Nicolas Favez

Further insights on the French WISC-IV factor structure through Bayesian structural equation modeling

The interpretation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) is based on a 4-factor model, which is only partially compatible with the mainstream Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of intelligence measurement. The structure of cognitive batteries is frequently analyzed via exploratory factor analysis and/or confirmatory factor analysis. With classical confirmatory factor analysis, almost all cross-loadings between latent variables and measures are fixed to zero in order to allow the model to be identified. However, inappropriate zero cross-loadings can contribute to poor model fit, distorted factors, and biased factor correlations; most important, they do not necessarily faithfully reflect theory. To deal with these methodological and theoretical limitations, we used a new statistical approach, Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM), among a sample of 249 French-speaking Swiss children (8-12 years). With BSEM, zero-fixed cross-loadings between latent variables and measures are replaced by approximate zeros, based on informative, small-variance priors. Results indicated that a direct hierarchical CHC-based model with 5 factors plus a general intelligence factor better represented the structure of the WISC-IV than did the 4-factor structure and the higher order models. Because a direct hierarchical CHC model was more adequate, it was concluded that the general factor should be considered as a breadth rather than a superordinate factor. Because it was possible for us to estimate the influence of each of the latent variables on the 15 subtest scores, BSEM allowed improvement of the understanding of the structure of intelligence tests and the clinical interpretation of the subtest scores.

Family Alliance Stability and Change From Pregnancy to Toddlerhood and Marital Correlates

This paper presents a longitudinal study of the development of family interactions from pregnancy to toddlerhood, and their link to parents’ marital satisfaction. The participants consisted of 38 non referred primiparous families. We used an observational setting, the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP), to evaluate the family alliance, namely the interactive coordination between family members. Families played a virtual interaction with a doll at the 5th month of pregnancy, and then played with the child at 3, 9 and 18 months. Results show that for 30 families, the quality of family interactions is the same at every point of measurement whereas for 8 families, there is a significant decrease of quality of interactions from pregnancy to 18 months. Those families are paradoxically the ones with the highest self-reported marital satisfaction. Implications of the results are discussed.

Parents-child role reversal in trilogue play: case studies of trajectories from pregnancy to toddlerhood.

Abstract Role reversal, whereby a child attempts to meet her parents adult needs for parenting, intimacy, or companionship, has been identified as a risk factor for developmental disturbances. It has been defined from diverse perspectives as a child attachment strategy, a parent – toddler relational disturbance, and a boundary disturbance between parents and child. The recently discovered infants triangular capacity, namely the sharing of her attention and affects with both parents, allows one to analyse the infants contribution to early family dynamics. Role reversal was detected in 4 out of 45 father – mother – infant interactions observed in trilogue play from pregnancy to toddlerhood. The developmental trajectories towards role reversal are explored by means of case analyses. Results are compared with cases of problematic triangulation encountered in the same sample. In role reversal, family interactions are rigidly organized around a “two against one” coalition, whereby the normative hierarchy between parents and child is reversed. The childs triangular capacity is overactivated, controlling the tension between her parents by provocation – animation strategies.

The Young Infant's Triangular Communication in the Family: Access to Threesome Intersubjectivity? Conceptual Considerations and Case Illustrations

During these last decades, the notion of primary intersubjectivity has gained acceptance among developmentalists and clinicians. But a new challenge is put out to our models by recent findings on the triangular competence of the very young infant, or her capacity to simultaneously communicate with two partners at a time. This discovery raises the question of a collective form of intersubjectivity. Findings on the triangular competence of the 3- to 4-month-old interactions with father and mother in different contexts of the Lausanne trilogue play situation are reviewed and illustrated, with a view to examine whether it is based on a dyadic or triangular program and whether conditions for a threesome form of primary intersubjectivity are fulfilled. The discussion focuses on the revisions of the theory of intersubjectivity, of developmental theory, and of clinical practice these findings call for, pointing toward a three -person psychology too.

Family interactions in IVF families: change over the transition to parenthood

Objective: This article presents a study of the change over time in the family interactions of couples who conceived through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). Background: Observational methods are rarely used to study family interactions in families who used assisted reproductive techniques, but these methods are crucial for taking account of the communication that occurs in interactions with infants. Methods: Thirty-one couples expecting their first child were seen during the fifth month of pregnancy and when the child was nine months old. Family interactions were recorded in pre- and postnatal versions of the Lausanne Trilogue Play situation. Measures of marital satisfaction and parent-to-foetus/baby attachment or ‘bonding’ were also used to assess family relational dynamics. Results: Results showed that family alliance, marital satisfaction and parental attachment scores in the IVF sample were all similar to or higher than those in the reference sample during pregnancy. However, at nine months postnatally, the family alliance scores were lower. While marital satisfaction decreased over the period and parent–baby attachment increased, the family alliance scores were unstable, as no association was observed between the pre- and postnatal scores. In addition, neither prenatal marital satisfaction nor parent–foetus attachment predicted the postnatal family alliance. Conclusion: The change in the family alliance over the transition to parenthood appears to be specific to our IVF sample. Given that postnatal family functioning could not be predicted by prenatal family functioning, our observational data underline the importance of offering postnatal support to these families.

