The Practical Utility of the Welch Emotional Connection Screen for Rating Parent-Infant Relational Health

Access: Institutional Access

Publication year

2019

study description

Secondary analysis of a longitudinal study.

core topic(s)

Early Relational Health

Population Characteristics

Infant/Newborn

Exposures, Outcomes, Other

Parent-Child Relationships/Interactions , Screening and Tools , Validity, Reliability, Feasibility, and Acceptability

metric(s)

Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS)
Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)
Parent Infant/Child Interaction Rating Scales (PIIRS/PCIRS)

objectives

Emotional Connection (EC) measured by the Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS) was related to the Parent–Infant Interaction Rating System (PIIRS), a 5-point adaptation of the rating system developed for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.

exposure

Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS).

outcomes evaluated

Emotional connection (EC) and construct validity.

setting

Participating families lived in a Midwestern university town; the majority of parents identified as Caucasian.

methods

Parent-infant dyads (n = 49 mothers; 43 fathers) were videotaped during face-to-face interaction at infant age 6 months; interactions were coded with both the WECS and PIIRS. At age 3, mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist. WECS ratings of EC were associated with PIIRS rating items for both mother-infant and father-infant dyads.

sample size

n=92 (total parent/infant dyads); n=49 (mother dyads); n=43 (father dyads)

measures

Measures of Emotional Connection:

• • Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS)
  • Parent-Infant Interaction Rating System (PIIRS) 
  • Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)

results

Mother-infant EC related positively to maternal sensitivity and positive regard for child, child positive mood and sustained attention, and dyadic mutuality, and negatively with maternal intrusiveness. Father-infant EC related positively to fathers' positive regard for child, child positive mood and sustained attention, and dyadic mutuality. Mother-infant EC predicted child behavior problems at age 3 better than mother-infant PIIRS ratings of dyadic mutuality. With fathers, neither EC nor dyadic mutuality ratings predicted mother-reported child behavior problems.

conclusions

Findings highlight the practical utility of the WECS for identifying potentially at-risk dyads and supporting early relational health.

limitations

Demonstrating prediction to 3‐year behavioral outcomes from mother–infant EC, although with a limited sample size, highlights the practical utility of the WECS for identifying infants who may be at‐risk for future behavioral problems. While limited by use of an existing data set constructed largely of a homogenous, full‐term community sample and its reliance on maternal reports of child behavior problems, these findings lay the groundwork for future research.