Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
Infant Behav Dev. 2020 Feb;58:101420. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101420. Epub 2020 Feb 3.
During the first years of life, maternal touch can serve different functions including facilitation of child's gaze orientation to faces which is a key precursor for social attention. Although children with neurodevelopmental disability (ND) may have reduced social skills, the role of maternal touch in contributing to gaze orientation to maternal face has not been explored in previous research. In the present study, we investigate the functions of maternal touch in dyads of mothers and children with ND, compared to dyads of children with typical development (TD). Micro-analytic 2-s coding of maternal touch (i.e., affectionate, playful, facilitating, holding, no touch) and children's gaze orientation (i.e., mother-oriented, object-oriented, non-oriented) occurred during 5-minute interactions between mothers and their 12-to-24-month-old ND and TD children. Dyads were paired for children chronological age and sex. Mothers of children with ND used more touch - especially facilitating and holding types -, compared to mothers of TD peers. Children with ND exhibited more non-orientated gaze compared to TD counterparts. Playful touch associated with increased mother-oriented gaze in children with ND, whereas affectionate and holding touch associated with greater mother-oriented gaze in TD children. Findings suggest that specific types of touch support children's attention to social partners.
在生命的最初几年，母亲的触摸可以发挥不同的作用，包括促进儿童注视面部，这是社交注意力的关键前提。尽管患有神经发育障碍 (ND) 的儿童社交技能可能较差，但在以前的研究中，尚未探讨母亲触摸在促进儿童注视母亲面部方面的作用。在本研究中，我们研究了 ND 儿童和 TD 儿童的母子对中母亲触摸的功能，与 TD 儿童的母子对进行了比较。在 12 至 24 个月大的 ND 和 TD 儿童与母亲之间的 5 分钟互动期间，对母亲触摸（即亲昵、游戏、促进、握持、无触摸）和儿童注视方向（即面向母亲、面向物体、无方向）进行了微观分析 2-s 编码。母子对根据儿童的年龄和性别进行配对。与 TD 同龄人的母亲相比，ND 儿童的母亲使用了更多的触摸——尤其是促进和握持类型。与 TD 同龄人相比，ND 儿童的非定向注视更多。在 ND 儿童中，游戏性触摸与增加的母亲注视方向相关，而在 TD 儿童中，亲昵性触摸和握持性触摸与更大的母亲注视方向相关。研究结果表明，特定类型的触摸可以支持儿童对社交伙伴的注意力。
