Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 1, 2025

Author Spotlight: Capturing Infant-Caregiver Interactions Through Synchronized Multimodal Data Collection
08:08

Author Spotlight: Capturing Infant-Caregiver Interactions Through Synchronized Multimodal Data Collection

Published on: May 31, 2024

959

Observational measures of caregiver's touch behavior in infancy: A systematic review

Juliana F Serra1, Isabel C Lisboa2, Adriana Sampaio3

  • 1Psychology Researcher Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|April 24, 2023
PubMed

Insights

This systematic review identifies and classifies observational tools for measuring caregiver touch in infants. It highlights the need for greater consistency in assessing this crucial aspect of early development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Infant Research
  • Social Neuroscience

Background:

  • Caregiver touch is vital for infant development.
  • Measuring social touch in caregiver-infant interactions is complex.
  • No prior systematic reviews have examined observational tools for caregiver touch.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and classify existing observational instruments for measuring caregiver touch behavior in infants.
  • To describe the characteristics of these instruments.
  • To identify gaps and inconsistencies in current measurement approaches.

Main Methods:

  • Adherence to PRISMA guidelines for systematic review.
  • Literature search identifying 3042 publications.
  • Selection of 45 studies with observational measures, yielding 12 distinct instruments.
  • Classification of instruments based on behavioral, functional, or mixed approaches.

Main Results:

  • Twelve observational instruments for caregiver touch were identified.
  • Most studies focused on infants under six months.
  • Touch was primarily assessed during face-to-face interactions and still-face procedures.
  • Instruments were categorized as functional (50%), strictly behavioral (25%), or mixed (25%).

Conclusions:

  • Significant heterogeneity exists in conceptualization and operationalization of caregiver touch across instruments.
  • Lack of uniformity hinders consistent measurement and comparison across studies.
  • Further development is needed to enhance conceptual and operational consistency in touch measurement tools.

Keywords:
MeasurementObservational instrumentsParent-infant interactionSystematic reviewTouch behavior

More Related Videos

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities09:38

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities

Published on: January 29, 2014

10.9K
Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans04:27

Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans

Published on: March 15, 2019

11.2K

Related Concept Videos

Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch01:15

Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch

The history of therapeutic communication can be traced back to Florence Nightingale, who emphasized the importance of developing trusting relationships with patients. She taught that the presence of nurses with patients results in therapeutic healing.
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
5.0K
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
86
Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...
98
Naturalistic Observations02:30

Naturalistic Observations

If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...
15.6K
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood03:34

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships. 
43.5K
Parental Care00:55

Parental Care

Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
11.8K