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STUDY OBJECTIVE: In an increasing number of states, parents must provide permission for their daughters under 18-years-old to start contraception. We sought to understand perceptions among mother-daughter dyads about sources of information, and to describe dyadic interactions when discussing contraception. METHODS: Dyads were recruited from an adolescent medicine clinic in Dallas, TX. A semi-structured joint interview was conducted with each dyad. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded through an iterative approach. RESULTS: There were 11 dyadic interviews (22 participants). Sources of information about contraception included mothers, healthcare providers (HCPs), friends/family, school, and individualized learning. Dyads identified distinct purposes and limitations of each source. Mothers noted the importance of supporting their daughter's development and specific needs. Often these conversations began with a discussion of menstrual management. Information from friends/family was overwhelmingly anecdotal. Schools and HCPs were viewed as trusted sources, and the internet/social media as possibly inaccurate or misleading. Dyads described several risks and benefits of different methods. Minimal conflict was noted. CONCLUSION: These results provide rich information about how mother-daughter dyads view contraception in joint discussion. It is important to ensure that accurate stories about contraception are accessible and teaching health literacy would be helpful. Menstrual management appears to be an acceptable starting point to discuss contraception. Schools and HCPs are trusted sources and measures should be taken to ensure teaching is accurate, developmentally appropriate and teaches evaluation of online information. Regardless of parental consent laws for adolescent contraception, engaging caregivers in the process can help support adolescent contraceptive decision-making.

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Maternal childhood maltreatment (CM) represents an important factor in the transmission of trauma that may lead to impaired child mental health. Apart from childhood maltreatment insecure attachment has been identified as a risk factor for insensitive caregiving behavior, which may affect child's mental health. The aim of this study is to identify the working mechanisms in the relationship between maternal CM and child mental health, considering maternal attachment representation, mother-child-interaction und maternal helplessness and fear. N = 103 mother-child-dyads from a longitudinal cohort study were examined at four different measuring points. Data was assessed using self and external report questionnaires as well as the AMBIANCE scales during the Strange Situation Procedure and the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). Maternal CM experience did not predict an insecure attachment representation (OR = 2.46 [0.98, 6.53], p = .060). Maternal insecure attachment was associated with higher AMBIANCE scores (F(8, 94) = 11.46, p < .001), which indicates more disrupted communication between mother and child. AMBIANCE scores in turn predicted higher self-perceived helplessness (F(9, 93) = 8.62, p < .001) and fear (F(9, 93) = 7.40, p < .001) in mothers. Helplessness and fear both were associated with higher SDQ-scores, indicating more mental health problems in children (F(10, 92) = 3.98, p < .001; F(10, 92) = 3.87, p < .001). The results of this study highlight how even insecure attachment in a low-risk sample has a long-term impact on parenting behavior and child mental health, therefore underlining the need of early intervention programs in affected and at-risk families.

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BACKGROUND: In recent years, smart devices have become an integral part of daily life. However, longitudinal studies, particularly those regarding the relationship between toddlers' smart device usage and behavioral outcomes, are limited. Understanding the impact of parent-child interactions on this relationship is crucial for enhancing toddlers' developmental outcomes. Accordingly, this study examined the influence of early screen time and media content exposure on toddlers' behaviors, as well as the positive effects of mother-child interactions on this influence. METHODS: We used relevant data related to 277 children born between November 2016 and July 2020 and who were part of an ongoing prospective follow-up study conducted across five hospitals in Taipei City, Taiwan. We analyzed (1) data from maternal reports regarding children's behavior by using the Child Behavior Checklist (for ages 11/2-5 years), (2) assessments of mother-child interactions by using the Brigance Parent-Child Interactions Scale, and (3) self-reported parental data covering the first 3 postpartum years. Statistical analyses involved group-based trajectory modeling and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: A considerable increase in screen time between the ages of 1 and 3 years was associated with less favorable behavioral outcomes at age 3. These outcomes included somatic complaints [adjusted beta coefficient (aß) = 2.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.39-3.95, p-value = 0.01], withdrawal (aß = 2.42, 95% CI = 0.15-4.69, p-value = 0.04), and aggressive behavior (aß = 6.53, 95% CI = 0.25-12.81, p-value = 0.04). This association was particularly evident among children with lower levels of mother-child interaction. Nevertheless, positive mother-child interactions mitigated most of the adverse effects. Additionally, increased exposure to games and cartoons was associated with poorer behavioral outcomes in all children except for those experiencing positive mother-child interactions. CONCLUSION: Early mother-child interactions play a crucial role in mitigating the risk of behavioral problems in toddlers who spend prolonged periods looking at screens and who are frequently exposed to game and cartoon content.

