title: Infant sign language program effects on synchronic mother-infant interactions.
abstract: The effects of an intentional infant sign language program on mother-infant interactions were studied. Design was quasi-experimental, longitudinal, descriptive and comparative. The sample was composed of 14 mother-infant dyads, with the infants being between 5 and 9 months at the beginning of the study. The participants were middle or upper-middle socio-economic status. The interactions were evaluated through observations of free play and analyzed using a Grid to analyze early interactions. The frequency and duration of synchronic interactions were compared across experimental and control groups at 12-14 and 18-20 months of age using non-parametric Mann-Whitney tests. The results suggested significant differences between groups on visual and tactile synchronic interactions, and a tendency for vocal interactions, in the direction of higher frequencies in the experimental group.
authors.affiliation: Pontificia universidad catolica de Chile, Escuela de Psicologia, Santiago, Chile. xgongora@uc.cl
authors.forename: Ximena
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Góngora
authors.forename: Chamarrita
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farkas
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D003142:Communication; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012813:Sign Language; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors