Exploring the impact of parents' face-mask wearing on dyadic interactions in infants at higher-likelihood for autism compared to general population

This database includes the raw data linked with the paper "Exploring the impact of parents' face-mask wearing on dyadic interactions in infants at higher-likelihood for autism compared to general population". The present study aimed to examine differences in 12-month-old infant's behavioural response to a parent wearing a protective face-mask during face-to-face interaction; to investigate potential differences in infants at higher likelihood for autism (HL-ASD) as compared to general population (GP) counterparts; to explore significant differences in the parents' behaviours while wearing or not a protective face-mask.

Methods

Fifty mother-infant dyads, consisting of 20 HL-ASD infants (siblings of autistic individual) and 30 GP infants participated in a 6-minute face-to-face interaction. The interaction was videotaped through teleconferencing and comprised three 2-minute episodes: (A1) no mask – the unmasked mother and infant engaged in face-to-face play; (B) mask – mothers were instructed to wear a protective face-mask while they kept interacting with the infant; (A2) post-mask – mothers were instructed to remove the mask. Infants' emotionality and gaze direction as well as mothers' vocal production and touching behaviours were coded micro-analytically.

Results (in brief)

GP infants exhibited more positive emotionality compared to HL-ASD counterparts. Infants' negative emotionality and gaze avoidance did not differ statistically across episodes. Both groups of infants displayed a significant increase in looking time towards the caregiver during the mask episode. No statistically significant differences emerged in the mothers' behaviours.