Maternal technology use during feeding and infant self-regulation and growth

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PROJECT SUMMARY The development of effective self-regulation skills is one of the most important achievements of early childhood. During infancy, key interconnected domains of self-regulation include emotion (i.e., distress regulation) and feeding (i.e., caloric intake regulation). An important foundation for infants’ developing capacities for self-regulation is caregivers’ sensitive responsiveness to infant behavioral cues, especially during feeding. However, given the ubiquity of portable technologies (e.g., smartphones), it is likely that many caregivers are distracted by technology while feeding their infants, which may lower sensitive responsiveness to infant cues. Surprisingly few studies have examined possible effects of technological distractors on the quality and outcome of early feeding interactions. The primary aim of the proposed research is to examine impacts of maternal technology use on early feeding interactions and change in these impacts across early infancy. We also aim to test the hypothesis that greater habitual maternal technology use will predict poorer infant emotion and intake regulation when infants are 6 and 12 months of age, greater socioemotional and behavioral problems at 12 months, and greater infant weight gain between birth and 12 months. In addition, we aim to describe levels of and changes in habitual maternal technology use from the prenatal and early postpartum periods and examine predictors of habitual technology use patterns. We propose a 15-month longitudinal study with nested within-subject experimental studies and bursts of daily passive sensing of device use and time diaries. Pregnant women will be recruited and assessed during their 3rd trimester of pregnancy, then mother-infant dyads will be assessed when infants are 2wk, 4mo, 6mo, 9mo, and 12mo of age. At 2wk and 4mo, mothers and infants will be observed feeding under 3 counterbalanced within-subject experimental feeding conditions: 1) Control, 2) TV Use, 3) Mobile Device Use. Videos of these feeding interactions will be coded to obtain a comprehensive understanding of potential impacts of maternal technology use on maternal attention, sensitivity to infant cues, and engagement of the infant, and on infant clarity of cues, attentional responsiveness to the mother, and intake. Infant emotion and intake regulation, and related socioemotional and behavioral problems, will be assessed via a combination of established behavioral protocols and validated questionnaires. To describe patterns of habitual maternal technology use, we will integrate passive sensing (via an app) of maternal technology use with time diaries; hypothesized predictors include maternal depressive symptoms, stress, emotion regulation, feeding styles, and reflective functioning, and infant eating behaviors and temperament. In sum, the proposed research is an innovative, multi-level examination of potential impacts of maternal technology use on the quality and outcome of dyadic interactions during feeding. Findings from this study will provide a foundation for further research aimed at understanding how to balance potential benefits vs. drawbacks of technology use within family contexts.