergebnisse von Studie II belegen einen negativen Verarbeitungsbias bei Müttern mit einer remittierten Depression, wobei parallele Veränderungen bei ihren Kindern gefunden wurden. Dies könnte auf einen transgenerationalen Übertragungsprozess hinweisen. Ergebnisse von Studie III zeigen eine verminderte emotionale Verfügbarkeit bei Müttern in Remission, was eine Trait-Eigenschaft darstellen könnte.
Starting point of the present dissertation is the well-established association between maternal depression and adverse emotional and behavioral outcomes in children. The factors contributing to the transgenerational transmission of depression have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this thesis is to investigate two psychological factors that potentially contribute to this transgenerational association: (1) affect recognition of facial expressions in mother-child dyads and (2) maternal emotional availability. Therefore, three studies have been conducted. In study I, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to measure dissociable and overlapping brain activation in healthy mothers, while they view happy, neutral and sad faces of their own child. By using a morphing task, study II tests the hypothesis that affect recognition is biased in mothers with depression in remission and their children. Study III investigates whether emotional availability is reduced in mothers remitted from depression. Study I revealed greater brain activation in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex while mothers viewed sad faces of their own child, whereas greater brain activation was detected in the hippocampus and inferior frontal gyrus in response to happy faces. Conjoint activation was found in the insula. These activations might facilitate sensitive maternal behavior and promote mothers to maintain the mother-child relationship. Findings of study II demonstrate a negative processing bias in mothers with depression in remission, which was paralleled in their children. This finding could possibly point to a process of transgenerational transmission. Results of study III indicate reduced emotional availability in mothers who have remitted from depression, which might represent a trait characteristic of depression.

Maternal depression has a negative impact on child development and the parent-child relationship (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1999). The purpose of this study was to determine the treatment effectiveness of Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) with mothers identified with high levels of depressive symptoms in comparison with mothers with low levels of depressive symptoms and their children with behavior problems. The treatment effectiveness of PCIT was measured by pre- to post-treatment changes in the quality of parent-child relationship and reductions in child behavior problems, maternal depression, and parental stress. Subjects were 23 mothers identified with low levels of depressive symptoms and 26 mothers identified with high levels of depressive symptoms and their children. Findings showed there were improvements at post-treatment for both groups in child behavior problems, the quality of the parent-child relationship, maternal depressive symptoms, and parent stress levels. Mothers in the high depressive symptoms group reported achieving greater treatment gains when compared to the mothers in the low symptom group.

The co-construction of meaning-making during mother-child activity around the concepts of colour and size is considered through the lens of socio-cultural theory. The metaphor of scaffolding is critiqued in relation to its utility for explaining interactions between parent and child in problem-solving activity. Specifically, this thesis offers an investigation of the extent to which Wegerif’s (2011b) notion of ‘dialogic space’ can inform a better understanding of the processes of meaning-making that take place between a mother and her pre-school child. An exploratory, inductive case study was conducted in a pre-school setting with 13 mother-child dyads. The children were 30-36 months old. The dyads were observed while engaged in activities that involved sorting blocks according to their colour and size. Video-recordings of the observations were transcribed and the transcriptions were then subject to a thematic Socio-Cultural Discourse Analysis (SCDA). Also mothers took part in semi-structured interviews, incorporating Video-Stimulated Reflective Dialogue (VSRD). These were used to shed light on the mothers’ perspectives of the activity and informed my analysis of the transcriptions. The theoretical benefits of this thesis include extended theorising about dialogic space by considering the context of parent and pre-school children’s dialogues. It provides significant contributions to educational theory by evidencing how pause and physical and psychological resources can be mobilised by interlocutors to resource their construction of dialogic space during activities with young children. Implications for practice arising from this study include the need for practitioners to be alert to how the theory of dialogic space can inform a better understanding of how young children can be creatively engaged in dialogue in asymmetrical interactions that harness their understanding of colour and size.