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BACKGROUND: A growing body of evidence suggests that children of mothers with eating disorders (EDs) have a greater risk of early feeding problems. Recognizing and reacting adequately to the infant's signals during feeding is crucial for the child's development of internal and external regulatory mechanisms of food intake. Parental EDs might affect this ability. Therefore, we investigated the quality of mother-infant interactions during feeding using video recording and a structured coding system. METHODS: The data of this pilot study was collected in a prospective cohort study investigating the influence of maternal EDs on child outcomes. Twenty women with ED history and 31 control women were videotaped while feeding their infant during a main meal at ten months postpartum. The mother-infant interactions were evaluated by two raters using the Chatoor Feeding Scale. We assessed birth outcomes, the mother's ED and depression status, breastfeeding practices, infant feeding problems and infant temperament by maternal self-report. RESULTS: Mothers with and without ED history scored very similar on the Feeding Scale, however mothers from the control group experienced more struggle for control with their infants during feeding (p = 0.046) and made more negative comments about the infant's food intake (p = 0.010). Mothers with ED history were more concerned about infant feeding at three months postpartum and reported significantly more problems with solid foods in their children. Birth outcomes were comparable between groups, except for lower weight-for-length birth percentiles in children of women with ED history. CONCLUSION: Whilst examined mothers with ED history are more concerned about feeding their children, ED psychopathology does not affect the quality of mother-infant interaction during feeding at the transition to autonomous eating at ten months of age.

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BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to design a mother-report inventory to comprehensively assess mother-child interaction in the 0-3 age range, focusing on maternal and child interaction behavior and mutual attunement. METHODS: Our research involved three stages, with 1061 mothers and their 0-3-year-old children: 45 in the pilot study, 498 in exploratory factor analysis and latent profile analysis, and 518 in confirmatory factor analysis. FINDINGS: The Mother-Child Interaction Inventory emerged as a valid and reliable measurement tool, comprising three distinct scales: 1) Maternal Interaction Behavior Questionnaire with sensitive structuring, hostility, and intrusiveness subscales; 2) Child Interaction Behavior Questionnaire with emotional-behavioral involvement and child characteristics; and 3) Mutual Attunement Questionnaire with reciprocity and problem-solving subscales. Latent profile analysis revealed four mother-child interaction profiles, indicating different characteristics in maternal and child interaction behavior and mutual attunement, categorized as "Excellent interaction quality," "Average interaction quality 1", "Average interaction quality 2," and "Poor interaction quality." DISCUSSION: The study underscores the significance of maternal and child interaction behavior and mutual attunement in determining the quality of mother-child interaction. The mother-report The Mother-Child Interaction Inventory is a functional measurement tool to evaluate interaction separately and holistically, unveiling mother-child interaction profiles in the Turkish context. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The practical implications of this research are significant for health professionals, educators, and stakeholders working with children and families. The Mother-Child Interaction Inventory provides a valuable tool for assessing interaction dynamics, offering insights that can be directly applied to improve mother-child interaction.

