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Cited by 536Attachment and Relationship DynamicsChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentInfant Health and Development

Infant-mother and infant-father synchrony: The coregulation of positive arousal

Feldman, Ruth·2003·Infant Mental Health Journal
DOI 10.1002/imhj.10041
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Abstract

To examine the coregulation of positive affect during mother–infant and father–infant interactions, 100 couples and their first‐born child were videotaped in face‐to‐face interactions. Parents' and infant's affective states were coded in one‐second frames, and synchrony was measured with time‐series analysis. The orientation, intensity, and temporal pattern of infant positive arousal were assessed. Synchrony between same‐gender parent–infant dyads was more optimal in terms of stronger lagged associations between parent and infant affect, more frequent mutual synchrony, and shorter lags to responsiveness. Infants' arousal during mother–infant interaction cycled between medium and low levels, and high positive affect appeared gradually and was embedded within a social episode. During father–child play, positive arousal was high, sudden, and organized in multiple peaks that appeared more frequently as play progressed. Mother–infant synchrony was linked to the partners' social orientation and was inversely related to maternal depression and infant negative emotionality. Father–child synchrony was related to the intensity of positive arousal and to father attachment security. Results contribute to research on the regulation of positive emotions and describe the unique modes of affective sharing that infants coconstruct with mother and father. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

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Crossref · 10.1002/imhj.10041

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  • Paternal stimulatory, proprioceptive, and object-oriented play is a style typical of the human father's interactions with his infant.

    “On the other hand, paternal OT correlated with stimulatory, proprioceptive, and object-oriented play, a style that is typical of the human father’s interactions with his infant (51–55).”

    From Oxytocin and the development of parenting in humans (2010) · cites this paper as [51]

  • These father behaviors induce similar levels of social reciprocity to those observed during mother-child interactions.

    “these behaviors induce similar levels of social reciprocity to those observed during mother-child interactions (41).”

    From Oxytocin administration to parent enhances infant physiological and behavioral readiness for social engagement (2012) · cites this paper as [41]

  • In a time series analysis of 100 first-time mothers and fathers interacting with their 5-month-old firstborn child, mother-child play was characterized by face-to-face exchange and included patterns of mutual gazing, co-vocalization, and affectionate touch; father play was characterized by interactive arousal with quick peaks of high positive emotionality, including joint laughter and open exubera

    “Mother-child play was characterized by face-to-face exchange and included patterns of mutual gazing, co-vocalization, and affectionate touch. In contrast, during play with fathers, a pattern of interactive arousal was identified that contained several quick peaks of high positive emotionality, including joint laughter and open exuberance.”

    From Approaching the biology of human parental attachment: Brain imaging, oxytocin and coordinated assessments of mothers and fathers (2014) · cites this paper as Feldman, 2003

  • Play studies show more object-oriented or physical play associated with smiles compared with mother-infant interactions.

    “play studies showing more object-oriented or physical play associated with smiles compared with mother-infant interactions (Dickson et al., 1997; Feldman, 2003; Lamb, 1977; Yogman, 1981)”

    From Approaching the biology of human parental attachment: Brain imaging, oxytocin and coordinated assessments of mothers and fathers (2014) · cites this paper as Feldman, 2003

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Authors
Feldman, R.
Affiliations
Bar-Ilan University (IL)
Corresponding author
Feldman, Ruth
ORCID
Feldman, Ruth
Venue
Infant Mental Health Journal
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2003-01
Volume
24
Issue
1
Pages
1-23
ISSN
  • 0163-9641 (ISSN-L)
  • 1097-0355
DOI
10.1002/imhj.10041
OpenAlex
W2060529315
Semantic Scholar
031cd586f78dc92c302868d6a1e3609176001409
Cited by
536
References
103
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 79 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 28
FWCI
8.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 9 d)
Locations
Infant Mental Health Journal (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Infant Health and Development
Keywords
positive affect, co-regulation, parent-infant interaction, father-child play, maternal depression, infant negative emotionality, attachment security, social orientation, emotion regulation, firstborn children

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