Running head: THE PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION MODEL 1

THE PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION MODEL 2

The Parent-Child Interaction Model

Student Name

Florida National University

Abstract

The present paper provides an analytical review of Kathryn E. Barnard’s parent-child interaction model. The purpose is to define the main concepts of the discussed theory and identify its connection to the author’s credentials. Moreover, the goal is to explore applicability of the parent-child model within maternal health care setting by defining its contribution to the research and practice in nursing. The given analysis bases on the recent studies that provide conceptual insights developed by Barnard. In particular, this paper discusses the applicability of Barnard’s Feeding Scale. Moreover, it derives examples from studies of mother-child interactions at early childhood under stressful conditions of the repetitive separation and reunion. In addition, the paper provides examples obtained from a study that focuses on adapting to environmental factors while developing maternal identity. It is detected that Barnard’s parent-child interaction model has considerable implacability for in the planes of research and practice.

Key words: Barnard’s parent-child interaction model, adaptation, maternal identity, Barnard’s Feeding Scale, maternal healthcare.

The Parent-Child Interaction Model

Introduction

Kathryn E. Barnard was the person who developed the parent-child interaction model in 1978. This model emerged as a result of Barnard’s scholarly and practical performance. In other words, this scholar had strong credentials in the field of early child development. Specifically, Barnard has received her master’s degree in nursing along with the certificate of Advanced Graduate Specialization in Nursing Education (Masters, 2015).This was the first step to becoming a teacher of nursing. After graduation, Barnard became a teacher of maternal healthcare. To be more precise, she specialized in child and mother healthcare.

The parent-child interaction model suggests the three planes: a child, a mother, and the environment; beginning from the woman’s pregnancy, these three fields overlap and influence one another. In order to ensure successful interaction within these overlapping circles, mother needs to modify constantly her mentality to meet and cope with the changes and challenges of the other planes. The same refers to a child: the process of development means the need for constant adjustment and re-adjustment (adaptation) to external stimuli. Simultaneously with the development of a child’s psyche, it is necessary to adjust his or her internal stimuli to the external factors. However, this process is ongoing and highly volatile due to constant accommodation to the variables that alter within the time.

Reviewing parent-child-environment interactions, one should stress that the plane ‘parent’ refers to a concept of a caregiver in general. In other words, there are cases, when interactions between a child, environment, and a parent include a father or other significant person as the main care-giver. Hence, it is clear that in the prevailing majority of cases, this model implies interaction between a child and a mother. According to the discussed theory, the interaction of these three systems depends on the unique characteristics of each plane. To be more precise, Kathryn E. Barnard educates that the main characteristics of a child “include physical appearance, temperament, feeding and sleeping patterns, and self-regulation” (Masters, 2015, p. 274). At the same time, the important assets of a care-giver include a range of bio-psycho-social qualities that are being constantly changed to adapt to a child’s needs and environmental factors, simultaneously causing a child’s system to accommodate accordingly.

Finally, the environmental factors include socio-economic factors (financial well-being, social roles, educational healthcare establishments, religion, politics, cultural events, etc.). The role of a nurse is to help a mother set realistic expectations, develop a positive maternal identity, and connect to benevolent environmental factors. This complex purpose prepares favorable conditions for healthy child’s development and growth, provides a care-giver with pleasure from parental interactions, and delivers healthy members to social environment.

Relevance

Personal Relevance

Striving to continue ongoing improvement of professional skills, this scholar headed a research project that was aimed to develop the method of assessment of early childhood development and well-being. In overall, Barnard participated in 22 scientific studies (Masters, 2015). Further, she would become a professor in child-parent nursing. Scholarly activity strongly related to collecting practical evidence. In particular, the scholar provided consultations, conducted public lectures, and released a number of academic publications that related to the maternal healthcare and early child development (Masters, 2015). In addition, she was working with mentally impaired children, which resulted in gaining considerable experience from delivering patient-centered care. Barnard acquired enough first-hand evidence to make an assumption about the importance of child-mother-environment interactions (Masters, 2015). Further, that assumption turned into conceptual patterns that took a place in the field of nurse science as the theory of parent-child interaction.

Relevance to Healthcare and the Client Discussed

The name of the theory itself implies the population that Barnard addressed. The parent-child interaction model functions to deliver patient-centered and evidence-based maternal health care as well as ensures that early child development occurs at a normal rate in positive conditions. In order to provide a particular example showing how this scientific theory serves the purpose of collecting the new evidence about mother-child interactions, and according to these observations, increases the quality of maternal healthcare, one should refer to the Barnard’s Feeding Scale (BFS). Beel-Bates et al. (2012) conducted a study that aimed at tracking mealtime interactions between a care-giver and a child. To measure the level of development of maternal identity and its relevance to the stage of a child’s growth, the scholars applied to the Barnard’s Feeding Scale.

BFS is a tool that was elaborated to collect evidence about caregivers’ verbal and non-verbal responses to a child’s mealtime behavioral patterns. For example, these reactions include facial mimics, gestures, posture, language, and signs that a care-giver performs while feeding a child. Beel-Bates et al. (2012) assume that it is possible to interpret the reactions as the indicators of the internal elements in a parent’s system. Thus, obtaining this data is essential for understanding the patterns of interaction between a mother and a child.

Applying to the parent-child interaction model, BFS can be useful for learning the system of a mother. One may utilize this knowledge in order to make several important assumptions. Firstly, it indicates to which extent the maternal identity is evolved. Secondly, “parent–child interaction has been found to be a bidirectional system where both partners are shaped by each other’s state and signals” Guo et al. (2015, p. 258). Thus, this data suggests the kind of impact, which a child’s system makes on a care-giver. Thirdly, this information helps making an approximate prognosis about the future development of parent-child interactions. Consequently, BFS is a valuable instrument that is important in anticipating potential health problems related to the defects of a care-giver’s adaption to the environmental circumstances and the needs of a child. Moreover, it is possible to mitigate already existing issues. In this regard, one can use the theory of parent-child interaction as a theoretical background to create the new conceptual patterns in accordance with the evidence obtained while utilizing BFS. This example illustrates the significance of Barnard’s parent-child interaction model and its appropriateness to nursing, in particular, in a maternal healthcare setting.

Application to Research and Practice

It is possible to characterize Kathryn E. Barnard’s parent-child interaction model by great implacability. One example is the study of meal-time interactions between a child and a care-giver conducted by Beel-Bates et al (2012), which was depicted below. Another example of implacability is the research of Guo et al. (2015) who studied positive and negative interactions between a mother and a child in stressful situations. In early childhood, separation from the main care-giver is an extremely stressful event. The same concerns the process of reuniting, especially when one of the participants reacts with the hostility, rejection, or indifference (Guo et al., 2015). Utilizing parent-child model as a background, the researchers identified that long and frequent separations between a mother and a child resulted in the disrupted concept of parenting. In addition, such inconsistency in the availability of the attachment figure stipulated the development of coping mechanisms in a child that might have negative implications if being applied to other individuals. Moreover, such interactions strengthened the feeling of insecurity, which had a negative impact on a child’s self-concept. These examples illustrate applicability of the discussed theory to the research.

It is possible to depict the applicability of a parent-child interaction model to practice referring to the study by Vallotton (2012). Valloton explored the impact of environment on the parent-child interactions. The study reveals that socio-economic position is linked to the quality of mother-child communication. In particular, it affects maternal identity, which forces a child to adapt to the mother’s attempts of adjusting her inner disturbance to the environmental factors and child’s characteristics. Vallotton (2012) educates that the care-givers who belong to vulnerable population (the poor) perform less verbal and non-verbal communication with offspring. This fact may result in the retarded development of children, predefine emergence of cognitive and emotional issues, deteriorate relations between a child and care-givers, as well as between a child and the society.

This research complements the study of a parent’s verbal and non-verbal responses during the process of feeding a child because it adds the variable of the environment system to the studied interactions between a child’s and a care-giver’s systems. In practice, the healthcare professionals utilize this insight to detect the risk group for acquiring defecting parental identities and apply them to preventive care by conducting educational intervention. For example, to encourage richer positive emotional expression, a nurse may perform inspirational conversations with a mother. In this way, implementing the parent-child interaction model can help a client gain parental identity, which will also have a positive impact on a child.

Summary

Strengths

The strength of the parent-child interaction model is that it is in compliance with the today’s patient-centered approach of delivering care. Specifically, it is focuses significantly on the targeted population, namely maternal health-care (care-givers’ and children’s bio-psycho-social well-being at early stages of development (up to three years)). Moreover, this theory is clear and concise (Masters, 2015). Thus, Barnard’s model is easy to comprehend and adapt to the daily nurse practicing. According to the information provided in this paper, this theory is characterized by high implacability both in research and practice.

Limitations

Despite a good focus on maternal healthcare, it is difficult to decide whether this theory is workable in other strongly related settings. The parent-child model focuses on “child-mother-environment interactive process” (Masters, 2015, p. 275). The name of theory and assigned purpose lead to a confusion regarding the population, to which it can be generalized. In particular, it is dubious if this model is applicable to a father, or other significant person who maintains a role of the main care-giver. In case it is possible, one may assume that there are differences in attitudes and interactions. Thus, preventive interventions should differ from those applied to the mother-child interactions.

References

Beel-Bates, C., Stephenson, P. L., Nochera, C. L., & Rogers, J., F. (2012). Caregiver-resident interaction with Barnard’s feeding scale. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 5(4), 284-93.

Guo,Y., Szu-Yun Leu, S., Barnard, K. E., Thompson, E. A., & Spieker, S. J. (2015). An examination of changes in emotion co-regulation among mother and child dyads during the strange situation. Infant and Child Development, 24, 256-273.

Masters, K. (2015). Nursing theories: A framework for professional practice (2nd ed.). Massachusetts, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Vallotton, C. D. (2012). Infant signs as intervention? Promoting symbolic gestures for preverbal children in low-income families supports responsive parent–child relationships. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 401– 415.

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