Dyadic Synchrony and Responsiveness Within the Context of Elevated Autism Likelihood: Applying Time-Varying Effect...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Infant Behavior
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Background:

• Early social interaction skills, such as sequential regulation of prosocial behaviors, develop in the first year of life.
• Difficulties in early social competence are associated with later developmental issues, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Current social competence metrics often use mean-level indices, which may not capture the dynamic nature of social interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model temporal changes in dyadic synchrony (DS), maternal responsiveness (MR), and infant responsiveness (IR) to assess their utility in developmental monitoring.
• To compare temporal patterns of DS, MR, and IR between infants with elevated ASD likelihood and those with typical ASD likelihood.
• To examine temporal patterns of DS, MR, and IR across different developmental groupings: typical (TYP), ASD, and other developmental concerns (Non-ASD DC).

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study involving dyads recruited from families with elevated ASD likelihood (n=95) and typical ASD likelihood (n=72).
• Micro-analytic coding of gaze, positive affect, and vocalizations to derive theory-driven indices of DS, MR, and IR.
• Application of logistic time-varying effect models (TVEMs) to analyze temporal changes in synchrony and responsiveness.

Main Results:

• DS, IR, and MR patterns demonstrated temporal stability but were consistently lower in the elevated ASD likelihood group compared to the typical ASD likelihood group.
• Infants diagnosed with ASD or other developmental concerns (Non-ASD DC) exhibited more variable temporal patterns in DS, IR, and MR.
• TVEMs effectively captured dynamic dyadic interaction information over time.

Conclusions:

• Temporal patterns of early social interactions provide valuable insights into infant development and potential developmental concerns.
• The findings suggest that TVEMs can be a powerful tool for prospective developmental monitoring in infants.
• These dynamic measures hold promise for informing parent-mediated intervention strategies for infants at risk for or with developmental concerns.