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Anxiety disorders, depression, and emotional stress during the antepartum period are interlinked with adverse child development. The quality of the dyadic interaction seems to play a crucial role in the transmission of these effects. In this study, we explored the mediating effect of antepartum maternal emotional stress (assessed via the Prenatal Emotional Stress Index) regarding the relationship of antepartum maternal depressive (assessed via the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale), anxiety symptoms (assessed via the Stat-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory), and depressive and anxiety disorders (assessed according to the DSM-IV-TR) in the antepartum period on postpartum interactive quality in a longitudinal design. The Face-to-Face-Still-Face Paradigm (FFSF) and the Infant and Caregiver Engagement Phases (ICEP-R) coding system were used to assess the postpartum interactive qualities of the mother-infant dyads. The sample consisted of 59 women, 38 in the clinical and 21 in the control group. We found significant indirect effects of antepartum depressive symptoms and maternal diagnostic status on the mother's neutral engagement and on the latency to the first social positive interactive match during the interaction - effects that were mediated by antepartum stress. Moreover, there was an indirect effect of state anxiety on neutral engagement - mediated by antepartum stress. Therapeutic intervention studies focusing on maternal antepartum regulation of emotional stress and postpartum interactive patterns might be crucial to encounter maladaptive developmental trajectories.

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Although parenting styles and child feeding practices are conceptualized as distal, static predictors of child eating and weight outcomes, few studies have examined the temporal stability (i.e., change over time) of these parenting measures. Also, parental characteristics, such as mental health or socio-demographics, may make it more or less difficult to sustain consistent parenting behavior. This study examined the temporal stability of parenting styles and child feeding practices and the association between temporal stability indices with maternal sociodemographic and mental health characteristics. The analytic sample included 161 ethnically diverse mothers enrolled in a six-wave bi-annual longitudinal study. During each wave, mothers reported on their parenting styles and child feeding practices using validated self-report questionnaires. Temporal stability indices for parenting styles were moderate for authoritative (ICC = 0.57) and authoritarian (ICC = 0.70) styles, yet high for permissive (ICC = 0.78) styles. Temporal stability scores for child feeding practices were low for discipline (ICC = 0.33), limit setting (ICC = 0.33), monitoring (ICC = 0.36), and pressure to eat (ICC = 0.34); however, restriction (ICC = 0.53) and role modeling of healthy eating were moderate (ICC = 0.73). Greater income and education status were positively associated with stability in authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles, as well as with limit setting, monitoring, role modeling of healthy eating, and pressure to eat feeding practices. Higher anxiety and depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem were negatively associated with permissive parenting styles and role modeling of healthy eating. Findings show that maternal parenting styles and child feeding practices fluctuate over time, and sociodemographic and mental health characteristics are related to stability of some of these parenting styles and behaviors.

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Executive function (EF) is a critical skill for academic achievement. Research on the psychosocial and environmental predictors of EF, particularly among Southeast Asian, agricultural, and low income/rural populations, is limited. Our longitudinal study explored the influence of agricultural environmental, psychosocial, and temperamental factors on children's emerging EF. Three-hundred and nine farm worker women were recruited during the first trimester of pregnancy. We evaluated the effects of prenatal insecticide exposure and psychosocial factors on "cool" (i.e., cognitive: A-not-B task, looking version) and "hot" EF (i.e., affective, response inhibition) measures of emerging EF. Maternal urine samples were collected monthly during pregnancy, composited, and analyzed for dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites of organophosphate insecticides. Psychosocial factors included socioeconomic status, maternal psychological factors, and quality of mother-child behavioral interactions. Backward stepwise regressions evaluated predictors of children's EF at 12 (N = 288), 18 (N = 277) and 24 (N = 280) months of age. We observed different predictive models for cool EF, as measured by A-not-B task, vs. hot EF, as measured by response inhibition tasks. Report of housing quality as a surrogate for income was a significant predictor of emerging EF. However, these variables had opposite effects for cool vs. hot EF. More financial resources predicted better cool EF performance but poorer hot EF performance. Qualitative findings indicate that homes with fewer resources were in tribal areas where children must remain close to an adult for safety reasons. This finding suggests that challenging physical environments (e.g., an elevated bamboo home with no electricity or running water), may contribute to development of higher levels of response inhibition through parental socialization methods that emphasize compliance. Children who tended to show more arousal and excitability, and joy reactivity as young infants in the laboratory setting had better cognitive performance. In contrast, maternal emotional availability was a significant predictor of hot EF. As expected, increased maternal exposure to pesticides during pregnancy was associated with worse cognitive performance but was not associated with inhibitory control. Identifying risk factors contributing to the differential developmental pathways of cool and hot EF will inform prevention strategies to promote healthy development in this and other unstudied rural, low income Southeast Asian farming communities.

