Fernández Ana Karen, Aparicio Andrés, Tenorio Marcela
Millennium Institute for Care Research, Santiago, Chile.
School of Psychology, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile.
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2025 Mar;69(3):193-203. doi: 10.1111/jir.13201. Epub 2024 Dec 4.
The dynamic, reciprocal, and bidirectional relationships in encounters between infants and their caregivers are called early interactions. Evidence shows that these interactions influence cognitive, emotional, and social development beyond the early years. While some studies have examined these interactions in dyads with infants with Down syndrome, they have mostly focused on parents in small samples. This study explores these interactions by considering parental, infant, and interaction variables.
A total of 128 dyads participated, with 64 infants with Down syndrome and 64 typically developing infants, matched one-by-one by developmental age. During home visits, socio-demographic and developmental information was collected, development and dyadic interactions were assessed using standardised instruments. Descriptive analyses, MANOVAs, and ANOVAs were conducted comparing the group of dyads that included infants and toddler with Down syndrome and those with typical development. Infant and toddler gender showed significant differences and was included as a relevant factor in the analyses.
Key findings include lower scores in parental sensitivity and non-directiveness in dyads with children with Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome also showed lower scores in attention to the caregiver. Interactions with children with Down syndrome exhibited less mutuality and engagement. Significant gender-based interactions were found, showing that parents are more sensitive and less directive with girls with Down syndrome, who also show greater expression of negative affect and better attention to the caregiver.
This study suggests different qualities in early interactions when a child with Down syndrome is involved. These interactions are characterised by lower sensitivity and greater directiveness, possibly in response to the lower attention towards the caregiver observed in these children. This results in less mutual interaction. The findings' alignment with previous research and implications for clinical work are discussed. Given the observed effect of the child's gender, future research should further explore this aspect.
婴儿与其照料者之间互动中的动态、相互且双向的关系被称为早期互动。证据表明，这些互动对早年之后的认知、情感和社会发展产生影响。虽然一些研究已经考察了患有唐氏综合征婴儿的二元组中的这些互动，但大多聚焦于小样本中的父母。本研究通过考虑父母、婴儿和互动变量来探索这些互动。
共有128个二元组参与，其中64名患有唐氏综合征的婴儿和64名发育正常的婴儿，按发育年龄一一匹配。在家庭访视期间，收集社会人口学和发育信息，使用标准化工具评估发育情况和二元互动。进行描述性分析、多变量方差分析和方差分析，比较包括患有唐氏综合征的婴幼儿的二元组和发育正常的二元组。婴幼儿性别存在显著差异，并作为相关因素纳入分析。
主要发现包括，患有唐氏综合征儿童的二元组中，父母的敏感性和非指导性得分较低。患有唐氏综合征的儿童在关注照料者方面得分也较低。与患有唐氏综合征儿童的互动表现出较少的相互性和参与度。发现了显著的基于性别的互动，表明父母对患有唐氏综合征的女孩更敏感且指导性更低，这些女孩也表现出更大的负面情绪表达和对照料者更好的关注。
本研究表明，当涉及患有唐氏综合征的儿童时，早期互动具有不同的特质。这些互动的特点是敏感性较低和指导性更强，这可能是对这些儿童中观察到的对照料者关注较低的一种反应。这导致相互互动较少。讨论了研究结果与先前研究的一致性以及对临床工作的意义。鉴于观察到的儿童性别的影响，未来研究应进一步探索这一方面。
