Measuring the depth of reflection in reflective supervision/consultation sessions: Initial validation of the Reflective Interaction Observation Scale (RIOS).

Research on reflective supervision and reflective consultation (RS/C) is limited, and has primarily relied on self-report measures and qualitative interviews. To our knowledge, no measures currently exist which provide a way to observationally measure what occurs during an RS/C session. Thus, the Reflective Interaction Observation Scale (RIOS) was created as a way to more objectively measure the quality of RS/C. This study sought to provide initial evidence around the reliability and validity of the RIOS through a sample of child welfare workers (N = 40) who participated in six online group reflective consultation sessions and completed self-report surveys after their first and last session. The RIOS was used to code the first and last session each participant attended. Results showed that in this sample the RIOS Essential Elements had good variability and strong reliability. The data suggested that the five Elements could be condensed into three subscales, two of which showed significant change over time. The Self Openness subscale showed concurrent validity with existing self-report measures of RS/C. Results suggest that the RIOS shows promise as a measure that could contribute to a more rigorous evidence base for the practice of RS/C.

La investigación acerca de la supervisión con reflexión y la consulta con reflexión (RSC) es limitada y primariamente ha confiado en medidas de auto reporte y entrevistas cualitativas. Hasta donde alcanza nuestro conocimiento, no existen actualmente medidas que ofrezcan una manera de medir desde la perspectiva observacional lo que ocurre durante la sesión de RSC. Por tanto, la Escala de Observación de la Interacción con Reflexión (RIOS) se creó como una manera de medir más objetivamente la calidad de RSC. Este estudio se propuso proveer evidencia inicial acerca de la confiabilidad y validez de RIOS por medio de un grupo muestra de trabajadores den el campo del bienestar infantil (N = 40) que participaron en seis sesiones de grupo en línea sobre la consulta con reflexión y completaron encuestas de auto reporte después de su primera y última sesiones. RIOS se usó para codificar la primera y la última sesión a la que cada participante asistió. Los resultados muestran que en este grupo muestra los Elementos Esenciales de RIOS tuvieron buena variabilidad y una fuerte confiabilidad. La información sugiere que los cinco Elementos Esenciales pueden ser agrupados en tres subescalas, dos de las cuales muestras un cambio significativo con el pasar del tiempo. La escala de Auto Apertura mostró una validez concurrente con medidas existentes de auto reporte de RSC. Los resultados sugieren que RIOS es una medida prometedora que puede contribuir a una más rigurosa base de evidencia para la práctica de RSC.

Les recherches sur la supervision réflective et la consultation réflective (RSC) sont limitées et ont avant tout reposé sur des mesures d'auto-évaluation et des entretiens qualitatifs. A notre connaissance il n'existe actuellement aucune mesure qui offre une manière de mesurer par observation ce qui se passe durant une session de RSC. Par conséquent l'Echelle d'Observation de l'Interaction Réflective (abrégé RIOS en anglais) a été créée en tant que moyen de mesurer par observation la qualité de la RSC. Cette étude s'est donné pour but d'offrir des résultats préliminaires sur la fiabilité et la validité de RIOS au travers d'un échantillon d'employés de la protection de l'enfance (N = 40) ayant participé à des sessions de consultation réflective de groupe en ligne et rempli des questionnaires d'auto-évaluation après la première et la dernière session. RIOS a été utilisée pour coder la première et la dernière session à laquelle chaque participant a participé. Les résultats montrent que dans cet échantillon les éléments essentiels de RIOS avaient une bonne variabilité et une fiabilité forte. Les données suggèrent que les cinq éléments essentiels pourraient être condensés en trois sous-échelles, deux d'entre elles ayant fait preuve d'un changement important au fil du temps. Les sous-échelles d'Ouverture de Soi ont fait preuve d'une validité simultanée avec des mesures auto-rapportées de la RSC qui existaient déjà. Les résultats suggèrent que RIOS est prometteuse en tant que mesure qui pourrait contribuer à une base factuelle plus rigoureuse pour la pratique de la RSC.

Parent Provision of Choice Is a Key Component of Autonomy Support in Predicting Child Executive Function Skills.