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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with altered neural activity in regions of salience and emotion regulation. An exaggerated sensitization to emotionally salient situations, increased experience of emotions, and dysfunctional regulative abilities could be reasons for increased distress also during parenting. Mothers with BPD tend to have less reciprocal mother-child interactions (MCI) and reveal altered cortisol and oxytocin reactivity in the interaction with their child, which could indicate altered processing of stress and reward. Here, we studied underlying neural mechanisms of disrupted MCI in BPD. Twenty-five mothers with BPD and 28 healthy mothers participated in a script-driven imagery functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-paradigm. Scripts described stressful or rewarding MCI with the own child, or situations in which the mother was alone. Mothers with BPD showed larger activities in the bilateral insula and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) compared to healthy mothers during the imagination of MCI and non-MCI. Already in the precursory phase while listening to the scripts, a similar pattern emerged with stronger activity in the left anterior insula (AINS), but not in the ACC. This AINS activity correlated negatively with the quality of real-life MCI for mothers with BPD. Mothers with BPD reported lower affect and higher arousal. An exaggerated sensitization to different, emotionally salient situations together with dysfunctional emotion regulation abilities, as reflected by increased insula and ACC activity, might hinder sensitive maternal behavior in mothers with BPD. These results underline the importance for psychotherapeutic interventions to improve emotional hyperarousal and emotion regulation in patients with BPD, especially in affected mothers caring for young children.

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Research has shown that infants' language development is influenced by their gaze following-an ability linked to their cognitive and social development. Following social learning approaches, this pilot study explored whether variations in gaze following and later vocabulary scores relate to early mother-infant interactions by focusing on the role of mothers' gaze responsiveness in infants' attentional and language development. We recruited 15 mother-child pairs in Poland and assessed their engagement in joint attention episodes. Results indicate that mothers foster their infants' gaze-following ability by providing them with numerous opportunities to participate in the task. We also confirmed a correlation between infants' gaze-following ability at 6 months and their vocabulary scores at 24 months. However, combining both infants' gaze following and mothers' gaze monitoring as predictors in one model revealed that maternal gaze monitoring was a stronger predictor of infants' later vocabulary growth. Overall, this study emphasizes that mothers' gaze responsiveness is a crucial feature of scaffolding that impacts on infants' gaze following and language development.

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PURPOSE: Meaningful interactions with significant others are crucial for children's well-being, including those with severe to profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. This study aimed to gain more insight into the potential of an ICT-Toolkit in enhancing or contributing to the interaction between parents and their children with complex care needs. METHODS: A multiple case study with an AB experimental design was conducted. Four mother-child dyads were observed during eight two-and-a-half-hour home visits. Children between 6 and 16 years with severe to profound intellectual and multiple disabilities were included. A participatory research observation approach was used. RESULTS: Using the ICT-Toolkit compared to the baseline phase stimulated a decrease in the repetitive activities of two of the four dyads. Overall, the activity repertoire of the children and the length of time being engaged in individual activities increased, and the activities together increased in three of the dyads. There were more turn-taking interactions; the children took more initiative to engage their mother in their activity, and the children exhibited more affection when engaging with the ICT-Toolkit items. Three mothers followed their children more in their play, and all mothers were more verbally and physically active in instructing and/or motivating their children. DISCUSSION: All mothers noticed their child's "new" behaviour when interacting with an ICT-Toolkit item. The mothers followed the child's lead when engaged with the ICT-Toolkit. The ICT-Toolkit's added effect may be due to the predictability, uncomplicated and highly perceivable stimuli it provides with minimal effort and maximum effect.

