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- Agreement and disagreement on emotional and behavioral problems in a sample of preschool-age childrenPublication . Carneiro, Alexandra; Dias, Pedro; Pinto, Raquel; Baiao, Rita; Mesquita, Ana; Soares, IsabelThe present study aimed to identify predictors of agreement and disagreement concerning emotional and behavioral problems reported by the mothers and teachers of preschool-aged children. Participants included 172 (89 boys) children, their mothers, and their preschool teachers. Mothers were asked to complete the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 11/2-5 (CBCL 11/2-5), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and a sociodemographic questionnaire, and were observed engaging in an interactive task with their child. Preschool teachers completed the Caregiver Teacher Report Form for Ages 11/2-5 (CTRF). The results show low cross-informant agreement. None of the studied variables predicted cross-informant agreement; however, maternal psychopathology and the presence of an assistant in the classroom were predictors of disagreement between mothers and teachers. Although these results highlight the influence of maternal and school context variables on the disagreement among informants' reports on the emotional and behavioral problems of preschool-aged children, additional research in this field is needed.
- Child’s oxytocin response to mother-child interaction: the contribution of child genetics and maternal behaviorPublication . Baião, Rita; Fearon, Pasco; Belsky, Jay; Baptista, Joana; Carneiro, Alexandra; Pinto, Raquel; Nogueira, Marlene; Oliveira, César; Soares, Isabel; Mesquita, Ana R.The oxytocinergic system is a primary biological system involved in regulating a child’s needs for bonding and for protection from threats. It is responsive to social experiences in close relationships, though evidence across studies is not entirely consistent. Guided by previous literature, we investigated individual and environmental factors predicting and presumably affecting children’s oxytocin (OT) response during mother-child interaction. by focusing on children’s OXTR genotype, and maternal behavior, respectively. This was achieved by assessing salivary OT levels of 88 Portuguese preschoolers prior to and following a mother-child interaction task, and by genotyping children’s OXTR SNP rs53576. Maternal interactive behavior was assessed using Ainsworth scales. Results indicated that child genotype and mother’s sensitive responsiveness interacted in predicting change in child OT concentrations from before to after the interaction. Specifically, Genotypic differences emerged under conditions of low maternal sensitive responsiveness: OT levels increased over time for children with the GG genotype when maternal sensitive responsiveness was low, but no such genotypic differences were evident when mothers were highly sensitive responsive. Findings provide preliminary support for the notion that increased understanding of children’s OT and close relationships requires consideration of both individual and environmental factors.
- Assessing preschoolers interactive behaviour: a validation study of the “Coding System for Mother–Child Interaction”Publication . Baiao, Rita; Baptista, Joana; Carneiro, A.; Pinto, R.; Toscano, C.; Fearon, P.; Soares, Isabel; Mesquita, A.R.Background: The preschool years are a period of great developmental achievements, which impact critically on a child's interactive skills. Having valid and reliable measures to assess interactive behaviour at this stage is therefore crucial. The aim of this study was to describe the adaptation and validation of the child coding of the Coding System for Mother–Child Interactions and discuss its applications and implications in future research and practice. Methods: Two hundred twenty Portuguese preschoolers and their mothers were videotaped during a structured task. Child and mother interactive behaviours were coded based on the task. Maternal reports on the child's temperament and emotional and behaviour problems were also collected, along with family psychosocial information. Results: Interrater agreement was confirmed. The use of child Cooperation, Enthusiasm, and Negativity as subscales was supported by their correlations across tasks. Moreover, these subscales were correlated with each other, which supports the use of a global child interactive behaviour score. Convergent validity with a measure of emotional and behavioural problems (Child Behaviour Checklist 1 ½–5) was established, as well as divergent validity with a measure of temperament (Children's Behaviour Questionnaire–Short Form). Regarding associations with family variables, child interactive behaviour was only associated with maternal behaviour. Conclusions: Findings suggest that this coding system is a valid and reliable measure for assessing child interactive behaviour in preschool age children. It therefore represents an important alternative to this area of research and practice, with reduced costs and with more flexible training requirements. Attention should be given in future research to expanding this work to clinical populations and different age groups.