Alyson F. Shapiro

Effects of Normal and Perturbed Social Play on the Duration and Amplitude of Different Types of Infant Smiles.

Different types of smiling varying in amplitude of lip corner retraction were investigated during 2 mother-infant games--peekaboo and tickle--at 6 and 12 months and during normally occurring and perturbed games. Using Facial Action Coding System (FACS), infant smiles were coded as simple (lip corner retraction only), Duchenne (simple plus cheek raising), play (simple plus jaw drop), and duplay (Duchenne plus jaw drop). In addition, again using FACS, the amplitude of lip corner retraction was coded on a 5-point scale. Rather than a single smile expression that differs only in amplitude, the authors found a complex family of different smile expressions differing in their duration and amplitude as a function of game, setup versus climax of the game, and perturbation. Both type of smiling and amplitude of smiling appear to be controlled independently by the infant in relation to the context. These findings reveal systematic and context-specific nuances in infant smiles in the 2nd half of the first year.

Bringing Baby Home Together: Examining the Impact of a Couple-Focused Intervention on the Dynamics Within Family Play

The transition to parenthood brings with it challenges to a couples relationship, which in turn are likely to negatively impact coparenting and overall family process. The focus of the current study was to examine the effects of the Bringing Baby Home psycho-educational intervention at the first postintervention follow-up for promoting positive coparenting and family process within the mother-father-baby family system. Expectant parents (N = 181) were recruited from the greater Seattle area to participate in a longitudinal random clinical trials study. Families were randomly assigned to a control, workshop, or workshop plus support group. Observational coding indexed both parent and baby contribution to family interaction during the Lausanne Triadic Play procedure. Principal components analysis was used to create summary factors describing the family play. Results of intent-to-treat analyses indicated that the Bringing Baby Home program was successful in promoting less competition during family play. There also was an effect of workshop timing, suggesting that fathers who took the workshop prebirth were less likely to exhibit intrusiveness during mother-baby focused play than those who received it postbirth. Implications for promoting the formation of positive family-level relations are discussed.

Who are the fathers in Healthy Families Arizona? An examination of father data in at-risk families

Despite substantial research documenting the importance of father-child relations, little is known about fathers in families considered at risk for child abuse, and this lack of information makes adequate targeting of fathers in interventions challenging. This research aims to provide information that will aid interventions in targeting fathers and addressing father-related family issues through: (a) providing descriptive information regarding fathers in families at risk for child abuse, and (b) examining aspects of family well-being relative to father involvement. Analyses were conducted on mother-report data in families eligible for the Healthy Families Arizona prevention program (N = 197). Results indicated that although only 15% of parents in the sample were married, 47% of families had resident fathers, and 77% of fathers had some contact with their new babies. Families with greater father involvement had better prenatal care, higher incomes, less maternal involvement in Child Protective Services, less physical domestic violence (DV), and greater maternal mental health reflected through less loneliness. These findings have implications for targeting nonresident as well as resident fathers in families at risk for child abuse and for exploring DV issues in families with noninvolved fathers.