Cross-modal coherence and incoherence of early infant interactive behavior: links to attachment in infants born very preterm or full-term

• Published in: Attachment & human development 2023-07, Vol.25 (3-4), p.390-416
• Main Authors: Fuertes, Marina, Almeida, Ana Rita, Antunes, Sandra, Beeghly, Marjorie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: cross-modal coherence and incoherence of early infant interactive behavior; face-to-face interactions; mother-infant attachment; strange situation; Very preterm birth
• ISSN: 1461-6734; 1469-2988
• DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2023.2210122

Infants exhibit flexibly organized configurations of facial, vocal, affective, and motor behavior during caregiver-infant interactions that convey convergent messages about their internal states and desires. Prior work documents that greater cross-modal discrepancy at 4 months predicts disorganized attachment. Here, we evaluated whether: very preterm (VPT) or full-term (FT) status predicts cross-modal coherence or incoherence in infants' behavior with the caregiver at 3 months; and, regardless of prematurity, whether cross-modal interactive coherence or incoherence predicts 12-month attachment. Participants included 155 infants (85 FT; 70 VPT), and their mothers followed from birth to 12 months (corrected age). Infants' cross-modal coherent and incoherent responses were scored microanalytically from videotaped en-face interactions. Infants' attachment security was evaluated during Ainsworth's Strange Situation. Infants born VPT exhibited more incoherent cross-modal responses and insecure attachment than infants born FT. Regardless of prematurity, infants' coherent and incoherent cross-modal interactive behaviors at 3 months predicted different attachment patterns at 12 months.