Young infants' triangular communication with their parents in the context of maternal postpartum psychosis: Four case studies

With increasing data on the dynamics of normative couples as they transition to parenthood and become a triad, the need for greater understanding of the impact of parental psychopathology on this transition has become clear. The goal of the current article is to begin exploring this area that has received little attention to date, by describing case examples from a study of clinical families as they transitioned to parenthood. Four representative cases were selected from a pool of 13 mother-father-baby triads, for whom the mother had been hospitalized conjointly with her infant due to a psychotic episode during the postpartum period. The families were observed as part of a clinical consultation that included a semistructured play paradigm known as the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP; E. Fivaz-Depeursinge, & A. Corboz-Warnery, 1999). Interactions were scored using standardized measures as well as clinical impressions. All families from the clinical sample were noted to struggle and frequently failed to achieve the goals of play. The impact on the infants in terms of their developing sense of self as well as their defensive strategies in this context are discussed, with clinical implications explored.

The relation of general socio-emotional processing to parenting specific behavior: a study of mothers with and without posttraumatic stress disorder

Socio-emotional information processing during everyday human interactions has been assumed to translate to social-emotional information processing when parenting a child. Yet, few studies have examined whether this is indeed the case. This study aimed to improve on this by connecting the functional neuroimaging data when seeing socio-emotional interactions that are not parenting specific to observed maternal sensitivity. The current study considered 45 mothers of small children (12–42 months of age). It included healthy controls (HC) and mothers with interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (IPV-PTSD), as well as mothers without PTSD, both with and without IPV exposure. We found that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) activity correlated negatively with observed maternal sensitivity when mothers watched videos of menacing vs. prosocial adult male–female interactions. This relationship was independent of whether mothers were HC or had IPV-PTSD. We also found dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activity to be correlated negatively with maternal sensitivity when mothers watched any kind of arousing adult interactions. With regards to ACC and vmPFC activity, we interpret our results to mean that the ease of general emotional information integration translates to parenting-specific behavior. Our dlPFC activity findings support the idea that the efficiency of top-down control of socio-emotional processing in non-parenting specific contexts may be predictive of parenting behavior.

Mother–toddler attachment in a paediatric setting: Presentation and validation of the Paediatric Attachment Style Indicator

The paediatric examination with immunization is a stressful event for toddlers. Its characteristics are close to the classic “Strange Situation”: a perceived threat, which activates the attachment system, a stranger, and an unfamiliar environment. As such, it can be used as a natural situation to assess the quality of the mother–child attachment, on one hand to manage the stress of the toddler during the paediatric examination, and on the other to screen for relationship disturbances. To this end, we have developed a specific coding instrument, the Paediatric Attachment Style Indicator (PASI), which allows classification of infant and toddler behaviour in the paediatric examination as secure, anxious–avoidant, or anxious–ambivalent. This article presents the PASI instrument and its validation. Paediatric examinations (N = 41 mother and toddler dyads) were videotaped during a booster session of the regular immunization schedule for toddlers in Switzerland. Results of the PASI coding were compared with other methods of direct observation of emotional behaviour of the toddler (distress signals) and of the mother (verbal behaviours), with the information given by the mother to the toddler before the examination, and with the assessment of temperament of the toddler by the paediatrician. Results show good face validity and construct validity for the instrument.

Parental Satisfaction with a Home-based Intervention for Developmentally Delayed Children in Switzerland: A Survey over a 10-year Period

This article presents a study of parental satisfaction with services provided to their child by an Early Intervention Service in Geneva, Switzerland. The Service offers psycho-educational home-based interventions for developmentally delayed children. Parents whose child used the service between 1991 and 2001 filled out a questionnaire with Likert scales (adapted from the European Parent Satisfaction Scale about Early Intervention) that evaluated items related to satisfaction in a number of domains. The questionnaires returned (n=100) revealed the existence of a general satisfaction dimension, for which results were highly positive. Socio-economic variables were not related to parental satisfaction. The analysis of variables related to the childs diagnosis showed that satisfaction is lower when children present behavioural problems than when sensorial or motor problems are diagnosed. Practical implications of the results are discussed.

Are parents doing better when they are together? A study on the association between parental sensitivity and family-level processes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of one parents presence on the quality of the interaction between the other parent and their three-month-old infant. Family interactions were observed in a sample of 69 two-parent families. Parental sensitivity was assessed during two sessions, first in a ‘dyadic’ context (D) and then in a ‘dyad within the triad’ context (DT). Subsequently, we compared maternal and paternal sensitivity in the D and DT contexts according to the quality of family functioning (‘high coordination’ versus ‘low coordination’). The results showed that parents were significantly more sensitive in the DT context than in the D context. This effect appeared to vary according to the quality of family alliance. Moreover, family alliance was globally associated with sensitive parenting. This study helps clarify the role of the triad as a protective factor for early infant–parent dyads.