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Infants' early visual attention and social engagement as developmental precursors to joint attention

Brenda Salley1, Stephen J Sheinkopf1, A Rebecca Neal-Beevers2

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Developmental Psychology
|October 28, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Early infant visual attention and social engagement predict later joint attention skills. These findings highlight key developmental precursors for social communication in infants.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Infant Behavior
  • Social Neuroscience

Background:

  • Joint attention is crucial for social and cognitive development.
  • Understanding early predictors of joint attention is vital for identifying developmental trajectories.
  • Previous research has not empirically established early visual and social behaviors as precursors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate early visual attention (1 month) and social engagement (4 months) as predictors of joint attention (12 and 18 months).
  • To examine these relationships in a diverse sample including high-risk (cocaine-exposed) and non-exposed infants.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 325 infants from the Maternal Lifestyle Study.
  • Hierarchical regression analyses were used to assess predictive relationships.
  • Data collected at 1, 4, 12, and 18 months of age.

Main Results:

  • Infant attention orienting at 1 month predicted initiating joint attention at 12 months.
  • Infant social engagement at 4 months predicted initiating joint attention at 18 months.
  • Attention at 1 month did not predict joint attention at 18 months.

Conclusions:

  • Early visual attention and social engagement serve as significant developmental precursors to later joint attention.
  • These findings offer empirical support for the role of early social-communication behaviors in development.
  • Understanding these early predictors can inform interventions for infants at risk for developmental delays.

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