Work

Developmental Transactions Between Infant Gaze and Maternal Responsiveness and Measures of Social-Emotional Competence in Toddlerhood

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Infants and their caregivers reciprocally influence each other through transactions within everyday activities, facilitating further child development. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed a transactional pathway between infant gaze capacities and maternal responsiveness across development and associations with child joint engagement at 24 months and social-emotional competence at 36 to 42 months of age. METHODOLOGY: Videos of mother-child play at 2, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months were used to behaviorally code infant gaze, maternal responsiveness, and child joint engagement. Mothers completed a parent-report measure of social-emotional competence about their child at 36 to 42 months. Structural equation modeling tested the developed transactional model. RESULTS: The proposed transactional pathway between infant person-gaze capacities and maternal responsivity across 2 to 18 months mediated joint engagement, while joint engagement was associated with social-emotional competence. CONCLUSION: Transactions occurring within play occupations between infants and caregivers across early development are critical for development of social-emotional competencies.

Source: OTJR Occupational Therapy Journal of Research

DOI: 10.1177/15394492261476582

Authors: Cristin M. Holland, John Sideris, Barbara L. Thompson, Pat Levitt, Grace T. Baranek

Institutions: Columbia University, University of Southern California, Michigan State University, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: JPB Foundation, Society for the Study of Occupation: USA