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Assessment of Maternal-Infant Interaction: Application of the Still Face Paradigm in a Rural Population of Working Women in Ecuador

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Abstract

Objectives The importance of mother-child interaction in early infancy on child development has been well documented. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using the Still Face Paradigm to measure mother interactive style, infant affect and emotional regulation in a rural Ecuador setting. Methods Infant’s emotional regulation and the quality of mother’s interaction were measured with the Still Face Paradigm at 4 months of age (±15 days). Twenty-four infants and their mothers were assessed in their home. Mother interactive style was coded for attention seeking and contingent responding. Emotional regulation was described by change in infant affect between Still Face episodes. Results A significant difference was found for infant affect between the five Still Face episodes (F1,118 = 9.185, p = 0.003). A significant negative correlation was found for infant affect between episode 3 and 2 with attention seeking mother interactive style during episode 3 (rho = −0.44, p = 0.03), indicating that mothers using more contingent-responding interactions had infants with more positive affect. Conversely, a significant positive association was found for infant affect between episode 3 and 2 and contingent responding mother interactive style during episode 3 (rho = 0.46, p = 0.02), indicating that mothers who used more attention seeking play had infants who showed less positive affect. Conclusion for Practice Study results demonstrate feasibility in using the Still Face Paradigm in working populations residing in a rural region in Ecuadorian highlands and may be feasible in other similar populations in Latin America, and as a successful approach to measuring maternal-child interactions within a field-based epidemiological study design.

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Acknowledgments

We thank our consortium partners in Ecuador: Dr. William Waters, Director of the Research Institute for Health and Nutrition-Universidad de San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), and the USFQ Center for Technology Development and Transfer (USFQ-CTT). We thank our study team Maritza Paez, Katty Turqueres, and Luis Pena. We also thank the staff at the Casa Campesina Cayambe, the members of the Community Advisory Board, the local community leaders and local hospital and clinic staff, and most importantly, the study participants. Dr. Handal was supported by a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Grant #5R21ES19285-2, Faculty Field Research Grants from the University of New Mexico Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII), Dedicated Health Research Funds from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health through Grant Number 8UL1TR000041, The University of New Mexico Clinical and Translational Science Center.

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Correspondence to Alexis J. Handal.

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Handal, A.J., Garcia Saavedra, L., Schrader, R. et al. Assessment of Maternal-Infant Interaction: Application of the Still Face Paradigm in a Rural Population of Working Women in Ecuador. Matern Child Health J 21, 458–466 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-2123-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-2123-9

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