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The practical utility of the Welch Emotional Connection Screen for rating parent-infant relational health

Marcus A Fagan1, Cynthia A Frosch1, Wendy Middlemiss1

  • 1Department of Educational Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas.

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
|July 18, 2020
PubMed

Insights

The Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS) effectively identifies parent-infant relationship quality. Higher emotional connection (EC) scores predict better child behavior, aiding early intervention for at-risk dyads.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Family Studies
  • Clinical Psychology

Background:

  • Parent-infant interactions are crucial for child development.
  • Assessing early relational health is vital for identifying at-risk families.
  • Existing measures may not fully capture the nuances of emotional connection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS) in assessing parent-infant emotional connection.
  • To examine the relationship between WECS-measured emotional connection (EC) and the Parent-Infant Interaction Rating System (PIIRS).
  • To determine if EC predicts child behavior problems at age 3.

Main Methods:

  • 49 mothers and 43 fathers interacted with their 6-month-old infants during videotaped sessions.
  • Interactions were coded using the Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS) and the Parent-Infant Interaction Rating System (PIIRS).
  • Mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist when children were 3 years old.

Main Results:

  • WECS emotional connection (EC) ratings correlated with PIIRS items for both mother-infant and father-infant dyads.
  • Mother-infant EC positively associated with maternal sensitivity, child positive mood, and dyadic mutuality; negatively with maternal intrusiveness.
  • Mother-infant EC predicted child behavior problems at age 3, outperforming PIIRS dyadic mutuality ratings.

Conclusions:

  • The Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS) demonstrates practical utility in assessing parent-infant emotional connection (EC).
  • WECS can help identify dyads at risk for relational difficulties and support early relational health.
  • Findings underscore the importance of emotional connection in predicting later child behavior outcomes.

Keywords:
Welch Emotional Connection Screenemotional connectionparent-infant interactionrelational healthscreening

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