Nous avons cherché comment, dans une situation de lecture conjointe, la mère et l’enfant appréhendent l’album de jeunesse et comment, de ce fait, s’instaurent chez l’enfant de 18 mois-36 mois les premières postures de lecteur. Se demander comment la mère et l’enfant découvrent l’album de jeunesse, dans ce triangle Mère/Album/Enfant conduit alors à analyser leurs modes d’appréhension : interactifs, cognitifs, d’objet, narratifs, émotionnels, de subjectivation. Nous étudions également les liens de ces modes d’appréhension avec les postures de lecture de l’enfant et ses conséquences dans l’éveil de son être au livre. Au plan empirique, auprès d’un échantillon constitué de 21 dyades mère-enfant, nous avons procédé en trois temps. Tout d’abord, nous avons réalisé un premier entretien qui nous a permis de recueillir le discours des mères quant aux pratiques familiales de chaque enfant. Dans un second temps, nous avons filmé les dyades, lisant toutes le même album à leur enfant dans une bibliothèque de quartier. Enfin, trois mois après chaque observation filmée, nous avons mené un second entretien qui constituait alors une analyse méta vidéo. A partir des résultats obtenus, nous avons ainsi pu définir la lecture conjointe comme une aire intermédiaire, pouvant s’apparenter à l’Aire Intermédiaire de Winnicott (1971) et à la Zone Proximale de Développement de Vygotski (1933). Nous avons ainsi conceptualisé l’Aire Intermédiaire de Lecture Conjointe (AILC). Nous avons également approfondi, dans une perspective du développement du jeune enfant lecteur, le concept de Lecteur potentiel de Frier (2006)
Our study focuses on the mother /child shared reading experience and how the first reading postures are thereby awakened in the 18 to 26 month old infant. How exactly do the mother and child discover the children’s book? The mother/book/child triangle leads us to an analysis of their mode of apprehension: interactive, cognitive, of the book object, of the narrative, emotional, subjectivity. The link between these different modes of apprehension is also studied along with the child’s reading postures and their consequences on the infant’s discovery of the book. On the empirical level, a sample, consisting of 21 mother/child dyads was studied in three stages. First of all an interview was carried out which allowed us to collect information concerning family practices from the mother of each child. Second, the mother/child dyads were filmed, the mothers all reading the same story to their child in a local library. And lastly, three months after each filmed observation, a second interview consisted in a meta video analysis. The results obtained from this study enabled us to define the joint reading as an intermediary zone, close to Winnicott’s Intermediary Zone (1971) and Vygotski’s Next Proximal Zone of Development (1933). We thus conceptualized the Intermediate Zone of Shared Reading (IZSR). We also went further into Frier’s concept of Potential Reader, keeping in mind the perspective of the development of the infant reader

Children with high levels of ADHD symptoms and conduct problems have difficulties developing social relationships with their peers, and these difficulties have been linked to certain social cognitive biases. The study examined the role of social cognitive biases for these children’s social behaviour within mother-child interactions. 38 children (9-12 years, 63% male) and their mothers participated. Severity of ADHD symptoms and conduct problems varied across children. Social cognitive bias measures included assessment of hostile attribution bias and positive illusory bias. Child social functioning difficulties were observed during mother-child play session. Hierarchical regression models indicated only the positive illusory bias was related to social functioning difficulties among children with high levels of ADHD symptoms and conduct problems (ps <.05). This study extends previous research by demonstrating that the positive illusory bias contributes to child social functioning difficulties within the family among children with high levels of ADHD symptoms and conduct problems.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University
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Judgment methodology was employed to provide a qualitative description of mother/child interaction during infant play. Videoclips of 40 9-month-old infants in a free play situation with their mothers were rated by a panel of 10 judges using a series of 9 point Likert scales. Thirteen qualitative items, grouped into the five different areas of communication, coordination, engagement, affect, and overall quality of interaction, were rated from low or absent (0) to consistently high (8). Each mother/child dyad was assessed on two different segments. The reliability of the scales for assessing the mother/child interaction (mean ratings of 10 judges) ranged from .65 (mismatch) to .81 (mutual responsiveness) with an overall mean effective reliability of .77. There was a high intercorrelation among individual variables and overall quality of the interaction suggesting that no one of the rated qualities was more predictive of the overall mother/child interaction. Differences found in the rated quality of mother/child interaction between the two segments raise questions regarding the validity of conclusions about the overall quality of interaction based on a single short segment. Results are discussed in terms of the psychometric features of the scales and in terms of the mother/child interactional patterns. Suggestions for revising the methodology and the assessment tool are made to improve reliability and validity. More studies are necessary to validate the usefulness of the judgment methodology as an alternative approach to studying the quality of mother/child interaction.
