Maternal Shape Flow Movements in Mother-Infant Interactions with Babies in Distress: Micro-Analysis Utilization of the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP)
Abstract
Micro-analytic studies of dyadic interactions reveal that mother-infant attunement is a complex and intricate system of self- and inter-regulative processes (Beebe, Jaffe, & Lachmann, 2000; Beebe et al., 2003; Stern, 2002; Trevarthen & Delafield-Butt, 2014; Tronick, 2007). Distress levels of both mother and the baby have an impact on the flow of such interactions (Beebe, 2006; Beebe et al., 2008). This study utilized aggregate and time-series analyses to investigate maternal movement qualities related to the shape flow system of the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP, Kestenberg-Amighi, Loman, Lewis, & Sossin, 1999) as they were associated with infant behavioral distress. The process of developing statistically sound adaptation of the KMP observational coding system for use with digital recording/notational software contributed to further expansion of the KMP as a measure of non-verbal communication within the individual profile as well as in the interactional model. Video-recordings of 75 mothers playing with their 12-month-old babies in a face-to-face situation were coded through Noldus Observer XT in 30 frames per second format. Results indicated that infant behavioral distress was likely to be followed by maternal movements in lower face characterized by shrinking and/or unipolar shape flow qualities, likely contributing to soothing facial gestures. In turn, maternal facial gestures characterized by unipolar shape flow qualities had predictive power for infant becoming distressed, suggesting that such maternal movements, when not matched with the infant's readiness to respond, may have a dysregulating effect on the baby. Findings support the view of a dyadic system of interaction within a co-regulation model with the potential for both partners to recognize and respond to each other's affective states in under a second. Implications for further research are discussed.
Subject Area
Developmental psychology|Psychology|Clinical psychology
Recommended Citation
Endres, Liliya, "Maternal Shape Flow Movements in Mother-Infant Interactions with Babies in Distress: Micro-Analysis Utilization of the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP)" (2016). ETD Collection for Pace University. AAI10295852.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI10295852
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