A technology toolkit contributes to activities and mother-child interactions for children with intensive care needs.The ICT-Toolkit contributes to more turn-taking interactions and more initiative taking by the children to engage their mother in their activity.Children exhibited more affection towards their mothers when engaging with the ICT-Toolkit items.The participation in this study led mothers of children with intensive care needs to mentalise about the needs of their child and how their behaviour may influence the behaviour of their child.The ICT-Toolkit's added effect may be due to the predictability, uncomplicated and highly perceivable stimuli it provides with minimal effort and maximum effect.

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The COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing lockdowns might have had a strong impact on mental health of mothers and their infants/toddlers. For example, families had to deal with health issues and social isolation, which might have affected mental health and parent-child interactions. The aim of this study is to evaluate differences in (1) infantile regulatory disorders, (2) maternal mental health, (3) the impact of maternal mental health on infantile regulatory disorders, and (4) alterations in the mother-child interaction for participants recruited before versus after the onset of the first German lockdown. For this reason, mother-child dyads have been divided into two groups and were compared by analyzing clinical interviews on psychopathology of mother and child (M.I.N.I. & DC:05) and mother-child-interactions (Emotional Availability Scales). Results showed that (1) differences in infantile sleeping disorders emerged (phi = 0.243; p = 0.016) compared to the pre-lockdown group, while (2) the occurrence of maternal panic and anxiety increased in the post-lockdown group (phi = 0.229; p = 0.022). Moreover, there was (3) an association for maternal panic and child's sleep disorder, and (4) specific associations with maternal non-hostility in the mother-child-interaction. In conclusion, the present study highlights the differences of maternal mental health occurrences and infants' regulatory problems, as well as the possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for infants. In the pre-lockdown group, maternal non-hostility might have acted as a promotive factor against regulatory disorders, while this mechanism was mitigated in the post-lockdown group.

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Maternal capacity to mentalize (= reflective functioning, RF), secure attachment and emotionally available parenting has an impact on the child's development. The transmission of mothers' past attachment experiences gained with both her caregivers in her own childhood and the impact on current mother-child interaction is part of the 'transmission gap.' This study explores the transgenerational transmission mechanisms and the potential moderating effect of RF in a clinical sample of 113 mother-child dyads suffering from mental health problems. In a cross-sectional study, the associations between maternal attachment experiences, RF (coded based on Adult Attachment Interviews) and current mother-child interaction (Emotional Availability Scales) were examined with univariate correlation, moderator analyses, and structural equation models. We found relationships between attachment experiences and mother-child interaction, but RF had no moderating effect. Past loving experiences and perceived neglection, particularly with the own father in childhood, were predictors for the present mother-child interaction. There seems to be an intergenerational transmission of attachment experiences to the ongoing generation. Particularly past adverse childhood experiences with the own father seem to explain currently disruptive interactions with the child.Trial registration: DRKS00017008 and DRKS00016353.

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Maternal depressive symptoms are a crucial risk factor for children's internalizing problems, though positive mother-child relationships may buffer this risk transmission. Mother-child physiological coregulation (e.g., synchrony) has emerged as a potentially important mechanism of developmental psychopathology and may play a role in the transmission of internalizing symptoms. In this two-wave longitudinal study, we examined whether and how mother-infant physiological synchrony (of respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) moderated the association between maternal postnatal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems in a rural, low-SES community sample (N = 166 dyads). At 6 months, mother-infant RSA synchrony and infant negative affect were assessed during free play. Mother reported their depressive symptoms at 6 months and children's internalizing problems at 24 months. Multilevel structural equation models indicated that mother-infant dyads demonstrated significant and positive RSA synchrony on average and RSA synchrony significantly moderated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems even after controlling for infant negative affect. Greater maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher child internalizing problems when RSA synchrony was lower but not when it was higher. This finding suggests that mother-infant RSA synchrony may operate as a resilience factor for the intergenerational transmission of internalizing symptoms in community samples.