2031-01-01

Cette recherche de thèse propose un travail pluridisciplinaire d’épistémologie de la clinique et d’analyse socio historique de l’émergence et de l’organisation des formes de prise en charge des femmes qui présentent des troubles psychopathologiques et de leur bébé pendant la période périnatale, des conduites thérapeutiques préconisées et des dispositifs de soins mis en place à cette période. Une attention particulière a été portée aux idées, concepts et processus qui ont façonné cette offre de soins récente. L’objet de la recherche se situe donc à l’intersection d’une réflexion clinique (scientifique), institutionnelle (prévention précoce) et organisationnelle (travail en réseau). Prenant la psychologie clinique en actes comme sujet d’étude, il se fonde sur un cadre méthodologique approprié pour produire et analyser une généalogie de savoirs et d’interventions ainsi que des données inédites sur ce que nous appellerons : l’invention, la fabrique d’un nouveau champ intellectuel et de pratiques cliniques qui s’est constitué comme une innovation organisationnelle autour de la prise en charge des vulnérabilités psychiques maternelles pendant la période périnatale
This thesis proposes a multidisciplinary epistemology of the clinic and a socio-historical analysis of the emergence and organization of forms of care for women who present psychopathological disorders and their baby during the perinatal period, professional therapeutic response, and the care arrangements put in place during this period. Particular attention is paid to the ideas, concepts and processes that shape this novel provision of care. The object of this research rests, therefore, at the intersection of clinical (scientific), institutional (early prevention) and organizational (networking) axes. Taking clinical psychology into action as a subject of study, it is based on grounded theory and discourse analysis to produce and analyze a genealogy of knowledge and intervention as well as new data on what we call: the invention, the creation of a new intellectual field and clinical practice that has been constituted as an innovative organizational structure around the management of maternal psychic vulnerabilities during the perinatal period

Children's learning within the home can be characterised by variety in the cognitive, behavioural and affective contributions of both mother and child, as well as by the wider environmental influences on family functioning. The concept of scaffolding may be useful for understanding home learning processes and provide a framework for new knowledge in order to develop a better understanding of what is required for successful learning at home. The research has three main aims based on an adaptation of the Process-Person- Context-Time (PPCT) model of development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). The first aim was to investigate the role of the child's behaviour during scaffolding interactions, test the inter-relationship between the child's and mother's behaviours and to identify how variations in these behaviours impact mutual intersubjectivity. The second aim was to examine how person characteristics of the mother and child, along with the home environment, contribute to the process of scaffolding across time. The third aim was to conduct a preliminary study in Russia and to test cross-cultural patterns and their determinants between UK and Russian families. A longitudinal cross-cultural design has been adopted with two-time point measurements in England, approximately seven months apart, and cross-sectional design in Russia. Using non-probability sampling methodology, 68 dyads (children, four - five years old) were recruited for the English sample and 16 dyads took part in the Russian study. The research used cross-informant methodology to collect data during home visits and through observation of scaffolding interactions during simple problem-solving tasks. The results contribute to the base of existing knowledge with a number of findings: 1) the scaffolding process is bidirectional with unique contributions from mother and child; 2) intersubjectivity within the dyad is important in understanding scaffolding interactions across time; 3) individual differences in maternal emotional and social abilities, but not parenting aspects, predict maternal scaffolding behaviour; 4) child's cognitive and emotional abilities explained their behaviour later in time; 5) number of siblings played an important role in the mother's and child's behaviour, while household chaos was not significant; 6) the cultural context plays a unique role in shaping scaffolding practices within families.

