The development and reliability of an observational tool for assessing mother-child interactions in field studies- experience from Pakistan

摘要

Background This study describes the development and reliability testing of an observational tool to measure mother-child interactions with toddlers aged 2 years in a rural low-income country setting. Methods The development protocol comprised five phases with iterative revisions: (1) identification of the theoretical framework for responsive behaviours and selection of items; (2) field testing; (3) expert review; (4) training of the data collection team; and (5) piloting. The final tool was a structured live observational measure assessing a 5-min interaction of a shared picture-book-reading activity. Maternal behaviours assessed included affect, touch, verbal statements and language stimulation; child behaviours assessed included affect, communication and attention.