Juliana F Serra, Helga Miguel, Filipe Araújo, Adriana Sampaio, Alfredo F Pereira
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Social touch is a crucial part of how mothers interact with their infants, with different touch types serving distinct purposes in these exchanges. However, there is still a limited understanding of how mothers' touch behavior adapts to specific interactive tasks, particularly throughout infancy. To address this gap, we observed mother-infant dyads at 7 and 12 months during three structured social play tasks: (a) play with objects, (b) play without objects, and (c) play with a difficult object. Using an adapted version of the Ordinalized Maternal Touch Scale, we categorized every touch performed by the mother. The effect of the infant's age and play tasks on the proportion of time mothers touch their infants was evaluated using Bayesian beta mixed models, taking into account both the total quantity and the Ordinalized Maternal Touch Scale touch categories. Results showed that (a) the frequency of maternal touch is prevalent in dyadic interactions and lowered in triadic object play; (b) mothers used affectionate, static, and playful touch categories more often in dyadic play tasks; (c) in triadic play task, mothers used object-mediated touch more frequently; (d) the total frequency of maternal touch decreased across infant age, which was primarily due to a decrease in static and object-mediated touch; and (e) maternal touch varies depending on the complexity of object play task. Our findings suggested that the developmental trajectory of maternal touch behavior is modulated by the infant's evolving needs and the different challenges in object versus nonobject play tasks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
期刊介绍：
Developmental Psychology ® publishes articles that significantly advance knowledge and theory about development across the life span. The journal focuses on seminal empirical contributions. The journal occasionally publishes exceptionally strong scholarly reviews and theoretical or methodological articles. Studies of any aspect of psychological development are appropriate, as are studies of the biological, social, and cultural factors that affect development. The journal welcomes not only laboratory-based experimental studies but studies employing other rigorous methodologies, such as ethnographies, field research, and secondary analyses of large data sets. We especially seek submissions in new areas of inquiry and submissions that will address contradictory findings or controversies in the field as well as the generalizability of extant findings in new populations. Although most articles in this journal address human development, studies of other species are appropriate if they have important implications for human development. Submissions can consist of single manuscripts, proposed sections, or short reports.
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