Preterm toddlers’ joint attention characteristics during dyadic interactions with their mothers and fathers compared to full-term toddlers at age 2 years

Abstract

The current study investigates Joint Attention (JA) characteristics (duration, frequency, source of initiation, type of JA, agent of termination, missed and unsuccessful episodes) in preterm and full-term toddlers’ interactions with their mothers and fathers, separately. Thirty-one singleton full-term (Mage = 24.07 months, SD = 1.45; 13 boys) and 17 singleton preterm toddlers (Madjustedage = 24.72 months, SD = 3.39; 12 boys) participated in the study with both parents. JA episodes were examined during dyadic five-minute free play sessions, were coded second-by-second, and were analysed using two-way mixed ANOVAs. Although the total amount of time spent in JA was not significantly different between the preterm and the full-term groups, JA episodes were more frequent, specifically supported JA episodes, and were more often terminated by the child during parent-preterm toddler interactions. Moreover, preterm toddlers missed their fathers’ attempts for JA more often than their mothers’ and more often than full-term toddlers missed their fathers’ and mothers’ bids for JA. Further, regardless of the birth status, toddlers initiated more JA with mothers than fathers, and fathers redirected their child’s attention to initiate JA more than mothers. Findings indicate that preterm toddlers may struggle to respond to JA bids, especially with their fathers, and to sustain their attention on a specific object or event during interactions. Preterm toddlers may need more support to engage in JA relative to their full-term peers, and redirecting attention strategy may not be optimal for them. Also, toddlers’ JA interactions may be different with their mothers and fathers. Findings contribute to the literature by demonstrating preterm toddlers’ JA characteristics with both parents compared to full-term toddlers at age two.