Prolonged Mutual Engagement in Mother-Toddler Play Interactions

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Play is an integral part of child development (Cohen, 2006; Valentino et al., 2006). During the early childhood years, parent-child interactions provide an important context for children’s play. Parents take a critical role in structuring and guiding play activities, thus, shaping the development of their child’s social and communicative behaviors (Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2004). Many parent-child play interaction studies focus on quality or style of the dyadic interaction (Kwon et al., 2012), whereas fewer studies investigate how the timing of sequential behaviors between mothers and their toddlers can affect an interaction (Yamamoto et al., 2019).
The present study focuses on periods of mutual engagement within mother-toddler interactions during play. Conceptualized as verbal and nonverbal “active participation” (Vandermaas-Peeler et al., 2003), as well as the “active sharing of an object or event” (Nelson et al., 2008, p.2), mutual engagement is the result of one partner responding to the other’s initiation during play. We aim to identify what time lag structures of behavior sequences (i.e., initiate-response patterns) most effectively led to periods of prolonged mutual engagement during play episodes. Based on prior literature (e.g., Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2013), we expect that a shorter time lag structure (i.e., less than 4-seconds) would lead to prolonged mutual engagement more frequently than longer time lag structures. Secondly, we examine whether this pattern was based on the initiator and expect shorter time lags to be more effective for dyads to reach mutual engagement when the child initiates as compared to when the mother initiates. Third, we test whether temporal conditions of behavior sequences may be dependent on the play context. Taking an exploratory approach, we examine whether the time lag structure of initiate-response pattern that lead to prolonged mutual engagement varied across two different play contexts (toy play and structured play). Finally, we explore direct associations between child temperament and periods of mutual engagement, and indirect effects of child temperament on the associations between temporal contiguity and mutual engagement episodes. We hypothesize that toddlers with higher levels of negative affect and surgency would be less likely to reach prolonged engagement with mothers, and those with higher levels of effortful control would reach prolonged engagement more often.
Thirty-six US-American mothers with their 2-year-old children participated. Dyads were videotaped while engaging in Toy Play and Structured Play (4 minutes each). Three behaviors of mothers and their toddlers were coded using MangoldINTERACT®: initiate, response and participation.
The analytical strategy includes running descriptive statistics and t-tests to look at main differences between each time lag pattern and engagement. Furthermore, we will conduct general linear models with the number of episodes of mutual engagement as a dependent variable and the various time lags as predictor variables. Initiator, play context, and child temperament will also be tested for main and interactive effects using this model. The analysis will be completed by the time of the biennial meeting and results will be discussed in regards to how to support mothers in structuring and guiding play activities with their toddlers.

Authors

• Shanzey Altaf, New York University Abu Dhabi
  Presenting Author

• Antje von Suchodoletz, New York University Abu Dhabi
  Non-Presenting Author

• Joscha Kärtner, University of Münser
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kendra Strouf, New York University
  Non-Presenting Author