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Observational Tools for Measuring Parent–Infant Interaction: A Systematic Review

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Abstract

The quality of the parent–infant interaction is essential for the infant’s development and is most objectively measured by observation. The existing observational tools for assessing parent–infant interaction were identified and described, and their psychometric soundness was evaluated. Twenty electronic databases from inception through June 2013 were searched. Validity was evaluated in five domains (test content, response process, internal structure, relations to other variables, and consequences). Of the 23,961 citations identified, 24 tools were included. Most tools demonstrated a valid rating procedure, reproducibility, and discriminant validity, based on studies with credible quality. The tools lacked factorial and predictive validity, and standardized norms. Further refinement of the existing tools is needed, particularly in the domains of content validity and consequential validity. The synthesized validity evidence and descriptions of the tools reported in this review might guide clinicians and researchers in the selection of an appropriate tool.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to the review: Linda Mische and Sophie Kröger for their help in reviewing articles; Klaus-Dieter Papke for his support in the development of the search strategy; Justine König for her literature order; Ina Weitkamp for her review of the manuscript; and Jessica Terese Müller for her linguistic revision of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Annett Lotzin

    Present address: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

  2. Georg Romer

    Present address: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany

    Annett Lotzin, Julia Schiborr, Georg Romer & Brigitte Ramsauer

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Xiaoxing Lu & Teresa Musal

  3. Department of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Levente Kriston

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  1. Annett Lotzin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Annett Lotzin.

Electronic supplementary material

Appendices

Appendix 1

MEDLINE (OVID) Search Strategy

  1. 1.

    mothers/ OR mother$.mp OR parents/ OR parent$.mp OR fathers/ OR father$.mp OR caregivers/ OR caregiv$.mp OR maternal behavior/ OR maternal$.mp OR paternal behavior/ OR paternal$.mp

  2. 2.

    infant/ OR infant behavior/ OR infant$.mp OR baby$.mp OR babie$.mp

  3. 3.

    1 and 2

  4. 4.

    mother$-infant$.mp OR infant$-mother$.mp OR father$-infant$.mp OR infant$-father$.mp OR parent$-infant$.mp OR infant$-parent$.mp OR caregiver$-infant$.mp OR infant-caregiver$.mp OR maternal$-infant$.mp OR infant$-maternal$.mp OR paternal$-infant$.mp OR infant$-paternal$.mp OR mother$-bab$.mp OR bab$-mother$.mp OR father$-bab$.mp OR bab$-father$.mp OR parent$-bab$.mp OR bab$-parent$.mp OR caregiver$-bab$.mp OR bab$-caregiv$.mp OR maternal$-bab$.mp OR bab$-maternal$.mp OR paternal$-bab$.mp OR bab$-paternal$.mp

  5. 5.

    3 or 4

  6. 6.

    interaction$.mp OR interactiv$.mp OR communication/ OR communicat$.mp OR nonverbal communication/ OR nonverbal communicat$.mp OR dyadic behavio$.mp OR interpersonal relations/ OR interpersonal relation$.mp OR mother–child relations/ OR mother–child relation$.mp OR father–child relations/ OR father–child relation$.mp

  7. 7.

    5 and 6

  8. 8.

    observation/ OR observation$.mp OR behavio$ cod$.mp OR behavio$ assessment$.mp OR behavio$ measure$.mp OR rat$ scale$.mp OR cod$ system$.mp OR microanalys$.mp OR checklist/ OR checklist$.mp OR videotape recording/ OR videotap$.mp OR video$ record$.mp

  9. 9.

    7 and 8

Appendix 2

References of Articles Describing or Psychometrically Evaluating Direct Observational Tools

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  • Allen, D., & St Arnaud, S. (1994). NCAST: An effective nursing tool for assessing family interaction AARN Newsletter, 50, 14–15.

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Lotzin, A., Lu, X., Kriston, L. et al. Observational Tools for Measuring Parent–Infant Interaction: A Systematic Review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 18, 99–132 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-015-0180-z

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