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The Validation of Macro and Micro Observations of Parent–Child Dynamics Using the Relationship Affect Coding System in Early Childhood

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Abstract

This study examined the validity of micro social observations and macro ratings of parent–child interaction in early to middle childhood. Seven hundred and thirty-one families representing multiple ethnic groups were recruited and screened as at risk in the context of Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Nutritional Supplement service settings. Families were randomly assigned to the Family Checkup (FCU) intervention or the control condition at age 2 and videotaped in structured interactions in the home at ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. Parent–child interaction videotapes were micro-coded using the Relationship Affect Coding System (RACS) that captures the duration of two mutual dyadic states: positive engagement and coercion. Macro ratings of parenting skills were collected after coding the videotapes to assess parent use of positive behavior support and limit setting skills (or lack thereof). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the measurement model of macro ratings of limit setting and positive behavior support was not supported by the data, and thus, were excluded from further analyses. However, there was moderate stability in the families’ micro social dynamics across early childhood and it showed significant improvements as a function of random assignment to the FCU. Moreover, parent–child dynamics were predictive of chronic behavior problems as rated by parents in middle childhood, but not emotional problems. We conclude with a discussion of the validity of the RACS and on methodological advantages of micro social coding over the statistical limitations of macro rating observations. Future directions are discussed for observation research in prevention science.

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Notes

  1. Note that the recently developed three-step approach (Asparouhov and Muthén 2013) was not feasible in this study because the main predictor variable was a latent variable. It is not yet possible to include a latent variable in the auxiliary variable command in the new three-step approach.

  2. The CFA result of this model at age 5 also had a poor fit of the data, χ 2 (89) = 1296.19, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.16, CFI = 0.70, and SRMR = 0.14

  3. Additionally, we tested FCU intervention effects on parent–child dynamics at age 3 and 4, respectively. There was a significant intervention effect on parent–child dynamics at age 3 but not at age 4.

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Correspondence to Thomas J. Dishion.

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Funding for this research was provided by National Institute on Drug Abuse grant R01 DA036832-01A1 awarded to Daniel Shaw.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Dishion, T.J., Mun, C.J., Tein, JY. et al. The Validation of Macro and Micro Observations of Parent–Child Dynamics Using the Relationship Affect Coding System in Early Childhood. Prev Sci 18, 268–280 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-016-0697-5

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