Divergent perspectives, multiple meanings: A comparison of caregivers' and observers' interpretations of infant behaviour

Maternal nurturing experience affects the perception and recognition of adult and infant facial expressions

The perception and recognition of facial expressions are crucial for parenting. This study investigated whether and how maternal nurturing experience and trait anxiety influence the perception and recognition of infant and adult facial expressions. This was assessed by comparing the performance of primiparous mothers (n = 25) and non-mothers (n = 28) on an emotional face perception task. Trait anxiety was measured using the Japanese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). We found that mothers had higher recognition accuracy for facial expressions, but only of adults, not infants. Moreover, as trait anxiety increased, so did mothers’ sensitivity in perceiving facial expressions of both infants and adults. These findings suggest that maternal nurturing experience does enhance the recognition of adult emotional expressions, and an optimal level of maternal trait anxiety may enhance mothers’ sensitivity toward infants’ and adults’ emotional signals.

Reliability and validity of standardized Chinese version of Urban Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment

AIMS

To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (CITSEA).

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey through parent self-administered questionnaires in Chinese urban communities. Fourteen cities from the Southern, Northern, Eastern, Western and Central China were involved.

SUBJECTS

A total of 5323 healthy toddlers (2690 boys and 2633 girls) aged 12 to 36 months from the 14 cities recruited through a multi-stage sampling scheme.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect the social demographic data, and the Chinese translation of ITSEA was used to collect data on children's social and emotional behavior.

RESULTS

The reliability and validity of CITSEA were examined by standard psychometric methods. 1) The test-retest reliability of four broad domains ranged from 0.78 to 0.89 at the significant level p<0.001; 2) Split-half reliability ranged from 0.82 to 0.90 (p<0.001); 3) The alpha coefficient was noticed to range from 0.79 to 0.88, which demonstrated good internal consistency. Furthermore, as is hypothesized, the score of CITSEA domains was significantly correlated with subscale's score of the Child Behavior Checklist 2/3 (CBCL2/3) and dimension's score of China Toddler Temperament. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good and reliable match of the model, indicating that CITSEA outlines the social and emotional development of Chinese urban children aged 12 to 36 months.

CONCLUSION

The Chinese version of ITSEA is valid and the psychometric properties of this translated version (including its reliability and validity) are at an acceptable standard. It can be used as an instrument for assessing social and emotional problems, including delays in social-emotional competence for Chinese young children.