The mother-child relationship is a key determinant of child health. Current evidence acknowledges that impaired mother-child interaction affects social, emotional, cognitive and behavioural development in infants. Disrupted interaction within the mother-child dyad can be caused by a variety of factors including prolonged separation, illness, abusive relationships, maternal stress and other psychosocial disturbances. Post-Partum Depression (PPD), in particular, compromises mother-child interaction. Despite the fact that recent studies have demonstrated that the prevalence of PPD in low-income communities is approximately three times that found in first world countries, mother-child interaction is seldom evaluated and facilitated in primary care. Physical growth is often the only measure of infant health and development. The objectives of this qualitative study were to explore the mother's description of mother-child interaction; the importance that the mother ascribes to this interaction; and the mother's perception of the factors which facilitated interaction within the mother-child dyad. First-time mothers were purposively sampled and semi-structured interviews were conducted. After general inductive analysis of the verbatim transcriptions of the interviews, five main themes emerged. These were: (2)"What I expected" which described expectations around the birth and the impact on mother-child interaction, (2) "Isn't one supposed to feel ... ?" explored the mothers concerns regarding interaction, emotions and adaptation, (3) "Connecting with my baby" described a process of physical connectedness which enhanced emotional connectedness, (4)"We reflect each other's feelings " illustrated how feelings are echoed between mother and baby and empathy developed, and (5) "That helped/hindered our interaction " described factors which eased the fluency of mother-child interaction. These findings are discussed in relation to neuro-scientific developmental theories; namely Porges' Polyvagal Theory of subconscious adaptation for social behaviour and security strategies, and The Mirror Neuron Theory which describes mechanisms of imitation and the development of empathy. Factors which enhanced mother-child interaction are discussed within the context of a changing society. The findings suggest the potential value of including the facilitation of mother-child interaction in the practice of health professionals, particularly midwives and other workers in maternal and child health. This may include training in non-directive counselling of mothers, the recognition of disengaged mother-child interaction, and relationship facilitation. This study emphasizes the importance of mother-child interaction and that health professionals need to be aware of the potential for maternal mental health problems after birth, and the long-term consequences of poor mother-child interaction on infant health.

Nombreuses prévues et études sur la transmission inter et trans-générationnelle du traumatisme nous confirment l'évidence de la transmission sans pour autant en donner une description détaillé du processus qui pourrait être à la base de la transmission directe de la mère au bébé. La compréhension de ce processus pourrait permettre de penser et promouvoir des dispositifs de soin précoce pour les mères traumatisées et leurs bébés. Cela s'avère d'autant plus important dans les contextes de trauma collectif, comme les situations d'urgence humanitaire, où une large partie de la population est exposée à des événements traumatiques extrêmes et répétés. Dans le but d’identifier les déterminantes propres à la transmissions directe du traumatise psychique de la mère au bébé en contexte humanitaire, nous avons recrutées vingt-quatre dyades mère-bébé, en trois pays affectés par la crise politico-religieuse centrafricaine démarrée en 2013 (République Centrafricaine, Tchad et Cameroun). Dans les vingt-quatre dyades, les mères ont été exposées à un ou plusieurs événements traumatiques, en l'absence du bébé, avant sa naissance ou pendant la grossesse ; l'âge de bébé est compris entre un mois et trois ans. Ces Mères et bébés ont étés rencontré lors d'un entretien semi structuré que nous avons filmé. Cela pour permettre une microanalyse des interactions trans-modales (visuelles, corporelles, vocales) entre mère et bébé, dans l'idée de comprendre si pendant la révocation de l'événement traumatique de la part de la mère, les interactions subissaient des modifications et dans ce cas, lesquels. Les interactions dyadiques ont été aussi observées dans une situation de jeu libre sans la présence d'interviewer. Les représentations maternelles ainsi que les marqueurs traumatiques dans le discours ont été pris en compte comme facteurs contributeurs de la transmission traumatique. Les résultats de l'analyse des échanges dyadiques pendant l'entretien, montrent une évidence dans le changement d'interactions dans le moment de révocation traumatique de la mère. Les détails de cette différence d'interaction entre mère et bébé sont présentés dans la session de résultats. Dans la discussion ils sont ensuite mis en relation avec le discours de la mère où nous pouvons remarquer le rôle de représentations maternelle à propos du bébé qui ont une implication importante dans la transmission traumatique. L'analyse de toutes ces composantes multiples semble nous indiquer que le traumatisme maternelle influence les représentations de la