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Humans are widely considered the most socially sophisticated species on the planet. Their remarkable abilities in navigating the social world have given rise to complex societies and the advancement of cultural intelligence.1,2,3,4,5 But what characterizes us as ultra-social beings? Theoretical advances in social sciences over the last century purport imitation as a central mechanism for the emergence of humans' unique social-cognitive abilities.6,7,8 Uncovering the ontogeny of imitation is therefore paramount for understanding human cultural evolution. Yet how humans become able to imitate is unclear and intensely debated. Recently, multidisciplinary findings have challenged long-standing assumptions that imitation is inborn.9,10,11,12 So what are the underlying processes supporting the development of imitation? One fascinating possibility is that infants become able to imitate by being imitated.13,14,15 Cognitive theories have suggested that by perceiving others imitating one's own behavior, visual and motor representations of that behavior are coactivated and associated, leading to the emergence of imitation abilities.14,15 Here, we show that being imitated by sensitive caregivers in infancy constitutes a psychological process giving rise to infants' imitation abilities. Results demonstrated (1) that maternal imitation at 14 months positively predicted infants' imitation abilities at 18 months and (2) that maternal imitation at 14 months mediated the positive effect of maternal sensitivity at 6 months on infants' imitation abilities at 18 months. This offers substantial evidence for the role of social interactions in the emergence of imitation as a key factor for human cultural learning.

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BACKGROUND: Early detection and intervention of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescence has become a public health priority. Theoretical models emphasize the role of social interactions and transgenerational mechanisms in the development of the disorder suggesting a closer look at caregiver-child relationships. METHODS: The current study investigated mother-adolescent interactions and their association with adolescent BPD traits by using a case-control design. Thirty-eight adolescent patients with ≥ 3 BPD traits and their mothers (BPD-G) were investigated in contrast to 35 healthy control dyads (HC-G). Maternal, adolescent and dyadic behavior was coded using the Coding Interactive Behavior Manual (CIB) during two interactions: a fun day planning and a stress paradigm. Additional effects of maternal and/or adolescent early life maltreatment (ELM) on behavior were also explored. RESULTS: BPD-G displayed a significantly lower quality of maternal, adolescent and dyadic behavior than the HC-G during both interactions. Maternal and adolescent behavior was predicted by BPD traits alone, whilst dyadic behavior was also influenced by general adolescent psychopathology. Exploratory analyses of CIB subscales showed that whilst HC-G increased their reciprocal behavior during stress compared to the fun day planning, BPD-G dyads decreased it. Maternal ELM did not differ between groups or have any effect on behavior. Adolescent ELM was correlated with behavioral outcome variables, but did not explain behavioral outcomes above and beyond the effect of clinical status. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Our data suggest a stronger focus on parent-child interactions in BPD-specific therapies to enhance long-term treatment outcomes in adolescent BPD patients. Further research employing study designs that allow the analyses of bidirectional transactions (e.g. longitudinal design, behavioral microcoding) is needed.

