The still-face paradigm in Latin American mother-child dyads at 2 and 3 years: Effects of socioeconomic status and temperament

The still-face paradigm (SFP) is a common method in infancy used to assess emotion regulation and interactions when an adult (typically the caregiver) abruptly stops a positive interaction with a child and switches to a more neutral affect. The effect of this paradigm has been studied in different countries and age ranges, but research in Latin America and with toddlers (e.g., 2-3 years old) of different socioeconomic backgrounds is scarce. The current study analyzed caregiver-child interactions in this novel sample, to analyze the possibility of generalization of the typical response of this paradigm (i.e., less positive affect, reduced gaze, and more negative affect in children when parent affect changes). The sample consisted of 114 caregiver-child dyads from low to middle socioeconomic status (SES) (children s