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. 2007 Jan-Feb;78(1):53-69.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00985.x.

Infant joint attention, temperament, and social competence in preschool children

Amy Vaughan Van Hecke  1 , Peter C Mundy, C Françoise Acra, Jessica J Block, Christine E F Delgado, Meaghan V Parlade, Jessica A Meyer, A Rebecca Neal, Yuly B Pomares
Affiliations

Infant joint attention, temperament, and social competence in preschool children

Amy Vaughan Van Hecke et al. Child Dev. 2007 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Infant joint attention has been observed to be related to social-emotional outcomes in at-risk children. To address whether this relation is also evident in typically developing children, 52 children were tested at 12, 15, 24, and 30 months to examine associations between infant joint attention and social outcomes. Twelve-month initiating and responding to joint attention were related to 30-month social competence and externalizing behavior, even when accounting for 15-month temperament ratings, 24-month cognition and language, and demographic variables. These results suggest that, in addition to associations with language and cognition, infant joint attention reflects robust aspects of development that are related to individual differences in the emergence of social and behavioral competence in childhood.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustrations of (a) Responding to Joint Attention; (b) High-level Initiating Joint Attention (Hi-IJA), “pointing”; (c1, c2, c3) IJA, “alternating gaze”; and (d) High-level Initiating Behavior Regulation, “pointing” from the Early Social Communication Scales (Mundy et al., 2003; Seibert et al., 1982).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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