SECORE (Self- and Co-Regulation) in parent-child dyads: A new microanalytic coding scheme

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: PS 14 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Introduction: The development of self-regulation during early childhood is mainly determined by the interactional dynamics between children and their main caregivers during the early years. Parent and child will influence each other and jointly establish an interactional style that will change not only in a given situation but also throughout development. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the number of observational approaches may have increased in recent years, it remains true that only a handful of studies actually use a dynamic and dyadic analytical method to assess co-regulation patterns and their changes through development. Methodology: SECORE (SElf- and CO-REgulation) is a microanalytical coding system designed to obtain a rather detailed impression of the interactional dynamics across development and in different social contexts regarding the development of child regulation. SECORE uses neutral terms that specify the target of the action (i.e. task, self-regulation (SR), co-regulation (CR), calling for co-regulation (CCR)), and the mental state to be regulated (i.e. cognitive, motivational, emotional) at the verbal and non-verbal levels. The microanalysis of each interactive partner behavior is performed continuously and exhaustively in a 25-segment-per-second format using Mangold INTERACT (2019) to distinguish sequential interaction patterns. The results of the pilot study showed a good reliability on a cognitive task (Split-half reliability r=.80; intercoder reliability r=.79). In the present study, parent-child dyads (2- and 4-years-old) were filmed in three different situations: puzzle task, wrong-present task and positive-negative surprise task in order to trigger different dimensions of regulation. A total of eight minutes of each video is coded following the SECORE microanalytical coding scheme (intercoder reliability κ=0.78-0.97). Results: Preliminary results of 20 dyads (10 of 2-years and 10 of 4-years) will be presented. The videos were filmed during the second half of 2019 and encoding is currently underway. It is expected that: a) The different tasks will trigger different dimensions of regulation in both interaction partners; b) 4-year-olds will show more SR than 2-year-olds across tasks; c) Parents of 4-year-olds will show less CR than parents of 2year-olds across tasks; and d) SR in children and CR in parents will negatively correlated.

Authors

• Cecil Maria Mata, Universidad de Chile and Heidelberg University
  Presenting Author

• Beate Martensen, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sabina M Pauen, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
  Non-Presenting Author