DOI: 10.60641/7tty-4e58
title: Parent-Child Interaction (PCI)

description: YOUth is a large-scale longitudinal cohort study following children from the city of Utrecht and its surrounding areas in their development from pregnancy until early adulthood. The YOUth cohort focuses on neurocognitive development involved in two core characteristics of behavioral development: social competence and behavioral control. YOUth includes children from the general population to cover the whole range of variation in behavioral development, ranging from uncomplicated development, through problem behavior, to psychiatric disorders. To understand why some children develop problematic behavior, and others show resilience, YOUth measures a broad range of biological, child-related and environmental determinants.

YOUth conducts repeated measurements at regular intervals (i.e. 'waves'). Specifically, the study has two inclusion moments: YOUth Baby & Child and YOUth Child & Adolescent. YOUth applies a flexible longitudinal design to the cohorts, meaning that children are measured at broader age ranges (3-year age ranges) at each wave. The main benefit of the flexible age design is that it provides more detailed information on the neurodevelopmental curves over time.

An extensive data set is generated, including 3D-ultrasound sweeps of the fetal brain, eye tracking, EEG, (f)MRI, computer tasks, cognitive measurements and parent-child observations. We also collect a broad range of questionnaires on behavior, personality, health, lifestyle, parenting, child development, use of (social) media and more. Finally, (umbilical) blood samples, buccal swabs, saliva and hair samples are collected at each visit, and stored in the UMC Utrecht Biobank.
description: Parent child interaction (PCI) is an observation of a parent with their child, with the goal to code qualitative aspects of the observed interaction based on explicitly defined behaviors. The PCI consists of age appropriate structured tasks that include a common mildly stressful event (teaching tasks and clean-up), and a pleasant event (unstructured free play).
description: 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.