Effects of Intervention on Careg iver- Infant Interaction When the Infant Is Handicapped

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Abstract
Fourteen handicapped infants and their caregivers were pretested using an observational schedule designed to assess caregiver-infant interaction. Observers coded the frequency and duration of initiating and responding behaviors of both the caregiver and the infant, and also rated those behaviors as either positive or negative. Observers also coded those caregiver behaviors that were "controlling." The infant-caregiver pairs were stratified by infant age (0-12 months and 13-18 months) and randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group. The treatment group received a home-based intervention program designed to improve the quality of interaction between the infant and the caregiver. The control group received no intervention. After the intervention phase, the two groups were post-tested using the same observational schedule. Data from the pretests and post-tests were compared using analysis of variance to determine the effectiveness of the intervention program. This comparison revealed that the frequency and duration of positive caregiver behaviors significantly increased as a result of treatment. Duration of controlling caregiver behaviors significantly decreased as a result of treatment.