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Turn-transition timing in childhood has been examined by measuring response latency - that aggregates gap and overlap duration - in turn-transitions contingent to specific semantic categories. This contrasts with studies in infancy where the whole spectrum of temporal contingent vocalizations are examined, and gap and overlap duration is analyzed independently. We propose using the latter approach to investigate the continuities between infancy and childhood. In a cross-sectional design, we analyzed the vocalizations of 44 mother-child free-play interactions, ranging from three to five years of age. Frequency and duration were measured for gaps and overlaps, independently, and as an aggregated measure - floor-transfer offset (FTO). The effects of child's age and direction of turn-transition (child, mother) were assessed using generalized linear mixed modeling for each dependent variable (DV: FTO, gaps, overlaps). Although there was a slight increase in FTO and gap duration across ages, no significant effect of age was found for any of the DVs. There was an effect of turn-transition direction, for FTO and gap durations, but not for overlap duration. Specifically, mother-to-child turn-transitions produced significantly longer FTO and gap durations than child-to-mother turn-transitions, but had similarly timed overlaps. Results suggest that gaps and overlaps still have different developmental trajectories throughout childhood, and that overlap duration converges to adult standards, at least, by 3-years of age. Methodologically, we demonstrated the relevance of using complementary metrics (FTO, gap, overlap) to understand the developmental trajectories of turn-taking, and that examining all temporally contingent vocalizations can provide a valid and more inclusive measure of turn-transition duration in childhood.

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Parent and child have been shown to synchronize their behaviors and physiology during social interactions. This synchrony is an important marker of their relationship quality and subsequently the child's social and emotional development. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence parent-child synchrony is an important undertaking. Using EEG hyperscanning, this study investigated brain-to-brain synchrony in mother-child dyads when they took turns performing a visual search task and received positive or negative feedback. In addition to the effect of feedback valence, we studied how their assigned role, i.e., observing or performing the task, influenced synchrony. Results revealed that mother-child synchrony was higher during positive feedback relative to negative feedback in delta and gamma frequency bands. Furthermore, a main effect was found for role in the alpha band with higher synchrony when a child observed their mother performing the task compared to when the mother observed their child. These findings reveal that a positive social context could lead a mother and child to synchronize more on a neural level, which could subsequently improve the quality of their relationship. This study provides insight into mechanisms that underlie mother-child brain-to-brain synchrony, and establishes a framework by which the impact of emotion and task demand on a dyad's synchrony can be investigated.

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The present study examined the effectiveness of a personalized remote video feedback parenting program to improve mother-child interactions and child behavior outcomes among mothers of children with behavior problems in comparison to counterparts with no behavior problems. The sample comprised 60 mothers and their 2-to-6-year-old children, including children with behavior problems (BP = 19) and children without behavior problems (NoBP = 41). The Strengthening Bonds program included one in-person group session and remote personalized video feedback about their mother-child interactions in a play situation via smartphone for six weeks. Mother-child interactions were the primary outcome, and children's behaviors were the secondary outcome. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were performed. The mother-child interactions were recorded during free- and structured-play situations and were then analyzed by the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO) and the Dynamics of the dyad activity coding system. Additionally, the mothers answered the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results showed that, in the post-intervention, the mother-child interaction pattern improved in the BP group, especially in the teaching dimension of the PICCOLO. Also, after the program, more children with normal classification were in the BP group.

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AIM: Successful mother-child-bonding is a fundamental step for a healthy development of the child. Different factors like postpartum depression can hinder the bonding process. This study aimed to investigate how intensive care treatment due to congenital heart diseases of the infant alters bonding and how mothers cope with the situation. METHODS: Validated questionnaires were used to analyse postpartum depression, mother-child bonding, stress factors and coping strategies for mothers at a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU; n = 38) and a group of mothers without known psychiatric disorders attending a babywell visit with their child (n = 91). Descriptive statistics and interaction models were calculated. RESULTS: The PICU group showed on average higher total scores on the postpartum bonding questionnaire indicating mother-child bonding impairment and a higher proportion of mothers with depression was observed (76% vs 11%). The model showed a significant interaction between effective coping strategies and mother infant bonding (p = 0.04). Ineffective coping had no effect on bonding or depression in the PICU group. CONCLUSION: Mothers of children treated at an ICU due a congenital heart disease are at increased risk for the development of depression and difficulties in different aspects of postpartum bonding. Our results show that coping mechanisms might significantly influence postpartum bonding. Implementation of tailored support is needed to optimise maternal outcomes.

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