1. Father play in multiple contexts: Study Site Information
Parenting interactions and toddler development in the US, Spain, Chile, and Turkey
Lori Roggman1, Sheila Anderson2, Rosa Vilaseca3, Chamarrita Farkas4, Magda Rivero3,
Kere Hughes-Belding5, Carla Peterson5, Neil Rowe5, Birgul Bayoğlu6, Mark Innocenti1
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
PURPOSE: To further understand fathers’ play interactions in varying socio-cultural contexts.
Study Site Information
US, Iowa: Sample of infants in Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting programs.
Chile: Sub-sample of fathers with infants and toddlers in Project FONDECYT –
Spain: Research sample of toddlers from project PSI R.
Turkey: Clinical sample of toddlers from university hospital.
US, PICCOLO sites: Original measurement sample of toddlers in Early Head Start Research &Evaluation Project (Love et al., 2016).
Fathers’ play interactions with their infants and young children may support early development both similarly and differently than mothers. Fathers’ play interactions may be more variable by culture than mothers’ play interactions (Lamb 2013). Studies of mothers’ interactions across cultures and conditions have shown consistent patterns in certain parenting behaviors linked with child development, such as responsiveness to children’s emotions and needs.
Fathers’ responsiveness during play has also been associated with children’s development, but less is known about how culture influences father play with infants and toddlers.
Other father behaviors during play include teaching and talking, which are likely influenced by language context and child age, and encouragement of children’s exploration, which is likely influenced by cultural values about autonomy and safety.
We explored data from observational studies of parenting interactions during play with infants and toddlers in communities in the US, Spain, Chile, and Turkey, each using the same standardized observation measure of parenting interactions (PICCOLO; Roggman et al., 2013).
PICCOLO (Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes) has shown strong psychometric properties in a sample of low-income US parents interacting with children age months. PICCOLO includes 4 domains: Affection, Responsiveness,
Encouragement, and Teaching.
US, Iowa
Chile
Spain
Turkey
US, PICCOLO sites N 19 10 20 45
408
Child age M 6 16 27 32
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Our results represent only a preliminary exploration of small samples from several locations in different countries and cultures.
Overall, PICCOLO scores were highest in the original measurement sample, within a standard deviation of that in Chile and Spain, and lowest in a US sample of much younger infants, averaging only 6 months (Fig. 1). Domain score profiles show striking similarity across countries in Affection and Encouragement, but more differences in Teaching, especially for the US young infant sample (Fig 2).
The preliminary nature of these data preclude strong conclusions. The samples from each country are small and non-representative, with PICCOLO data collected at different ages and for different purposes. Nevertheless, the results show interesting similarities and differences.
Similarities: Fathers show surprising similarity, across countries and across child ages, in Affection, as seen in fathers’ expressions of emotional warmth toward the child, and Encouragement, seen in fathers’ effective support of child exploration and intention.
Differences: Fathers showed more variability across countries in Responsiveness to child’s cues and communication and much lower scores in Teaching with young US infants.
Further data collection and analyses are needed to explore these similarities and differences in fathers’ interactions with infants and toddlers and understand them in relation to social and cultural expectations.
Figure 2. PICCOLO domain score profiles in multiple countries and age groups
(6mo) (16mo) (27mo) (32mo) (27mo)
Figure 1. Total PICCOLO scores across multiple countries and age groups
References
Lamb, M. E. (2013). The father's role: Cross
cultural perspectives. Routledge.
Love, J. M., et al. (2005). The effectiveness of
Early Head Start for 3-year-old children and
their parents: lessons for policy and programs.
Developmental psychology, 41(6),
Roggman, L., et al., (2013). Parenting interactions
with children: Checklist of observations linked to
outcomes (PICCOLO) in diverse ethnic groups.
Infant Mental Health Journal, 34(4), 11 31 21 41 51 61
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