Sviluppo dei primi processi di co-regolazione madre-lattante: la transizione evolutiva del secondo mese

This study documented the emergence of mother-infant co-regulation during early face-to-face communication. Sixteen mother-infant dyads were videotaped during a naturalistic face-to-face interaction weekly, from age 1 to 14 weeks, in 2 conditions: with infant held (C1) vs. not held (C2) by mother. Four qualitatively different patterns of mother-infant communication, varying in the level of dyadic co-regulation (Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, Unilateral, and Disruptive), were coded using the Relational Coding System (Fogel, 2000). Results showed a change from the dominance of Unilateral (mother actively engaging disengaged infant) - at least in C2 - and Asymmetrical (mother actively engaging inactive but attentive infant) to the dominance of Symmetrical (mutual engagement of both partners) around 6-8 weeks, supporting the hypothesis of a qualitative change in dyadic co-regulation with the 2nd-month transition. Unilateral was significantly more elevated in C1, showing that context affects the quality of mother-infant communication.