mère à propos du bébé, de sa relation avec lui et du mandat transgénérationnelle dont le bébé va être investi. De plus les mères traumatisées, envahies par leur propre état émotionnel négatif ont des difficultés à interpréter correctement les expressions verbales et non verbales du bébé et à trouver des réponses appropriées. Cette difficulté se traduit dans la transmission de son état émotionnel négatif au bébé, qui interprète l'absence de réponse de la mère ou les réponses pas adéquates à ses sollicitations, comme des signaux négatifs vis-à-vis de son propre état émotionnel. Lé bébé et il n'a pas d' autres stratégies que celle d'internaliser l'état affectif négatif maternel et de le transformer dans son propre état interne. Malgré l'évidence de la transmission de l état émotionnel négatif de la mère au bébé, nous avons pu observer certains facteurs de protection qui peuvent préserver les mères et les bébés de l'inévitabilité de cette transmission. Les mères et les bébés montrent plusieurs ressources et compétences internes qui nous laissent penser qu'une réparation est possible ainsi qu'une prévention de la transmission traumatique quand le processus est déjà démarré. Pour conclure ce travail nous présentons de propositions cliniques de prise en charge des mère ayant vécu un traumatisme et leur bébé, dans le but de réduire les effets de la possible transmission du traumatisme au bébé ou, quand possible, de la prévenir
Several studies on the inter- and trans-gerational transmission of trauma confirm the evidence of transmission without giving a detailed description of the process that could be the basis of mother to child direct transmission. Understanding this process could help to think and promote early care for traumatized mothers and their children. This is especially important in contexts of collective trauma, such as humanitarian emergencies, where a large part of the population is exposed to extreme and repeated traumatic events. In order to identify the determinants of the mother to child direct transmission in a humanitarian context, we recruited twenty-four mother-child dyads, in three countries affected by the Central African political and religious crisis started in 2013 (Central African Republic, Chad and Cameroon). The twenty-four dyads were composed by mothers exposed to one or more traumatic events, in the absence of the child, before childbirth or during pregnancy and their children, aged from one month to three years. We met the mother-child dyads during a semi-structured interview that we filmed in order to allow a microanalysis of the cross-modal (visual, bodily, vocal) interactions between mother and child. The objective was to understand whether interactions underwent modifications during the revocation of the traumatic event by the mother, and if yes, to have a better comprehension of these changes. Dyadic interactions were also observed in a free play situation without the presence of interviewers. Maternal representations as well as traumatic markers in mother discourse have been taken into account as factors contributing to the traumatic transmission. The results of the dyadic exchanges analysis during the interview show some evidences in the modification of interactions during the traumatic revocation of the mother. The details of this difference in mother-child interactions are presented in the results session. In the discussion session, the results from the microanalysis of interactions, have been connected to the mother's speech where we can notice the role of maternal representations about the child that have an important involvement in traumatic transmission. The analysis of all these multiple components seems to indicate that maternal trauma influences the mother's representations about the child, her relationship with him and the intergenerational mandate of which the child will be assigned to. In addition, traumatized mothers who are overwhelmed by their own negative emotional state, have difficulties in interpreting the child's verbal and non-verbal expressions correctly and finding appropriate answers. This difficulty is reflected in the transmission of mother negative emotional state to the child, who interprets the mother's lack of response or inadequate responses to his solicitations, as negative signals about his own emotional state. The child has no other strategies than internalizing the maternal negative affective state and transforming it into its own internal state. Despite the evidence of the transmission of the negative emotional state from the mother to the child, we have observed some protective factors that can preserve mothers and children from the inevitability of this transmission. Mothers and children show many internal resources and skills that suggest a possible recovery as well as give the basis to think about the prevention of traumatic transmission, when the process is already underway. To conclude this work we present clinical applications for the management of traumatized mothers and their young children in order to reduce the effects of the possible transmission of trauma to the child or, where possible, to prevent it
