Infant attention scaffolding at home

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify the mechanisms underlying the links between maternal attention directing strategies and infants' focused attention. In the first year of life temporal organisation of dyadic behaviour was examined in the home. A sample of 50 dyads was videorecorded for one hour during usual activities, twice at 5-and 8-months of age, Onset and offset of maternal behaviours toward objects, and infants' attention were noted. Sequential analyses demonstrated dependencies between partner's behaviours: infants and mothers adjusted to each other's activity. Maternal behaviours were classified as introducing, maintaining and redirecting attention: over both ages, the most frequent maternal behaviour was introducing, which did not systematically attract the infant's attention; maintaining was the second most frequent maternal behaviour. Infants focused their attention longer when the mother used introducing or maintaining strategies. Older infants initiated a greater proportion of attention focusing episodes. At both ages inter-dyads variability is very large. with a significant inter-ages stability, The present data bring further support to the interpretation of parental activity as a genuine scaffolding ofattention.

Cognitive functioning in toddlerhood: The role of gestational age, attention capacities, and maternal stimulation.

“…Maternal attention-maintaining behavior might be directly related to cognitive functioning, as this results in a situation where the child is actually stimulated to learn how to handle an object or how to complete a task, which may facilitate development of cognitive functioning. However, previous studies also found a positive relation between maternal maintaining behavior and attention capacities of their child (Bono & Stifter, 2003; Findji, 1998; Findji, 1993; Landry & Chapieski, 1988; Pridham et al, 2000), which was not found in our study. This might be explained by the different developmental period, toddler age, we studied.…”

“…This might be explained by the different developmental period, toddler age, we studied. Four of the five studies on the relation with attention capacities, measured maternal behavior when the children were between 5 and 8 months of age (Findji, 1993, 1998; Landry & Chapieski, 1988; Pridham et al, 2000), while in our study, maternal behavior was measured at 18 months of age. It might be that maternal behavior has different effects during infancy than at toddler age.…”

“…This has not been studied before. Cross-sectional studies have found that mothers who showed more attention maintaining behavior had (preterm and term-born) children who were better able to focus their attention for a longer period of time during infancy and at toddler age (Bono & Stifter, 2003; Findji, 1998; Findji, 1993; Landry & Chapieski, 1988; Pridham et al, 2000). This is in line with the suggested supportive role of maintaining behavior .…”

Long-term follow-up of a randomized trial of family foundations: Effects on children’s emotional, behavioral, and school adjustment.

“…As the first important developmental context, the family environment is a key influence on children’s development of attentional, emotional, and behavioral regulation (see, e.g., McCollum & Ostrosky, 2008; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2005; Perlman, Camras, & Pelphrey, 2008) and school adjustment and achievement (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2008; see also Clark & Ladd, 2000; Cowan, Cowan, Ablow, Johnson, & Measelle, 2005; Hastings & De, 2008; Hastings et al, 2008; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2004, 2008). Attentional capacity and control, a foundational resource for other forms of self-regulation, may be particularly sensitive to the family environment (Fearon & Belsky, 2004; Findji, 1998), including difficulties in the interparental relationship (Carlson, Jacobvitz, & Sroufe, 1995; Davies, Woitach, Winter, & Cummings, 2008; Towe-Goodman, Stifter, Coccia, Cox, & Investigators, 2009). Thus, FF’s impact on enhancing coparenting and parenting quality may enhance multiple dimensions of children’s self-regulation that are crucial factors for successful school adjustment.…”

Maternal Attention‐Directing Strategies and Infant Focused Attention During Problem Solving

“…Mothers do this by asking questions, giving directives, describing qualities of an object, naming the object, pointing, demonstrating unique features of an object, and other physical manipulations that encourage the infant's attention to the object in hand. Researchers have considered these maternal interventions as a form of scaffolding (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976) specific to the development of attentional abilities (Findji, 1993(Findji, , 1998Landry et al, 1996). Maternal maintaining could also be seen as an operationalization of sensitive responsiveness in the sense that this strategy involves "prompt, contingent, and appropriate behaviors" (Bornstein & Tamis-LeMonda, 1989, p. 50).…”