Touch and Physical Contact during Infancy: Discovering the Richness of the Forgotten Sense

Mutual touch during mother–infant face-to-face still-face interactions: Influences of interaction period and infant birth status

“…Nonetheless, past studies examining social interactions during early development (e.g., first year of life) have primarily focused on the examination of the distal behavioural indices of gaze and affect, while neglecting to investigate the specific contribution of contact behaviours such as touch during these interactions. Yet, caregivers commonly employ touch during face-to-face interactions and play, along with their vocal and facial expressions (Stack, 2010). Although still in its early stage, significant advancements have contributed to our understanding of tactile stimulation as an integral component of the mother-infant communicative system (Stack, 2010;Stack & Jean, 2011).…”

“…Yet, caregivers commonly employ touch during face-to-face interactions and play, along with their vocal and facial expressions (Stack, 2010). Although still in its early stage, significant advancements have contributed to our understanding of tactile stimulation as an integral component of the mother-infant communicative system (Stack, 2010;Stack & Jean, 2011). Within mother-infant interactions, touch has been shown to be an influential channel through which mothers and their infants convey emotion and affection, and establish a strong connection (Stack, 2010).…”

“…Although still in its early stage, significant advancements have contributed to our understanding of tactile stimulation as an integral component of the mother-infant communicative system (Stack, 2010;Stack & Jean, 2011). Within mother-infant interactions, touch has been shown to be an influential channel through which mothers and their infants convey emotion and affection, and establish a strong connection (Stack, 2010). Maternal physical contact is fundamental for attachment and secure positive attachment is promoted by maternal affection and closeness (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978).…”

“…Maternal touch is pervasive during interactions, occurring between 55% and 81% of the time during brief interaction periods (e.g., Field, 1984;Stack & Muir, 1990;Symons & Moran, 1987). A number of studies have documented the use of different types of touch by mothers such as stroking, rubbing, tapping and tickling and some studies have documented the functions of touch such as nurturing, playful, and attention-getting, to name a few (Jean & Stack, 2009;Stack, 2010). Maternal touch has been found to soothe, arouse, and elicit specific infant behaviours during face-to-face interactions (Stack, 2004), indicating that mothers may use touch in order to serve different functions during such interactions with their infants (Beebe, 2006;Jean & Stack, 2009;Stack, 2010).…”

“…A number of studies have documented the use of different types of touch by mothers such as stroking, rubbing, tapping and tickling and some studies have documented the functions of touch such as nurturing, playful, and attention-getting, to name a few (Jean & Stack, 2009;Stack, 2010). Maternal touch has been found to soothe, arouse, and elicit specific infant behaviours during face-to-face interactions (Stack, 2004), indicating that mothers may use touch in order to serve different functions during such interactions with their infants (Beebe, 2006;Jean & Stack, 2009;Stack, 2010). Results from studies have also shown that mothers modify their patterns of touch according to verbal instructions (e.g., Stack & LePage, 1996;Stack, 2001).…”