Associations between Infant Behavior during the Face-to-Face Still Face Paradigm and Oppositional Defiant and Callous-Unemotional Behaviors in Early Childhood

Extant research with child and adolescent samples investigating the behavioral correlates of oppositional defiant (ODD) and callous-unemotional (CU) traits have identified deficits in social orienting during dyadic interactions and hyporeactivity to fearful and stressful stimuli. The goal of the current study was to investigate infants' mother-directed gaze and affective behavior during the face-to-face and still-face episodes of the face-to-face still face paradigm performed at 6 months in the prediction of oppositional defiant and callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that infants' expressed negative affect and mother-directed gaze predicted fewer ODD behaviors in early childhood. Similarly, infants' expressed negative affect during the still face episode predicted fewer ODD and CU behaviors in early childhood. Further, mother-directed gaze during the free play episode attenuated the negative relationship between negative affect during the still face episode and ODD and, at least marginally, CU behaviors in early childhood.Master of Art