Infant Parent Interaction

Identifying risk for toxic stress in infants

Toxic stress is the prolonged, heightened activation of the body’s stress response system, and can have a negative impact on an infant’s cognitive development. If difficult circumstances at home prevent caregivers from engaging in reciprocal, reliable social interactions with their infant, the infant may be at greater risk for toxic stress. As part of a collaborative research project with the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, I am analyzing interactions between infants and their caregivers during the Still-Face Experiment, a common experiment for analyzing emotion regulation in infants. During the Still-Face Experiment, typical play interactions between caregiver and infant are interrupted by a short period of unresponsiveness by the parent. My goal is to identify patterns of behavior which may be indicative of or related to toxic stress. The above video shows a common example of the Still-Face Experiment, introduced by Dr. Ed Tronick.