Background: Assessment of mother-child interactions is a core issue of early child development and psychopathology. This paper focuses on the concept of “synchrony” and examines (1) how synchrony in mother-child interaction is defined and operationalized; (2) the contribution that the concept of synchrony has brought to understanding the nature of mother-child interactions.
Method: Between 1977 and 2013, we searched several databases using the following key-words: « synchrony » « interaction » and « mother-child ». We focused on studies examining parent-child interactions among children aged 2 months to 5 years. From the 63 relevant studies, we extracted study description variables (authors, year, design, number of subjects, age); assessment conditions and modalities; and main findings.
Results: The most common terms referring to synchrony were mutuality, reciprocity, rhythmicity, harmonious interaction, turn-taking and shared affect; all terms were used to characterize the mother-child dyad. As a consequence, we propose defining synchrony as a dynamic and reciprocal adaptation of the temporal structure of behaviors and shared affect between interactive partners. Three main types of assessment methods for studying synchrony emerged: (1) global interaction scales with dyadic items; (2) specific synchrony scales; and (3) micro-coded time-series analyses. It appears that synchrony should be regarded as a social signal per se as it has been shown to be valid in both normal and pathological populations. Better mother-child synchrony is associated with familiarity (vs. unknown partner), a healthy mother (vs. pathological mother), typical development (vs. psychopathological development), and a more positive child outcomes.
Discussion: Synchrony is a key feature of mother-infant interactions. Adopting an objective approach in studying synchrony is not a simple task given available assessment tools and due to its temporality and multimodal expression. We propose an integrative approach combining clinical observation and engineering techniques to improve the quality of synchrony analysis.

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Why synchrony matters during mother-child interactions: a systematic review.

Objective. We investigated the role of mothers' elevated depressive symptoms on scaffolding and availability to assist preschool children's regulatory development. Design. A sample of 208 3-year-ol...

Maternal Depression and Parenting: Implications for Children's Emergent Emotion Regulation and Behavioral Functioning

The Nature of the Child

The purpose of this study was to test a conceptual model predicting children's externalizing behavior problems in kindergarten in a sample of children with alcoholic (n = 130) and nonalcoholic (n = 97) parents. The model examined the role of parents' alcohol diagnoses, depression, and antisocial behavior at 12-18 months of child age in predicting parental warmth/sensitivity at 2 years of child age. Parental warmth/sensitivity at 2 years was hypothesized to predict children's self-regulation at 3 years (effortful control and internalization of rules), which in turn was expected to predict externalizing behavior problems in kindergarten. Structural equation modeling was largely supportive of this conceptual model. Fathers' alcohol diagnosis at 12-18 months was associated with lower maternal and paternal warmth/sensitivity at 2 years. Lower maternal warmth/sensitivity was longitudinally predictive of lower child self-regulation at 3 years, which in turn was longitudinally predictive of higher externalizing behavior problems in kindergarten, after controlling for prior behavior problems. There was a direct association between parents' depression and children's externalizing behavior problems. Results indicate that one pathway to higher externalizing behavior problems among children of alcoholics may be via parenting and self-regulation in the toddler to preschool years.

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A conceptual model for the development of externalizing behavior problems among kindergarten children of alcoholic families: role of parenting and children's self-regulation.

The objective of this study was to document the psychological adjustment of adolescents who were conceived through donor insemination by lesbian mothers who enrolled before these offspring were born in the largest, longest running, prospective, longitudinal study of same-sex–parented families. Adolescents who have been reared in lesbian-mother families since birth demonstrate healthy psychological adjustment. These findings have implications for the clinical care of adolescents and for pediatricians who are consulted on matters that pertain to same-sex parenting.

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US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents - eScholarship

Background 
In up to 5% of pregnancies, ultrasound screening detects a “soft marker” (SM) that places the foetus at risk for a severe abnormality. In most cases, prenatal diagnostic work-up rules out a severe defect. We aimed to study the effects of false positive SM on maternal emotional status, maternal representations of the infant, and mother-infant interaction.


Methodology and Principal Findings 
Utilizing an extreme-case prospective case control design, we selected from a group of 244 women undergoing ultrasound, 19 pregnant women whose foetus had a positive SM screening and a reassuring diagnostic work up, and 19 controls without SM matched for age and education. In the third trimester of pregnancy, within one week after delivery, and 2 months postpartum, we assessed anxiety, depression, and maternal representations. Mother-infant interactions were videotaped during feeding within one week after delivery and again at 2 months postpartum and coded blindly using the Coding Interactive Behavior (CIB) scales. Anxiety and depression scores were significantly higher at all assessment points in the SM group. Maternal representations were also different between SM and control groups at all study time. Perturbations to early mother-infant interactions were observed in the SM group. These dyads showed greater dysregulation, lower maternal sensitivity, higher maternal intrusive behaviour and higher infant avoidance. Multivariate analysis showed that maternal representation and depression at third trimester predicted mother-infant interaction.


Conclusion 
False positive ultrasound screenings for SM are not benign and negatively affect the developing maternal-infant attachment. Medical efforts should be directed to minimize as much as possible such false diagnoses, and to limit their psychological adverse consequences.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01518831/document

Prenatal ultrasound screening: false positive soft markers may alter maternal representations and mother-infant interaction.

This study shows two different dimensional types of maternal depression, one dull and slow, the other stressed and irritable. When the quality of the infant attachment to mother is assessed, it is noted that the dimensional aspect of the maternal depression can be of some importance in the quality of the attachment. In fact, children are more inclined to develop an insecure–ambivalent attachment to their stressed depressed mothers, while children of slow depressed mothers are more insecure–avoiding. Thus, the dimensions of maternal depression can be an indicator of the type of insecure attachment of the infant at one year of age. We have also found that insecure children of depressed mothers express very little joy in the course of face-to-face interactions. A parallel can be established between the characteristics of the different affective dimensions of the maternal depression, the affective involvement state level of the partners, their synchrony or non-synchrony, the affective expression of the baby, and the type of insecure attachment to the mother. Thus, affective interaction may be an indicator of the child's development, both to assess the interaction and to evaluate the type of attachment shown by the child, indicating that previous interactive patterns have been internalized. © 1997 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health

Mother and infant affective involvement states and maternal depression

Resume La grossesse est une etape importante dans les processus de structuration de l'identite de la femme et des representations qu'elle se construit de son enfant. Au cours de ces processus complexes, un evenement tel qu'une suspicion portant sur l'integrite physique et mentale de son futur enfant vient mettre un grain de sable au cœur de cette mecanique en mouvement. Objectif de l'etude, population et methode Notre objectif est d'analyser les differentes dimensions en jeu lors de l'apparition d'anomalies echographiques isolees en suivant deux groupes de femmes : un groupe pour lequel la grossesse est « surveillee » suite a une echographie suspecte et un groupe temoin, au cours du dernier trimestre de grossesse, a l'accouchement et aux deux mois de l'enfant a l'aide de deux entretiens semi-structures (Ammaniti et Stern), ainsi qu'une echelle d'anxiete et de stress (Covi et Raskin). Resultats et conclusion Apres la sideration de l'annonce et de l'attente des resultats rassurants, la dynamique psychique est detournee de ses objectifs premiers, destabilisee et cette « deviation », insensible de prime abord, s'amplifie avec le temps. A la naissance, la rencontre se fait mal. La mere n'est plus dans la dynamique de la preoccupation maternelle primaire et n'est plus a meme d'aider son enfant a entrer en communication avec elle et les autres avec les consequences connues sur le developpement de l'enfant. Pourtant, il apparait qu'une prise en charge preventive des la grossesse pourrait aider a eviter cette « deviation » du mecanisme psychique maternel.

La surveillance échographique prénatale des grossesses à suspicion de malformation : étude du retentissement sur les représentations maternelles

Medical advances in assisted reproductive technology have created new ways for transgender persons to become parents outside the context of adoption. The limited empirical data does not support the idea that trans-parenthood negatively impacts children's development. However, the question has led to lively societal debates making the need for evidence-based studies urgent. We aimed to compare cognitive development, mental health, gender identity, quality of life and family dynamics using standardized instruments and experimental protocols in 32 children who were conceived by donor sperm insemination (DSI) in French couples with a cisgender woman and a transgender man, the transition occurring before conception. We constituted two control groups matched for age, gender and family status. We found no significant difference between groups regarding cognitive development, mental health, and gender identity, meaning that neither the transgender fatherhood nor the use of DSI had any impact on these characteristics. The results of the descriptive analysis showed positive psycho-emotional development. Additionally, when we asked raters to differentiate the family drawings of the group of children of trans-fathers from those who were naturally conceived, no rater was able to differentiate the groups above chance levels, meaning that what children expressed through family drawing did not indicate cues related to trans-fatherhood. However, when we assessed mothers and fathers with the Five-Minute Speech Sample, we found that the emotions expressed by transgender fathers were higher than those of cisgender fathers who conceived by sex or by DSI. We conclude that the first empirical data regarding child development in the context of trans-parenthood are reassuring. We believe that this research will also improve transgender couple care and that of their children in a society where access to care remains difficult in this population. However, further research is needed with adolescents and young adults.

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Ouriel Rosenblum

Papers

Prenatal ultrasound screening: false positive soft markers may alter maternal representations and mother-infant interaction.

Mother and infant affective involvement states and maternal depression

La surveillance échographique prénatale des grossesses à suspicion de malformation : étude du retentissement sur les représentations maternelles

Transgender fathering: Children's psychological and family outcomes

3 – Les grossesses à l’adolescence