Nine‐month‐olds' triangular interactive strategies with their parents' couple in low‐coordination families: A descriptive study

Abstract

Observing infants in triadic situations has revealed their triangular competence; namely, their ability to interact with both parents by simultaneously sharing their attention and affects with them. Infants' triangular interaction is linked with the coparenting unit's degree of coordination; in high-coordination (HC) families, parents act as a team in relation to the child, thus drawing clear and flexible boundaries with them; in low-coordination (LC) families, parents either avoid direct interaction with each other and include the child in their unit or join together against the child and exclude him or her, thus drawing inconsistent boundaries with the child. We explored the interactive strategies of LC 9-month-olds (n = 15) with those of their parents, comparing them with HC parents (n = 23) in two conditions: playing with both parents at the same time and witnessing their parents' dialogue. LC infants' affects were less positive; they addressed fewer positive triangular bids to their parents and tended to use a less triangular interactive mode. Thus, LC infants had fewer opportunities than did HC infants to acquire skills necessary for coping with triangular interaction.

Bridging the Gap across the Transition to Coparenthood: Triadic Interactions and Coparenting Representations from Pregnancy through 12 Months Postpartum

“…The finding of continuity between prenatal and postnatal coparenting representations and behaviors does not imply that the prenatal coparenting relationship is not subject to some revision and change during the postpartum period. Previous studies have demonstrated that infants as young as 3 months of age play active roles in shaping their family dynamics via rapid alternations of their gazes directed at each parent during triadic interactions (McHale et al, 2008 ; Fivaz-Depeursinge et al, 2012 ). It would be difficult to argue that infants' characteristics and behaviors influence prenatal triadic interactions in their families.…”

Conceptualizing Emotion Regulation and Coregulation as Family-Level Phenomena

“…In line with the increased interest in moving beyond the dyad, a small but growing number of studies have focused on how emotional exchanges are navigated in the context of triadic and whole family interactions (Fivaz-Depeursinge et al, 2012 ; Hollenstein et al, 2016 ). For example, in studies utilizing the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP; Corboz-Warnery et al, 1993 ), a staged paradigm used to assess how a family of three navigates interactions when all members are present, infants as young as three and four months demonstrated “triangular capacities” or the ability to flexibly shift their gaze and affect between two caregivers (McHale et al, 2018 ).…”

“…For example, in studies utilizing the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP; Corboz-Warnery et al, 1993 ), a staged paradigm used to assess how a family of three navigates interactions when all members are present, infants as young as three and four months demonstrated “triangular capacities” or the ability to flexibly shift their gaze and affect between two caregivers (McHale et al, 2018 ). In another study utilizing the LTP paradigm with nine-month-old infants, the triadic interactions of low coordination families were compared with those of high coordination families (Fivaz-Depeursinge et al, 2012 ). The infants in the low coordination families displayed less positive affect and attempted fewer positive triangular bids or efforts to engage and interact with both parents at the same time, highlighting that these infants will likely have fewer opportunities to develop the skills to navigate triangular interactions, an importance competency for emotion regulation.…”

Jealousy in Infants

“…Insight into young infants' "triangular competencies" is emerging from observations of families in diverse cultural contexts where supra-dyadic interaction is the norm (Keller and Lamm 2010), and from laboratory studies which show that when they engage in interchanges with two social partners, infants do so in a manner that is not merely a series of dyadic exchanges. Rather, infants display triadic engagement as indicated by their ability to extend social entry bids and overtures to two persons in quick succession, and by sharing affect with two social partners simultaneously (Beier and Spelke 2012;Bradley 2010;Favez et al 2013;Fivaz-Depeursinge and Corboz-Warnery 1999;Fivaz-Depeursinge et al 2012;Murray and Travarthan 1985;Nadel and Tremblay-Levea 1999;Selby and Bradley 2003;Tremblay and Rovira 2007).…”