Although previous work has linked parent autonomy support to the development of children's executive function (EF) skills, the role of specific autonomy-supportive behaviors has not been thoroughly investigated. We compiled data from four preschool-age samples in the Midwestern United States (N = 366; M age = 44.26 months; 72% non-Hispanic White, 19% Black/African American, 5% Multiracial) to examine three relevant autonomy-supportive behaviors (supporting competence, positive verbalizations, and offering choice) and their associations with child EF. We coded parent autonomy-supportive behaviors from a 10-min interaction between parent and child dyads working on challenging jigsaw puzzles together. Children completed a battery of EF. Overall, child EF was most consistently correlated with the offering choice subscale. Additionally, only the offering choice subscale predicted child EF while controlling for the other autonomy support subscales and child age. These results suggest that parent provision of choice is an especially relevant aspect of autonomy-supportive parenting and may be important to the development of EF in early childhood. Future research should directly measure children's experience with choice and how it relates to emerging EF.

The role of father parenting in children's school readiness: A longitudinal follow-up.

Mother autonomy support has been shown to predict child executive function (EF) and school readiness; however, little is known about the influence of father parenting on these child outcomes. The current study is a longitudinal follow-up examining the bidirectional relations between father parenting and child EF/school readiness across the preschool period. Eighty-nine father-child dyads participated at 2 time points (mean child ages of 38 and 58 months). The first time point was described in a previous article by Meuwissen and Carlson (2015). At the second time point, we observed fathers' autonomy support in a dyadic puzzle task and quality of parenting during free play in an indoor playground. School readiness included a battery of EF, literacy, and math measures. We found that father autonomy support at Time 1 predicted child school readiness at Time 2, mediated by child language at Time 1. Additionally, child EF at Time 1 inversely predicted father overstimulation during play at Time 2, mediated by father control at Time 1 and child school readiness at Time 2. These results indicate that the relationship of father autonomy support to child EF is similar to what has been found with mothers and that physical play may be an important context for father influence on child outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record

The creation and validation of the Developmental Emotional Faces Stimulus Set.

The Developmental Emotional Faces Stimulus Set (DEFSS) is designed to provide a standardized set of emotional stimuli that includes both child and adult faces and that has been validated by participants across a wide range of ages. This article describes the creation and validation of the DEFSS, which includes 404 validated facial photographs of people between 8 and 30 years old displaying five different emotional expressions: happy, angry, fearful, sad, and neutral. The emotions in all photographs were identified correctly by 86 % of the raters (minimum 55 %), and validity did not vary as a function of the age group of the model or of the raters, indicating that the pictures are equally appropriate for use across the entire age range. Strengths and limitations of the DEFSS are discussed.

Executive Function in At-Risk Children: Importance of Father-Figure Support and Mother Parenting.

Given the dearth of research about father-figures' influence on children's cognitive development, we investigated the impact of father support, together with maternal parenting, on children's executive function (EF) in the lab (42 and 54 mo.) and at school (K - 3rd grade) in a longitudinal, prospective, at-risk sample (N = 182) using path analysis. Both mother parenting and father-figure support significantly predicted child EF. In the final model, concurrent father-figure support was associated with child EF in both early and middle childhood, and mother parenting in early childhood predicted middle childhood EF. Attachment status moderated the path from mother parenting to early childhood lab EF; mother parenting significantly predicted early childhood EF only for securely attached participants. Findings suggest that both mothers and fathers are important for the development of EF in at-risk children, and point to the importance of including fathers in research and interventions.

Fathers matter: The role of father parenting in preschoolers' executive function development.

Although previous work has shown that mothers' parenting influences the development of child executive function (EF; important self-control skills developed during the preschool years), the role of fathers' parenting has not been thoroughly investigated. We observed fathers' autonomy support and control in dyadic play with their 3-year-old children (N pairs=110) and measured father and child EF independently with laboratory tasks. We found that fathers' controlling parenting was significantly inversely related to the child EF composite, above and beyond family income and child verbal ability. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that fathers are important for the development of EF in their children and suggest that fathers should be included in both research and parenting interventions.