Using technology to better assess ecologically-valid mother-young child interactions at home

Macarena Kruger

doi:10.17918/00011109

Early caregiver-child interactions are shaped by the environment that children develop in and constitute strong predictors of outcomes in later life. Further, these interactions vary across cultures, socialization goals, and learning practices. Accordingly, when assessing early caregiver-child interactions, the current landscape (e.g., increasing demographic diversity and substantial influence of digital technologies) should be accounted for. Nonetheless, the most widely adopted paradigms (i.e., in-person, laboratory-based assessments) do not necessarily resemble the conditions that families typically encounter, which raises concerns about the generalizability of findings to real-world settings. Human-centered design (HCD) is a promising methodology that seeks to collaboratively understand individuals' behaviors, experiences, and needs to involve them in the development of effective solutions. As such, HCD could help to inform the design of an assessment tool that accurately captures early caregiver-child practices at home. We invited a subset of mothers who had previously participated in a complement interview-based study to participate in the current "Digital Diary" study. They were asked to self-record videos engaging in three modified Early Regulation in Context Assessment (ERICA) activities with their child at home and upload them to a qualitative research platform. Following HCD principles, after completing each activity and at the end of the study, mothers were prompted to provide feedback on the ecological validity and acceptability of the modified ERICA. We analyzed and categorized participants' reflections. Results showed promising ecological validity across all activities; however, the third activity was the most ecologically valid. We also obtained high acceptability consistently, but the first and second activities would benefit from additional modification. The most challenging aspects were interruptions faced by mothers while engaging in the activities and the activities' length. The most enjoyable aspect reported by mothers was spending time with their child. Overall, this is a valuable assessment paradigm that aligns with the current demographically diverse and digital landscape.

Using technology to better assess ecologically-valid mother-young child interactions at home

Files and links (1)

Abstract

Metrics

Details

Using technology to better assess ecologically-valid mother-young child interactions at home

Files and links (1)

Abstract

Metrics

Details

Drexel University Social media