Abstract
BACKGROUND: The quality of mother-preterm infant interaction has been identified as a key factor in influencing the infant's later development and language acquisition. The relationship between mother-infant responsiveness and later development may be evident early in infancy, a time period which has been understudied. AIM: Describe the relationship between mother-infant mutual dyadic responsiveness and premature infant development. DESIGN: This study employed a secondary analysis of data from the 6-week corrected age (CA) follow-up visit of the Hospital-Home Transition: Optimizing Prematures' Environment (H-HOPE) study, a randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of a mother- and infant- focused intervention for improving outcomes among premature infants. SUBJECTS: Premature infants born between 29 and 34 weeks gestational age and their mothers who had social-environmental risks. OUTCOME MEASURES: At 6-weeks corrected age, a play session was coded for the quality of mutual responsiveness (Dyadic Mutuality Code). Development was assessed via the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd edition. RESULTS: Of 137 mother-infant dyads, high, medium and low mutual responsiveness was observed for 35.8%, 34.3% and 29.9%, respectively. Overall motor, language and cognitive scores were 115.8 (SD = 8.2), 108.0 (7.7) and 109.3 (7.9). Multivariable linear models showed infants in dyads with high versus low mutual responsiveness had higher scores on the motor (β = 3.07, p = 0.06) and language (β = 4.47, p = 0.006) scales. CONCLUSION: High mutual responsiveness in mother-premature infant dyads is associated with significantly better language development and marginally better motor development.