Thesis

Movement and socioemotional development – a multilevel approach examining sub-second motor patterns and behaviour in infancy and childhood

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2022
Thesis identifier
  • T16409
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 201855553
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • Social-emotional capacities are key to social interactions and forming successful relationships with others. Bodily interactions with the world provide the experiences for developing these capacities. This thesis aims to understand the ways that movement in infancy and childhood are associated with differences in socioemotional development, through examining movement at two levels – sub-second motor patterns, and behaviours. First, I examined differences in motor kinematics between autistic and neurotypical preschool children (Chapter 4), and provided further evidence supporting the notion that movement differences contribute to the social-cognitive features of autism. To understand how movement is linked to the development of social-emotional competencies more generally, I investigated movement patterns related to emotional self-regulation in prematurely-born infants who are at risk of socioemotional difficulties - in studies set within the Theirworld Edinburgh Birth Cohort Study. A behavioural coding scheme was developed to capture the range of behaviours shown by infants in an experimental paradigm eliciting emotional distress. 9-months-old term-born (N=61) and preterm-born infants (N=50) differed in behaviours during emotional self-regulation and in the temporal characteristics of these behaviours - specifically, use of objects for attentional distraction, repetitive movements, and behavioural complexity (Chapter 5). Traits characterising emotional reactivity and regulation (Chapter 6), and motor development (Chapter 7) influenced emotional self-regulation. Further, certain behavioural patterns of emotional self-regulation at 9-months-old were prospectively associated with autistic traits at 2-years-old, suggesting that social cognition and emotional self-regulation depend on processes developing in concert (Chapter 8). Finally, I examined in a proof-of-concept study whether sub-second motor patterns are able to distinguish infants by preterm birth status, or between different social-emotional contexts (Chapter 9). This thesis demonstrates the use of new technology and cross-disciplinary approaches in studying infant and children’s movement. Movement can reveal differences in the constraints shaping socioemotional development and has potential applications in identifying risks early
Advisor / supervisor
  • Delafield-Butt, Jonathan
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