Family interactions at preterm birth: preliminary analysis of parents verbal exchanges and children attachment

Introduction: The first triangular interactions (mother-father-child) have in recent years the focus of researchers (Fivaz-Depeursinge, Corboz-Warney, 2000). The way in which the triad organizes its communication patterns are analyzed in different contexts and with different methodologies. In this perspective the study of the first verbalizations that the couple used in parental interactions with the child is of considerable interest (Stern, 1995). Aim: To identify a specific verbal pattern in early parent-child interactions and to evaluate their correlation with the pattern of attachment to the mother shown by children at 12-18 months. Method: Participants were 12 Italian couples and their firstborn child, who were part of a study on the transition to parenthood in samples at risk. Mothers were between 30 and 38 years of age (M= 36.7, SD= 3.4) and fathers were between 32 and 41 years of age (M 38.2, SD 3.6). All parents had completed high school and most (93%) had some or a full college education. Infants were approximately five days old at the time of the first videotapes. All the children were preterm (mean gestational age 28 weeks; SD: + 2 weeks). The average weight of the infants were 1086 grams (SD: + 161 grams). The 84% of the infants examined have neurologic and / or pulmonary with an average of 71 (SD: + 27) days of hospitalization. Procedure consists in 4 videotaped interactions. The attachment to mother at 12 -18 months was assessed by the Strange Situation Procedure(Ainsworth et al, 1978). The verbal exchanges of the parents during the interactions were transcribed and analyzed with the program ATLAS.IT. At the time were considered the first 15 minutes of each interaction (average length: 20 '). Results and Conclusions: Initial findings show that the language used by the parental couples of the “future secure children” was more rich with a greater number of expressions regarding baby, emotions, needs. These data suggest that parental couples of the “future secure children” from the early interactions with the child, organized a specific pattern characterized by greater communication, capacity of representation of the other (use of the name, the presence of inclusions of the partner) and greater ability of discrimination of emotional states. References Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M.C., Waters, E., Wall, S., (1978), Patterns of attachment, Hillsdale, NJ: Eribaum. Fivaz-Depeursinge, E., Corboz-Warney, A., (2000), Il triangolo primario, Raffaello Cortina, Milano. Stern, D.N., (1995), La costellazione materna, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino