Parent-Child Interaction (PCI)

In YOUth, Parent-Child Interaction was conducted in a sparsely furnished room lined with curtains to optimize sound. The interaction was filmed using cameras that were positioned in such a way that one camera focused primarily on the child (including the face), one on the parent (including the face), and one on the entire scene. The desk with the computer where the test assistant (TA) was seated during the PCI was positioned behind a screen so as not to distract the parent or the child. Parents were asked to interact with their child as they would at home, try to ignore the cameras and imagine that the TA was not present. In each measurement wave, the parent and child were filmed for a total of 15 minutes, subdivided in episodes of free play, a teaching task, book reading, and clean-up. During the 5m measurement wave, the child was seated in a bouncer during the first two tasks. For the teaching task, parents were instructed to teach their child to play with a teething ring and explore what their child could do with it. Parents were then instructed to get the child out of the bouncer and to play with the book from the basket for 3 minutes. After this they were allowed to play freely again. After three minutes, the TA silently and in a calm tempo one by one put all the toys that were not being played with at that moment in the basket. Finally, without saying anything, the TA took the toy that was being played at and put it in the basket as well. The TA then left the basket and took place again behind the screen. Three minutes after the TA started to clean up the toys the task was finished. During the 10m measurement wave, the procedure was similar, except that for the teaching task, parents were instructed to teach their child to play with a shape sorter and explore what their child could do with it. During the 3y measurement wave, for the teaching task, parents had to teach their child how to complete a set of challenging puzzles. Parents were instructed to try to help their child complete at least 3 puzzles, without touching the pieces themselves or moving their children’s arms. For the cleaning task, parents and their children were told that it was time to put all toys in the basket. During the 6y measurement wave, parents did the same teaching task as in the 3y measurement wave (4 minutes), followed by a reading task in which children read a book to their parent (3 minutes), a task in which children are asked not to play with toys (4 minutes) and 3 minutes of free play.