Characterization of dyadic interaction features between fathers and mothers playing with their autistic children

Background: Socio-communicative difficulties are a core symptom of autism that deeply impact interaction with others. Despite that, research on bidirectional caregiver-child interaction variables has been notably scant and predominantly focused on autistic children's interactive differences and the consequences on parenting behaviors. Aim: The study aimed to assess parent-child interaction in the context of autism through observational validated instruments that consider qualitative and structural features in a complementary way to obtain a comprehensive characterization of the exchange within the dyad. Methods and procedures: This study involved 56 paired parent-child dyads of 28 autistic children (mean age = 38.60 months, sd = 9.50) playing with their mothers and their fathers for 10 min. The video-recorded sessions were coded through the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) and the Interpersonal Synchrony (IS) coding system. Outcomes and results: Fathers and mothers do not show significant differences in ISexcept for mother widenings, which are more frequent and successful, and in Emotional Availability. Further, dyads present moderate levels of Emotional Availability, indicating that parents may struggle with structuring, sensitivity, and interactive abilities with their autistic children, which in turn present low levels of responsiveness and involvement. Further, we explored an association between IS and EA characteristics. Conclusion and implications: This study suggests the need for interventions to target interaction considering both caregivers, ultimately targeting both interaction structure and affect features. Research that includes fathers fosters strategies for individualization and treatment optimization.