title: Parent-infant vocalisations at 12 months predict psychopathology at 7 years.
abstract: This study investigated the utility of adult and infant vocalisation in the prediction of child psychopathology. Families were sampled from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort. Vocalisation patterns were obtained from 180 videos (60 cases and 120 randomly selected sex-matched controls) of parent-infant interactions when infants were one year old. Cases were infants who had been subsequently diagnosed aged seven years, with at least one psychiatric diagnostic categorisation using the Development and Wellbeing Assessment. Psychopathologies included in the case group were disruptive behaviour disorders, oppositional-conduct disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, pervasive development disorder, and emotional disorders. Associations between infant and parent vocalisations and later psychiatric diagnoses were investigated. Low frequencies of maternal vocalisation predicted later development of infant psychopathology. A reduction of five vocalisations per minute predicted a 44% (95%CI: 11-94%; p-value=0.006) increase in the odds of an infant being a case. No association was observed between infant vocalisations and overall case status. In sum, altered vocalisation frequency in mother-infant interactions at one year is a potential risk marker for later diagnosis of a range of child psychopathologies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, RHSC Yorkhill, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. clare.allely@glasgow.ac.uk
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Allely
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Purves
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McConnachie
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Marwick
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Doolin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Puckering
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Golding
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gillberg
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D014705:Verbal Behavior