title: Mother-Infant Verbal and Nonverbal Interaction as Predictor of Attachment: Nonlinear Dynamic Analyses.
abstract: This longitudinal study examined flexibility in early mother-infant interaction at the age of approximately 6 months (N=30) and whether flexibility indices predicted (in) secure child attachment at 15 months. Dyadic flexibility was measured using dynamic systems-based modelling of patterns during mother-child free play in terms of NDS variables derived from SSG: the propensity to change states (dynamic flexibility), number of states visited (diversity) and predictability (dispersion). Results showed significant discriminant functions on the attachment type groups, A, B & C, for the total grid, which included verbal and non-verbal, and for the reciprocal verbal region. Specifically, the prediction outcomes seem to work better in total grid for A-dyads and in the reciprocal verbal region for B and C-dyads. Diversity emerged as the most relevant index in dyadic flexibility: A-dyads showed the least diversity, distinguished them from B-dyads in the verbal regions, (both the reciprocal and non-reciprocal, 'child verbal-mother non-verbal' one), and, from C-dyads in the reciprocal non-verbal region. A-dyads showed remarkably low activity in the regions involving child verbal behavior, showing that children who became avoidant attached at 15 months of age, were mostly silent at approximately 6 months, when they interacted with their mothers. Findings in this study contribute to advancing conceptually informed measurement of dyadic interaction to provide a new perspective on maternal sensitivity and early markers of child insecure/secure attachment.
authors.affiliation: University of Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: M Angeles
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cerezo
authors.affiliation: University of Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pons-Salvador
authors.affiliation: University of Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Trenado
authors.affiliation: University of Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Purificacion
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sierra
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D009769:Object Attachment; D010988:Play and Playthings