Diversi studi sulla trasmissione inter e tran-generazionale del trauma confermano l'evidenza della trasmissione, ma senza fornire una descrizione dettagliata del processo che potrebbe essere alla base della trasmissione diretta dalla madre al bambino. Comprendere questo processo potrebbe aiutare a pensare e promuovere la cura precoce delle madri traumatizzate e dei loro bambini. Ciò è tanto più importante nelle situazioni di trauma collettivo, come possono essere le emergenze umanitarie, dove una gran parte della popolazione è esposta a eventi traumatici estremi e ripetuti. Al fine di individuare le caratteristiche specifiche della trasmissione diretta del trauma psichico dalla madre al bambino in ambito umanitario, abbiamo reclutato ventiquattro diadi madre-bambino in tre paesi colpiti dalla crisi politico-religiosa della Repubblilca Centrafricana che ha avuto inizio nel 2013 (Centrafrica, Ciad e Camerun). Nelle ventiquattro diadi, la madre ha assistito a uno o più eventi traumatici in assenza del bambino, prima della nascita o durante la gravidanza e il bambino ha un'età compresa tra un mese e tre anni. Hanno partecipato a un' intervista semi-strutturata che abbiamo filmato per consentire la microanalisi delle interazioni cross-modali (visive, corporee, vocali) tra madre e bambino, con l'obiettivo di comprendere se durante la rievocazione dell'evento traumatico della madre, le interazioni madre-bambino si modificano e in questo caso, come. Le interazioni diadiche sono state osservate anche in una situazione di gioco libero senza la presenza d¿intervistatori. Le rappresentazioni materne e gli elementi identificatori del trauma nel discorso della madre sono stati considerati come fattori che contribuiscono alla trasmissione traumatica. I risultati delle analisi dell'interazione diadica durante l'intervista mostrano un cambiamento evidente dell'interazione nel momento della narrazione traumatica della madre. I dettagli delle differenze osservate nell'interazione madre-bambino sono presentati nella sessione dei risultati e nella discussione sono messi in relazione con il contenuto e la forma del discorso della madre, in cui è possibile vedere il ruolo delle rappresentazioni materne à proposito del bambino, nella trasmissione del trauma. L'analisi di tutti queste componenti multiple suggerisce che il trauma materno ha un impatto sulle rappresentazioni della madre a proposito del suo bambino, del rapporto che ha con lui e del mandato transgenerazionale di cui il bambino sarà portatore. Inoltre, le madri traumatizzate, invase dal proprio stato emotivo negativo, mostrano una difficoltà a interpretare correttamente le espressioni verbali e non verbali del bambino e a trovare delle risposte adeguate alle sue sollicitazioni. Questa difficoltà si traduce nella trasmissione dello stato emotivo negativo della madre al bambino, che interpreta la mancanza di risposta della madre o le risposte inadeguate alle sue richieste, come segnali negativi rispetto al suo stato emotivo. Il bambino non riesce a trovare altre strategie oltre a quella di interiorizzare lo stato emotivo negativo della madre e trasformarlo nel proprio stato emotivo interno. Nonostante le prove della trasmissione dello stato emotivo negativo dalla madre al bambino, abbiamo osservato alcuni fattori protettivi in grado di preservare le madri e i bambini dall'inevitabilità della trasmissione. Madri e bambini mostrano diverse risorse e competenze interne che ci portano a immaginare che una "riparazione" è possibile, cosi come anche la prevenzione della trasmissione traumatica, nel caso in cui il processo è già avviato. Per concludere questo lavoro, presentiamo delle proposte cliniche destinate alle madri traumatizzate e ai loro bambini, al fine di ridurre gli effetti della possibile trasmissione del trauma al bambino o, quando possibile, per impedirla

This study investigated the interactions of facially deformed infants (FD) with their mothers compared to a facially nondeformed control group (FND). All mother-infant dyads were videotaped for 10 minutes during a free play period. Mothers were instructed to spend time with their baby as they normally would. The videotaped interactions of 14 FD dyads and 14 FND dyads were rated by five raters for quality of interactions, amount of vocalization, touch, and face-to-face gaze. The infants were rated on their level of attractiveness from polaroid pictures and videotapes. Mothers also completed a questionnaire which assessed their infants' temperament. Three of the studies' four hypotheses were confirmed. First, the more attractive an infant was, the better his/her interactions with the mother were judged to be. Second, FD infant dyads were rated as significantly poorer in quality of interaction than FND dyads, although FD* dyads did not spend significantly less time vocalizing, touching, or in face-to-face gaze as predicted. A significantly higher percentage of FD infants were judged as having difficult temperament relative to FND infants. Finally, as predicted it was found that infants with difficult temperaments were more likely to exhibit poorer quality interactions than infants with less difficult temperaments. These results have important implications for providing anticipatory guidance to caregivers of FD infants. Without intervention, FD infants appear at risk for subsequent developmental problems stemming from disrupted early mother-infant interactions. Future research should focus on these interactions soon after the infant's birth, attempt to determine if FD infants' emotions can be reliably understood from their facial expressions (as has been found in normal infants) and extend the current research paradigm to include fathers of FD infants.