The development of an objective observation tool for parent-child interaction

To address the need for objective evaluation of parent-child interactions, the investigators created a taxonomy of interactional behaviors used by parents and preverbal/early verbal children. This taxonomy was used by four judges to rate 40 1-min videotaped segments of parent-child freeplay, and the results were compared to four judges' subjective ratings of the same segments. Based on statistical analysis, the taxonomy was shortened to include only those objective behaviors that were highly correlated with the overall subjective ratings. The resultant 10-item taxonomy is discussed in relation to language development and to implications for therapy.