title: The development of family alliance from pregnancy to toddlerhood and child outcomes at 5 years.
abstract: This article presents a longitudinal study of the development of "family alliance" from pregnancy to toddlerhood in a community sample, as well as its links with the emotional and cognitive development of the child at age 5 years. Family alliance is defined as the quality of the interactive coordination between family members. We consider that the alliance constitutes a context for the child to learn emotion regulation and to develop an understanding of inner states. Family interactions (N = 38) were observed at the 5th month of pregnancy and at 3, 9, and 18 months after birth in a standardized situation of observation (Lausanne Trilogue Play). Marital satisfaction and child temperament were assessed through self-reported questionnaires. Several outcomes of the child at age 5 years were measured: theory of mind performances, predominant emotional themes in pretend play, internalized and externalized symptoms. Results show that (a) three patterns of evolution of family alliance occur: "high stable" (n = 19), "high to low" (n = 10), and "low stable" (n = 9); (b) a high stable alliance is predictive of better outcomes in children at age 5 years, especially regarding theory of mind; (c) the temperament of the child is predictive of child outcomes; and (d) an interaction effect occurs between family alliance and temperament. These results highlight the importance of both family-level and individual-level variables for understanding individual differences in the social and cognitive development of children.
authors.affiliation: FPSE, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. nicolas.favez@unige.ch
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Favez
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.forename: France
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Frascarolo
authors.forename: Chloe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lavanchy Scaiola
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corboz-Warnery
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fivaz-Depeursinge
mesh_terms: D057189:Checklist; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires