play songs and lullabies: features of emotional communication and
Transcription
play songs and lullabies: features of emotional communication and
PLAY SONGS AND LULLABIES: FEATURES OF EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION AND DEVELOPING MOTHER -INFANT ATTACHMENT . Alison Liew Creighton, BMus(MusEd), MCMT, GCRS, RMT Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Western Sydney 2014 Acknowledgements I am very thankful to those who contributed to the development and completion of the thesis. I am especially appreciative of my supervisors Emeritus Professor Michael Atherton and Dr. Christine Kitamura. They provided me space to think and explore in my own way; strategies to seek answers and perspective; guidance and direction during uncertainty; examples of fortitude, resilience and grace; reassurance of my potentials; and support and love throughout the entire journey. I am thankful to Veronica Rivera for her blind coding and Professor Zeynep Biringen for her training and supervision of the Emotional Availability Scales. I am thankful to the BabyLab team for their support; friendly welcome; lunch-time discussions, heart to hearts and overall lovingness. I am also grateful to my fellow students at the MARCS institute for the chats, breaks, laughs and stories. I am thankful to Bonny Cotter, Dr. Alan Lem, Robin Howat and the Golden Stave Music Therapy team for their early contributions, encouragement and support of my research. I am thankful for my friends and family who helped to support, motivate and encourage me along the way. Mum and Dad, despite your pain I know you are always there for me. Neil and Di, your interest and support are appreciated. Kirstin and Jamaella, we share the highs and lows of research and life. Together we can achieve! Charmaine, thank you for listening to every detail of my progress. My dear husband, Ben, I am beyond thankful for your support, especially amongst the sacrifice, grief, stress, distress, worries, frustration, celebrations and joy that the last few years have brought us. In God's grace we endure and find hope. Lastly, I am very thankful to the dedicated women who generously participated in the study. I thank them for welcoming me into their world and for their time and honesty. You are all 'supermums' in my eyes. i Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. ................................................................ (signature) ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... i Statement of Authentication ...................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables........................................................................................................................... xii List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... xvii Abstract ................................................................................................................................ xviii Publications arising from this work ....................................................................................... xxi Journal publications............................................................................................. xxi Conference presentations .................................................................................... xxi CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 Personal Reflection ...........................................................................................................1 Research Purpose ..............................................................................................................3 Design Overview ..............................................................................................................5 Chapter Outline.................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 2 – BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ...............................................................11 Emotional Communication and attachment ...................................................................12 Mother-Infant Attachment.....................................................................................12 Mother-Infant Emotional Communication ............................................................16 The Musicality of Emotional Communication ...............................................................23 The Musical Nature of Infants ..............................................................................24 The Musical and Communicative Nature of Infant-Directed Speech ...................25 Play songs and Lullabies as Emotional Communication ......................................29 Mother-Infant Singing as Intervention ..................................................................39 iii Summary ...............................................................................................................45 Research aims .................................................................................................................46 CHAPTER 3 – METHODOLOGY .........................................................................................48 Participants .....................................................................................................................49 Materials .........................................................................................................................51 Music materials .....................................................................................................51 Emotional Availability Scales ...............................................................................52 Procedure ........................................................................................................................62 Groups ...................................................................................................................62 Video recording .....................................................................................................65 Interview with mother ...........................................................................................68 Qualitative interview analysis ...............................................................................69 Emotional Availability analysis ............................................................................71 Transcriptional Music Analysis ............................................................................72 Convergence and interpretation ............................................................................73 Methodological considerations .......................................................................................74 Bias ........................................................................................................................74 Epoché ...................................................................................................................74 Summary .........................................................................................................................75 CHAPTER 4 – INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE OF SINGING INTERACTION ....................77 Alice & Cindy .................................................................................................................78 Ratings of Emotional Availability.........................................................................78 Interview Findings.................................................................................................79 iv Conclusion.............................................................................................................82 Kelly & Lucas .................................................................................................................83 Ratings of Emotional Availability.........................................................................83 Interview Findings.................................................................................................84 Conclusion.............................................................................................................88 Beth & Rita .....................................................................................................................88 Ratings of Emotional Availability.........................................................................88 Interview Findings.................................................................................................90 Conclusion.............................................................................................................92 Jane & Juliet ...................................................................................................................93 Ratings of Emotional Availability.........................................................................93 Interview Findings.................................................................................................94 Conclusion.............................................................................................................97 Tammy & Wendy ...........................................................................................................98 Ratings of Emotional Availability.........................................................................98 Interview Findings.................................................................................................99 Conclusion...........................................................................................................102 Skye & Marley..............................................................................................................103 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................103 Interview Findings...............................................................................................104 Conclusion...........................................................................................................107 Kay & Adeline ..............................................................................................................108 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................108 v Interview Findings...............................................................................................109 Conclusion...........................................................................................................111 Trudy & Kayla ..............................................................................................................112 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................112 Interview Findings...............................................................................................113 Conclusion...........................................................................................................116 Sasha & Shari ...............................................................................................................117 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................117 Interview Findings...............................................................................................118 Conclusion...........................................................................................................122 Holly & Ophelia ...........................................................................................................123 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................123 Interview Findings...............................................................................................125 Conclusion...........................................................................................................128 Tullia & Mark ...............................................................................................................129 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................130 Interview Findings...............................................................................................131 Conclusion...........................................................................................................133 Karen & Colin ..............................................................................................................134 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................134 Interview Findings...............................................................................................135 Conclusion...........................................................................................................138 Chapter summary ..........................................................................................................139 vi CHAPTER 5 - INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE OF NON-SINGING INTERACTION.........141 Julia & Luke .................................................................................................................142 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................142 Interview Findings...............................................................................................143 Conclusion...........................................................................................................145 Simone & Sasha............................................................................................................146 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................146 Interview Findings...............................................................................................148 Conclusion...........................................................................................................150 Macy & Sandra .............................................................................................................150 Findings of Emotional Availability .....................................................................150 Interview Findings...............................................................................................151 Conclusion...........................................................................................................154 Yasmin & Otto..............................................................................................................155 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................155 Interview Findings...............................................................................................156 Conclusion...........................................................................................................158 Tegan & Levi ................................................................................................................159 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................159 Interview Findings...............................................................................................161 Conclusion...........................................................................................................163 Maxine & Cara .............................................................................................................164 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................164 vii Interview Findings...............................................................................................165 Conclusion...........................................................................................................168 Rayna & Ellie ...............................................................................................................169 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................169 Interview Findings...............................................................................................171 Conclusion...........................................................................................................176 Marian & Owen ............................................................................................................177 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................177 Interview Findings...............................................................................................179 Conclusion...........................................................................................................181 May & Jacinta ...............................................................................................................182 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................182 Interview Findings...............................................................................................183 Conclusion...........................................................................................................186 Diana and Edmund .......................................................................................................187 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................187 Interview Findings...............................................................................................188 Conclusion...........................................................................................................191 Jodie and Tilly ..............................................................................................................192 Ratings of Emotional Availability.......................................................................192 Interview Findings...............................................................................................193 Conclusion...........................................................................................................196 Chapter summary ..........................................................................................................197 viii CHAPTER 6 - GROUP EXPERIENCE OF SINGING AND NON-SINGING INTERACTION .....................................................................................................................198 Emotional Availability Ratings ....................................................................................199 Interview Findings - Singing Condition .......................................................................201 Composite Themes ..............................................................................................202 Final global description of the sample’s experience of singing songs with their infant ...........................................................................................................203 Interview Findings - Non-singing Condition................................................................211 Composite Themes ..............................................................................................211 Final global description of the sample’s experience of interacting with their infant (non-singing) ....................................................................................212 Interview Findings – Group Comparison .....................................................................215 Commonalities ....................................................................................................215 Differences ..........................................................................................................219 Discussion ...........................................................................................................223 Conclusion...........................................................................................................231 Chapter Summary .........................................................................................................233 CHAPTER 7 –MUSICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL FEATURES OF SINGING INTERACTIONS ...................................................................................................................234 Section 1 - Transcriptional Music Analysis..................................................................235 Alice and Cindy...................................................................................................236 Skye and Marley..................................................................................................248 Beth and Rita .......................................................................................................262 Holly and Ophelia ...............................................................................................272 ix Jane and Juliet .....................................................................................................284 Tullia and Mark ...................................................................................................297 Discussion ...........................................................................................................310 Section 2 - Deriving the Musical Principles .................................................................321 Parental Sensitivity ..............................................................................................321 Parental Structuring .............................................................................................324 Parental Non-intrusiveness ..................................................................................326 Parental Non-hostility .........................................................................................328 Child Responsiveness ..........................................................................................329 Child Involvement ...............................................................................................331 Discussion ...........................................................................................................332 Conclusion...........................................................................................................343 Chapter Summary .........................................................................................................344 CHAPTER 8 – CONVERGENT DISCUSSION ...................................................................345 Research purpose revisted ............................................................................................345 Summary of findings ....................................................................................................346 Main findings of the mother's subjective experience of using play songs and lullabies.........................................................................................................347 Main findings of the quality of interaction during the use of play songs and lullabies.........................................................................................................348 Main findings of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal singing interactions .........................................................................349 Converging the findings ...............................................................................................350 x A Convergent Interpretation................................................................................352 The Implications for Theory ...............................................................................353 The Implications to Music Therapy Research.....................................................356 The Implications to Music Therapy Practice ......................................................357 Future directions ...........................................................................................................358 Limitations ....................................................................................................................361 Methodological challenges ...........................................................................................363 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................367 References ..............................................................................................................................370 Appendices ........................................................................................................ see attached disc xi List of Tables Table 1: Summary of the abridged version of the Emotional Availability Scales, 4th Edition (Biringen, 2008b). .................................................................................................................................... 61 Table 2: Summary of Alice and Cindy’s Emotional Availability scores. ........................................... 79 Table 3: Alice’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs ................................................................................................................................ 80 Table 4: Summary of Kelly and Lucas’s Emotional Availability scores. ........................................... 84 Table 5: Kelly’s meaning units are they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs ................................................................................................................................ 85 Table 6: Summary of Beth and Rita’s Emotional Availability scores. ............................................... 89 Table 7: Summary of Beth’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................. 90 Table 8: Summary of Jane and Juliet’s Emotional Availability scores. .............................................. 94 Table 9: Jane’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs ................................................................................................................................................ 94 Table 10: Summary of Tammy and Wendy’s Emotional Availability scores. .................................... 99 Table 11: Tammy’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 100 Table 12: Summary of Skye and Marley’s Emotional Availability scores. ...................................... 104 Table 13: Skye’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 105 Table 14: Summary of Kay and Adeline’s Emotional Availability scores........................................ 109 Table 15: Kay’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 109 Table 16: Summary of Trudy and Kayla’s Emotional Availability scores. ....................................... 113 Table 17: Trudy’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 114 Table 18: Summary of Sasha and Shari’s Emotional Availability scores. ........................................ 118 xii Table 19: Sasha’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 118 Table 20: Summary of Holly and Ophelia’s Emotional Availability scores. .................................... 124 Table 21: Holly’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 125 Table 22: Summary of Tullia and Mark’s Emotional Availability scores. ........................................ 130 Table 23: Tullia’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 131 Table 24:- Summary of Karen and Colin’s Emotional Availability scores. ...................................... 135 Table 25: Karen’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 136 Table 26: Summary of Julia and Luke’s Emotional Availability scores ........................................... 143 Table 27: Julia’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 143 Table 28: Summary of Simone and Sasha’s Emotional Availability scores ..................................... 147 Table 29: Simone’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 148 Table 30: Summary of Macy and Sandra’s Emotional Availability scores ....................................... 151 Table 31: Macy’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 152 Table 32: Summary of Yasmin and Otto’s Emotional Availability scores. ...................................... 156 Table 33: Yasmin’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 156 Table 34: Summary of Tegan and Levi’s Emotional Availability scores. ........................................ 160 Table 35: Tegan’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 161 Table 36: Summary of Maxine and Cara’s Emotional Availability scores. ...................................... 165 Table 37: Maxine’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 166 Table 38: Summary of Rayna and Ellie’s Emotional Availability scores. ........................................ 170 xiii Table 39: Rayna’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 171 Table 40: Summary of Marian and Owen’s Emotional Availability scores. ..................................... 178 Table 41: Marian’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 179 Table 42: Summary of May and Jacinta’s Emotional Availability scores ........................................ 183 Table 43: May’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 184 Table 44: Summary of Diana and Edmund’s Emotional Availability scores. ................................... 188 Table 45: Diana’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 188 Table 46: Summary of Jodie and Tilly’s Emotional Availability scores .......................................... 193 Table 47: Jodie’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs .............................................................................................................................. 193 Table 48: Mean score of each sample group and summary of t-test results. ..................................... 199 Table 49: Singing condition's composite themes as they relate to Condon & Corkindale's (1998) attachment constructs ............................................................................................................ 202 Table 50: Non-singing condition's composite themes as they relate to Condon & Corkindale's (1998) attachment constructs ............................................................................................................ 211 Table 51: Summary of Alice and Cindy's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability .................................................................................... 237 Table 52: Summary of Skye and Marley's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability .................................................................................... 249 Table 53: Summary of Beth and Rita's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability ...................................................................................................... 263 Table 54: Summary of Holly and Ophelia's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability .................................................................................... 273 Table 55: Summary of Jane and Juliet's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability ...................................................................................................... 285 xiv Table 56: Summary of Tullia and Mark's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability .................................................................................... 298 Table 57: Summary of the occurrences of pitch contour associated with increasing arousal in play songs ..................................................................................................................................... 312 Table 58: Summary of the occurrences of pitch contour associated with decreasing arousal in lullabies .............................................................................................................................................. 312 Table 59 - Common musical characteristics of the analysed play songs and lullabies ...................... 314 Table 60: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Sensitivity during singing interaction. ..................................................................................................... 322 Table 61: Summary of inherent and implemented musical principles of optimal and less optimal Sensitivity during singing interaction. .................................................................................... 323 Table 62: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Structuring during singing interaction. ..................................................................................................... 324 Table 63: Summary of inherent and implemented musical principles of optimal and less optimal Structuring during singing interaction. ................................................................................... 325 Table 64: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Nonintrusiveness during singing interaction. ................................................................................ 327 Table 65: Summary of the inherent and implemented principles of optimal and less optimal NonIntrusiveness during singing interaction. ................................................................................ 327 Table 66: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Non-hostility during singing interaction. ..................................................................................................... 328 Table 67: Summary of the inherent and implemented principles of optimal and less optimal Nonhostility during singing interaction. ....................................................................................... 329 Table 68: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Child Responsiveness during singing interaction. ............................................................................ 330 Table 69: Summary of the inherent and implemented principles of optimal and less optimal Child Responsiveness during singing interaction. ............................................................................ 330 Table 70: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Child Involvement during singing interaction. ................................................................................. 331 xv Table 71: Summary of the inherent and implemented principles of optimal and less optimal Child Involvement during singing interaction. ................................................................................. 332 xvi List of Figures Figure 1 – The factors contributing to the mixed methods design, adapted from Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2010). Mixed methods research. New York: Guildford Press ................................................... 8 Figure 2 – Diagram outlining the research process. ........................................................................... 65 Figure 3 – Diagram of the BabyLab recording room showing the position of the mother, infant and cameras ................................................................................................................................... 67 Figure 4 – Image of the 4-way camera capture of the BabyLab recording room. ............................... 67 Figure 5 - Comparison of the Emotional Availability results (means and standard deviations) for the singing and non-singing condition. ........................................................................................ 200 Figure 6 - Diagram outlining the interconnections between the pleasure in proximity, need gratification and tolerance/acceptance constructs experienced by mothers during singing interactions. ........................................................................................................................... 206 Figure 7 - Diagram outlining additional interconnections between the need gratification and tolerance/acceptance constructs experienced by mothers during singing interactions. ............ 207 Figure 8 - Diagram outlining the full idealistic ‘flow of influence’ experienced by the mothers during singing interactions................................................................................................................ 210 Figure 9 - Diagram outlining the interconnections between the pleasure in proximity, need gratification and knowledge acquisition constructs experienced by the mothers during nonsinging interactions................................................................................................................ 214 Figure 10 – Diagram illustrating the hypothetical emotional connectedness feedback loop of the mothers' experience of singing. .............................................................................................. 230 Figure 11 - The contour form and function in infant-directed speech according to Papoušek (1996), presented by Falk (2011) ....................................................................................................... 311 Figure 12 - Diagram outlining the convergence of findings in relation to the main research question .............................................................................................................................................. 352 xvii Abstract The aim of this thesis was to increase understanding of how singing play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and contribute to motherinfant attachment. The study employed a mixed methods design to examine subjective, behavioural and musical facets of live singing interaction between mothers and their 5-9 month old infants. Twenty-three typical mothers participated in the study, twelve in a singing condition and eleven in a non-singing control condition. Mothers in the singing condition were videoed singing songs with their infant in a dedicated recording room and then interviewed about their experience of singing interactions. Mothers in the non-singing condition were videoed interacting without singing that is, speaking to their infant and playing with toys. These mothers were also interviewed about their experience of non-singing play interactions. Three analyses were conducted. Firstly, individual and group themes were derived from the interview transcripts and compared to Condon & Corkindale's (1998) four maternal constructs of attachment, including: (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection, and (4) knowledge acquisition. The group themes for the experience of singing were also compared to group themes of the experience of non-singing play interactions. Secondly, video footage of mother-infant interaction was used to rate the quality on interaction according to Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008b). Also, the scales ratings for singing interactions were compared to the ratings for non-singing play interaction. Lastly, excerpts of singing interaction from a subset of singing mothers were transcribed from the video footage and the music analysed xviii to explore how mothers facilitate optimal and less-optimal song-based emotional communication. Interview findings revealed that the mothers' experience of singing and nonsinging interaction facilitated various positive emotional and mental states related to three of the four maternal constructs of attachment. However, singing and nonsinging groups’ experience was related to different sets of constructs. The experience of singing was related to pleasure in proximity, need-gratification and tolerance/acceptance whereas the experience of non-singing interaction was related to pleasure in proximity, need-gratification and knowledge acquisition. This indicates that the experience of singing and non-singing interactions provided unique contributions to mother-infant attachment. On the Emotional Availability Scales, both singing and non-interactions were rated similarly, except for the scale of Non-Intrusiveness where mothers in the singing group were rated slightly lower than the non-singing group. These findings illustrate that the simple act of singing does not automatically equate to optimal interaction. The third analysis of the musical features revealed that underlying the singing interactions were particular musical principles that facilitate optimal and less-optimal dimensions of emotional availability. These principles were both inherent to the musical composition and behaviourally implemented by the mother. Importantly, it was the mothers' responsive manipulation of musical elements that primarily facilitated emotional availability. In other words, it was the way in which mothers sang in response to the context that facilitated optimal or less-optimal singing interaction. This study contributes to knowledge by conceptualising and explicating the inner processes involved with facilitating emotional communication and how this xix impacts on maternal attachment constructs. The findings enhance understanding and further support and clarify the use of singing as a potential therapeutic tool for attachment intervention in the first year of life. xx Publications arising from this work Journal publications Creighton, A; Atherton, M. & Kitamura, C. (2013) Singing play songs and lullabies: Investigating the subjective contributions to maternal attachment constructs. Australian Journal of Music Therapy Creighton, A. (2011). Mother-infant musical interaction and emotional communication: A literature review, Australian Journal of Music Therapy, 22, 37–59. Conference presentations Creighton, A., Atherton, M. & Kitamura, C. (2012, September). How does singing songs contribute to the mother-infant relationship? Paper presented at the 39th National Australian Music Therapy Conference, Sydney, Australia Creighton, A., Atherton, M. & Kitamura, C. (2012). Play songs and lullabies: Features of emotional communication and developing mother-infant attachment. In Cambouropoulos, E., Tsougras, C., Mavromatis P Pastiadis, K. (eds), Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, and 8th Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitions Sciences of Music, Thessaloniki, Greece, p. 230. xxi Creighton, A., Atherton, M. & Kitamura, C. (2011, October). Why use a mixed methods approach? A rationale behind my study. Paper presented at Arts & Health Foundation conference, Camperdown, Sydney Creighton, A., (2010, September). Music and mother-infant attachment. In K. Stevenson, Music Therapy: Directions in Music Therapy and music and wellbeing research and training at University of Western Sydney. Symposium conducted at the UWS Mental Health Wellbeing conference (Annual The MHS conference), Darling Harbour, Sydney. Creighton, A., (2010, September) Musical interaction and mother-infant attachment. Paper presented at the 37th National Australia Music Therapy Conference, Melbourne, Australia xxii CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION "It's not so much I'm giving her her only opportunity to be happy by singing, it's more like I get to be a part of that happiness (...) 1 it [singing] makes me feel like ...2 it's about the connection ... it makes me feel more like she's mine than just a baby I'm taking caring of" Tammy, first time mother, interview conducted on 13th September, 2011 PERSONAL REFLECTION For the past ten years new parents and growing families have surrounded me. Most of my friends and family have started a family and I have had the privilege of observing and sharing in their experiences of parenthood. When I talk to these parents, discussions often focus on the health of the children, parenting concerns, current struggles, parenting strategies, heart-warming moments and hilarious parenting stories. What is particularly apparent is that parents often feel they should intuitively know how to raise a child. Yet, on a rational level, they realise the pressure to be instinctively all knowing is unrealistic and absurd. It is also apparent that all parents are in need of guidance and support. Parents frequently talk about helpful advice and tips provided by health professionals, other parents and parenting resources. Every parent I know has communicated relief, thankfulness and appreciation for any help and support that has been received. For any individual, 1 2 (...) denotes missing text ... denotes a pause 1 parenthood is a new transition full of challenges and I truly believe all parents are deserving of support. The intimacy of mother-child relationships has always interested me. When I am holding a newborn baby, rocking him gently in my arms, humming and/or singing to him, time seems to stand still. I experience a sense of calm and contentment. Although the baby is not my own I feel an intense feeling of love and affection whilst being engrossed in our moment of intimacy. If the baby were my own, how much more intensity and affection would I feel? What actually would it feel like to be 'mum'? Many assure me, that there is simply nothing like a mother's love for her child and experiencing the unique mother-child relationship. My interest in mother-child relationships grew exponentially during my music therapy studies. As I progressed through student placements I came to realise I felt 'at home' in early intervention and most enjoyed making music with families with young children. I began to read about the importance of parent-child relationships for early childhood learning and development. I also found myself wanting to learn more about how to develop positive and healthy mother-child relationships and the role music could play in this relationship. It is perhaps not surprising then, that I have spent a lot of time observing mother-child interactions and dynamics. I have a clear memory a little 18-month girl happily mounting her rocking horse. Before she starts to rock she bounces up and down and looks at her mother with excitement and expectation. Her mother says, "She loves this" then begins to sing, "This is the way the ladies ride ..." The little girl rocks back and forth on her horse as her mother sings with a wide smile on her face. Love emanates from mother and daughter as they lock eyes and beam with delight. 2 As I think of my past music therapy sessions I am flooded with other memories: a mother beaming with delight and pride as her toddler counts "one, two" for the first time; mothers cuddling their infant, smiling and swaying as they sing a favourite song and most of all, mothers and children simply enjoying fun quality time together. I always feel I have done my job when mothers are able to put away their schedules, relax, join in the fun and simply take joy in their child. All of my observations and experiences from the past ten years have strengthened my belief that there is something positive and distinctly special about mother and child connecting through music. I believe that musical interaction may create an intimacy and positively shared experience that can strengthen the parentchild bond and every parent and child is deserving of such experience. Yet, part of me feels too 'unknowledgeable' and inexperienced to establish my own program dedicated to strengthening early mother-infant relationships through music. Thus, my beliefs, experiences, fascinations and desire for more understanding influenced my pursuit of research with the goal of establishing new programs that promote positive parent-child musical interaction and strengthen parent-child relationships for many years to come. RESEARCH PURPOSE The aim of this study is to increase an understanding of how singing play songs and lullabies facilitate mother-infant emotional communication within the broader context of bonding and attachment. The study employs a mixed methods design to examine subjective, behavioural and musical facets of live singing interaction between mothers and their 5-9 month old infants. 3 Emotional communication involves the sharing and modulating of emotional states and is a key contributor to attachment and an infant’s future social, emotional and cognitive development (e.g., see Gardner & Goldson, 2002; Lenz & von Moreau, 2004; Pip-Siegel, Brown, Easterbrooks, & Harmon, 1995; Raikes & Thompson, 2008; Siegel, 2001; Steele, Steele, & Croft, 2008; Weinfield, Sroufe, Egeland, & Carlson, 2008). Previous research has established that mothers and infants engage in emotionally communicative vocal interactions, which arouse, sustain or reduce infant attention (Ainsworth, 1963; Aitken & Trevarthen, 2001; de l'Etoile, 2006b; Dissanayake, 2000; Malloch & Trevarthen, 2009; Nadel, Carchon, Kervella, Marcelli, & Réserbat-Plantey, 1999; H. Papoušek, 1996; Trevarthen & Malloch, 2000). Play songs and lullabies are structured songs that are ‘musically analogous’ to emotional vocal interactions; play songs arouse and engage the infant whereas lullabies soothe and relax (Bargiel, 2012; Trainor, 1996; Trehub, Hill, & Kamenetsky, 1997; Trehub & Schellenberg, 1995). Research demonstrates that both play songs and lullabies are effective, positive and enjoyable forms of emotional communication (Baker & Mackinlay, 2006; de l'Etoile, 2006b; Vlismas, 2007; Vlismas, Malloch, & Burnham, 2012). However, there is limited understanding of how these songs facilitate emotional communication and in what ways the experience of singing contributes to attachment. Furthermore, few studies examine singing or song-based interactions specifically in the first year of an infant's life (Longhi, 2009; Vlismas, 2007; Vlismas, et al., 2012). Further research is required to gain deeper insight into the intrinsic characteristics and therapeutic value of singing to enable music therapists to 4 better intervene and strengthen mother-infant relationships in the first year of life (Edwards, 2011a; 2011b; Longhi, 2009). Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate holistically, multiple facets of song-based mother-infant emotional communication. The main research question is "how do play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and contribute to the mother-infant relationship?" Answering this question involves exploring the live use of play songs and lullabies in relation to maternal attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998) and emotional availability (Biringen, 2000, 2008a, 2008b). More specifically, the study aims investigate: (1) the mother’s subjective experiences of using play songs and lullabies with her infant. This will be examined by the use of a qualitative interview analysis, (2) the quality of mother-infant singing interactions using play songs and lullabies. This will be measured by Biringen's (2008b) Emotional Availability Scales, and (3) the musical and behavioural features of optimal and less-optimal singing interactions. These features will be explored by transcribing excerpts, and analysing the musical features of mother-infant singing interactions. It is hoped that the findings of the study expand current understanding of how play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and positively contribute to attachment and thus inform the development and improvement and relationshipfocussed music therapy early interventions for mothers with you infants. DESIGN OVERVIEW Multiple facets of song-based mother-infant emotional communication are examined to expand current understanding and inform the development of 5 relationship-focussed music therapy early interventions. The motivation to contribute to the music therapy field and the author's 'therapeutic lens', shaped the research question, design and interpretation of findings. The study employs a mixed methods convergent parallel design, also known as a triangulation design (Creswell, 2009; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011; HesseBiber, 2010) within a framework that includes both an experimental and control condition. This design is described throughout the thesis as a convergent parallel mixed methods design and involves the collection of different but complementary data within the same study. The combination of qualitative and quantitative data provides a more comprehensive means of collecting detailed evidence and providing insight into the research question/s than either approach alone (Boulton-Lewis & Wilss, 2007; Creswell, 2009; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). Also, by comparing singing and non-singing interaction in the experimental and control conditions the researcher can determine features of emotional communication unique to the live use of play songs and lullabies. The analyses involved in the study include: 1. Qualitative analysis of interviews of mothers regarding their experience of singing or non-singing play interaction, which are related to the attachment constructs of Condon & Corkindale (1998). More specifically, a phenomenologically inspired process of analysis was employed to determine themes and summaries of each participant’s experience of singing or nonsinging interaction, as well as each sample group as a whole. The themes were then compared to the attachment constructs of Condon & Corkindale (1998) 2. Quantitative analysis of the quality of dyadic interaction using the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008b; Condon, 2010) These numerical scales 6 comprise of four parental and two child dimensions of interaction. Both mother and infant were rated and the scores of each dimension were summarised as optimal, high, mid or low emotional availability. 3. Qualitative analysis of the musical features of a subset of mother-infant singing interaction in relation to the scales of Emotional Availability (Biringen, 2008b; Condon, 2010). Essentially, a structural musical analysis was conducted and the data organised and discussed according to the Emotional Availability framework. Mixed methods designs are driven by research question/s derived from research evidence, gaps in knowledge and paradigmatic stance (Hesse-Biber, 2010). In this case, the review of literature provides support for the use of play songs and lullabies but also identified gaps in our understanding of this phenomenon, particularly in regard to how infant-directed songs facilitate emotional communication and contribute to attachment. Additionally, the literature illustrates the complexity and subjective nature of mother-infant singing interactions. For example, it is context-based, multi-modal. Also, mothers manipulate their vocal deliverance of singing to distinguish between play songs and lullabies and the subjective experience of singing impacts maternal perception of attachment (see Chapter 2 for further details). Thus, examining infant-directed singing holistically with the intention of increasing understanding requires a paradigmatic stance that embraces the complex and subjective nature of the phenomena under study, known as subjectivism. (Benton & Craib, 2001; Denzin & Lincoln, 2005; Ferrara, 1984; Walker, 2005). Subjectivism focuses on understanding life as it is actually experienced. It acknowledges many aspects of life are too complex to observe or 7 measure and that there is no 'one truth' of reality. This acknowledgement and acceptance of subjectivity allows the essence of life experience to be more accurately captured and understood. In other words, the subjectivist paradigm is conducive to the intentions of the current study. Overall, the cross-disciplinary review of literature (presented in Chapter 2), the desire to contribute to music therapy by increasing understanding of the value of play songs and lullabies and the subjectivist orientation, led to the overarching research question: “how do play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and contribute to the mother-infant relationship?” The need to utilise various methods to examine multiple facets of mother-infant singing interactions then guided the construction of a mixed method design, as shown in Figure 1 below. Orientation toward subjectivist paradigm Desire to contribute to music therapy Literature: (play songs/lullabies, emotional communication, attachment, musical interaction, gaps) Research question: How do play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and contribute to attachment? Convergent parallel design Discussion and Interpretation Figure 1 – The factors contributing to the mixed methods design, adapted from Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2010). Mixed methods research. New York: Guildford Press 8 CHAPTER OUTLINE In this chapter a brief overview of the study and research design was provided. In the following Chapter 2, the review of literature concerning singing, play songs, lullabies, attachment, emotional communication and music therapy intervention will be presented. Current gaps in knowledge will be highlighted followed by a justification of the main research question and aims. In Chapter 3 the research methodology, design and analyses will be described and explained. The details pertaining to the research protocols will be outlined throughout the chapter. From Chapter 4 to Chapter 7 the research findings will be presented, discussed and interpreted. More specifically, Chapter 4 presents individual interview findings concerning the behavioural and subjective features of singing interactions. Chapter 5 presents individual interview findings concerning the behavioural and subjective features of non-singing play interactions. Chapter 6 presents the group Interview and Emotional Availability findings, including: the overall Emotional Availability ratings for singing and non-singing interactions, and the group subjective experience of singing and non-singing play interactions. Also, the commonalities and differences between singing and non-singing interaction experiences are explored. Chapter 7 presents the findings of six detailed music analyses of play song and lullaby interaction and the musical principles underlying the mother-infant singing interaction. Lastly, in Chapter 8, all the findings will be converged and discussed with the view of providing an overall account of motherinfant singing interactions. The discussion also includes the limitations of the study, methodological challenges encountered as well as the implications of the research project to theory and music therapy practise. Ideas and directions for future research 9 involving play songs and lullabies, mother-infant attachment and music therapy will be suggested and final conclusions presented. 10 CHAPTER 2 – BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY "It makes me feel good that it's something she enjoys doing with me ... the fact that she does settle when I sing to her I means that (1) she enjoys it, but (2) it's a comfort thing. like she's comforted by me singing to her ... it's definitely a positive thing for your relationship" Beth, mother of two, interview conducted on 4th August, 2011 This chapter provides an overview of the pertinent literature in regard to emotional communication, attachment, mother-infant interactions, play songs and lullabies. Literature from a range of fields is discussed with the purpose of setting the research context and the derivation of research aims. To accomplish this purpose while maintaining a music-focussed perspective, the review is divided into two main sections. The first section 'Emotional Communication and Attachment' presents a brief overview of the literature concerning attachment and emotional communication generally. Important theories, concepts and implications concerning emotional communication and attachment are introduced. The second section, 'The Musicality of Emotional Communication' presents the musical side of emotional communication and attachment. The musical nature of emotional communication is considered but with particular focus on play songs and lullabies. Literature that provides insights into how play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication, impact attachment and may be used as an intervention tool is discussed. Finally, the chapter 11 concludes with the presentation of the main research question and specific research aims. EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION AND ATTACHMENT In this section, an overview of mother-infant attachment and emotional communication are presented. First, the theory of attachment, attachment styles and attachment constructs are introduced. The impact of attachment on infant development is also considered. Second, the theories of emotional communication, affect attunement and emotional availability are introduced. The prevalence of emotional communication during the first year of life, the impact of emotional communication on infant-development and the relation between attachment and emotional communication is also discussed. Mother-Infant Attachment The emotional or affectional bond between caregiver and child is known as attachment (Bowlby, 1969; Cassidy, 2008). This enduring relationship is primarily formed throughout the first year of the infant’s life and is developed and reflected through patterns of parent-child interaction (Beebe et al., 2010; Boris, Aoki, & Zeanah, 1999; Bowlby, 1969, 1988; Campbell & Taylor, 1980; Cassidy, 2008; Hesse-Biber, 2010; Schore, 2001, 2003; Woodhouse, 2010). The emotional availability, appropriateness, sensitivity and consistency of a parent’s response to infant cues and signals determines the style or quality of attachment that is developed (Bowlby, 1969; Egeland & Erickson, 1999). Parents who are emotionally available and provide prompt, sensitive and appropriate responses to the infant facilitate a secure or high quality type of attachment, whereas parents who are emotionally 12 unavailable, imperceptive and provide inconsistent, insensitive, rare, intrusive or inadequate responses facilitate insecure types of attachment (Ainsworth, 1979; Boris, et al., 1999; Steele, et al., 2008). Attachment classifications More specifically, there are four classifications of attachment: secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant and insecure-disorganised (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 2004; Boris, et al., 1999). These classifications are determined according to the pattern of behaviours demonstrated by the infant during episodes of play, separation and reunion to their caregiver, known as the Strange Situation (Ainsworth, et al., 2004). Infants classified as secure show interest in proximity to or contact with the caregiver and seek comfort from the caregiver upon reunion. Infants classified as insecure-avoidant demonstrate gaze aversion or movement away from the caregiver upon reunion. These infants show more interest in toys and objects rather than responsiveness to the caregiver and actively ignore or avoid the caregiver. Infants who are insecure-resistant show a mixture of behaviours including a desire for proximity or contact with the caregiver in combination with anger and resistance toward to the caregiver. Infants classified as insecure-disorganised show a variety of behaviours at reunion suggesting a difficulty in managing the stress of separation and reunion. Essentially, the attachment styles reflect the quality and nature of caregiverinfant interactions, which, in turn, develop expectancies within the infant. Infants who are securely attached develop expectations of, and confidence in, their mother's ability to be available and respond appropriately to the infant's needs and emotions in a consistent manner. Infants who are insecurely attached develop an expectation of their mother's ability to be inconsistently available and/or inconsistently/rarely 13 appropriate in response to infant needs and emotional cues (Bowlby, 1969, 1988; Cassidy, 2008; Cassidy et al., 2005). These expectancies become integrated within the infant and in turn, influence the infant's developing ability to cope with stress and emotions (Bowlby, 1969, 1988; Steele, Steele, Croft, & Fonagy, 1999). In other words, the quality and consistency of caregiver-infant interaction, which develop certain expectancies and attachment security, also impact upon the infant's socioemotional functioning. Impact of attachment security on infant development Many developmental researchers have examined the relation between attachment security and a child's socio-emotional health/competency. Empirical studies show that compared to insecurely attached children, children with a secure attachment in the early years of life exhibit greater understanding of emotions, greater ability to recognise and judge emotions, more competent social problemsolving skills and are less lonely in later childhood (Meins, Fernyhough, Russell, & Clark-Carter, 1998; Pip-Siegel, et al., 1995; Raikes & Thompson, 2008; Steele, et al., 2008; Steele, et al., 1999; Thompson, 2008). The growing evidence clearly reinforces the link between mother-infant interactions, attachment and child development, and that the same interactions that contribute to attachment also influence the future socio-emotional development of a child (Gardner & Goldson, 2002; Mazokopaki & Kugiumutakis, 2009; Schore, 2001, 2003; Siegel, 1999b; Teti & Cole, 2011). Maternal perception of attachment There is a body of research which explores the subjective experience of attachment. Of particular importance is the work of Condon & Corkindale (1998; Condon, 2010) who focused on the mothers' perception of attachment in the first year 14 of the infant's life. They developed a self-report questionnaire that asks mothers to objectively report on the frequency and intensity of their thoughts, feelings and behaviours involving their infant. The results provide an overview of the mother's perception of attachment to her infant. However, the quantitative nature of the questionnaire minimises the depth of information that can be acquired. For example, the reasons behind the mother’s responses cannot be explored. Importantly, Condon & Corkindale (Condon & Corkindale, 1998) derived four indicators of maternal attachment from previous research (such as, Ainsworth, 1979; Bowlby, 1969; Emde, 1980) to form the basis of the questionnaire. These indicators are referred to as attachment constructs and include: Pleasure in proximity – desire to interact with the infant, pleasure in interaction Tolerance/acceptance – sense of baby as own, the ability to tolerate frustrating/irritating behaviours, level of resentment due to personal sacrifice or degree of ‘burdensome’. Need-gratification and protection – a desire to identify and meet the infant’s physical and emotional needs. This includes the notion of being ‘available’ and ‘responsive’ to infant needs. Knowledge acquisition – a desire to understand the infant, curious about ‘what goes on’ inside the infant Given that reliability and consistency testing of the questionnaire are acceptably high (Condon & Corkindale, 1998), the four attachment constructs offer a valid means of considering a mother’s subjective experience of interaction with her infant from an attachment perspective. In this study, mothers are interviewed about their experience of interacting with their infant. The themes derived from the interview are compared 15 to and grouped according to how they relate to the four attachment constructs. Essentially, the attachment constructs offer pre-determined categories from which to view interview data enabling better understanding of how the experience of singing relates to internal indicators of attachment (see Chapter 3 for more details regarding the interview analysis). Mother-Infant Emotional Communication Emotional communication involves the sharing and modulation of emotional states, including (1) sharing and amplifying positive emotions, (2) soothing distress or negative emotional states, and (3) taking joy in the child (Schore, 2001, 2003; Siegel, 1999a, 1999b). Essentially, emotional communication relies on mutual relatedness or the alignment of affective states, known as affect attunement (Abad & Williams, 2007). Three conditions are required for the feeling states of mother and infant to be knowable to one another and for relatedness to occur. First, the mother must be able to read the infant's feeling state from the infant's behaviours and cues. Second, the mother matches the infant's emotional state. This does not necessarily involve strict imitation of the infant's behaviour but usually involves the mother’s behaviour being of a similar intensity, rhythmic patterning or shape to the infant’s behaviour. For example, an infant may express excitement over a toy through an energetic motor movement and the mother may reflect the infant’s excited feeling state with a matching vocal and facial expression. In other words, the mother's response is theme-and-variation-like rather than a strict repetition. Third, the infant must be able to perceive the maternal response as reflecting their feeling state. When the three conditions are fulfilled, the mother and infant experience shared emotional resonance, which lays the platform for emotional communication. 16 Once both partners match states and experience emotional resonance, the mother and infant simultaneously adjust their social attention, stimulation and accelerating arousal to each other’s responses (Schore, 2001, 2003; Siegel, 1999a). These adaptive and flexible ‘adjustments’ are known as reciprocal or synchronous interpersonal interaction (Campbell & Taylor, 1980). When the mother is attuned to the infant she will maintain the child’s arousal within a moderate range; high enough to stimulate the child up from low arousal states but not too intense as to cause distress and avoidance (Schore, 2001, 2003; Siegel, 1999a). Maintaining reciprocity therefore, allows for sustained lengths of emotional communication. In other words, attunement is an essential component in establishing and sustaining emotional communication. Importantly, emotionally attuned communication is at the core of motherinfant attachment (Siegel, 1999a, 1999b). Attunement involves the mothers’ awareness of and respect for the infant's changing needs for a human-to-human connection. With such awareness and respect a mother may facilitate emotionally available, appropriate and sensitive interactions in a consistent manner. As discussed above, such interactions develop positive expectancies of the caregiver within the infant and form a secure attachment. Thus, emotional communication is considered to be the "heart of attachment" (Siegel, 1999b, p. 80) Emotional communication in the first year of life During the first year of life mother and infant frequently engage in emotional communication. Emotionally attuned mother-infant interaction is experienced during both need-based and pleasure-based mother-infant interactions. Need-based interactions are characterised by the mother's recognition and response to infant cues that signal basic needs, known as collaborative communication (Gardner & Goldson, 17 2002; Wallin, 2007). For example, if a baby cries to communicate hunger, the appropriate response is to feed the baby. When the infant’s hunger is satisfied the infant associates the caregiver with need satisfaction and comfort, which instils trust, and over time, this develops a sense of trust in self and others. The infant learns he will not be emotionally abandoned and that is okay to have needs and to have them met. Alternatively, if the caregiver does not meet the infant’s needs, the infant will associate the caregiver with need dissatisfaction and mistrust, and consequently develop low self-concept, low self-esteem and a sense of helplessness (Cozolino, 2010; Gardner & Goldson, 2002; Wallin, 2007). Importantly, when a mother is attuned or connected to her child’s feeling states, collaborative communication creates a shared interpersonal experience. The established connection that accompanies recognition and appropriate response to infant cues allows mother and infant to ‘feel felt’ by the other, providing a wealth of interpersonal closeness (Siegel, 2001). In this way, the emotional resonance that is experienced during collaborative communication contributes to the emotional bond between mother and infant while simultaneously contributing to the infant's developing sense of self and trust. An example of experiencing attuned pleasure-based emotional communication is the use of shared and mutually pleasurable motion-generated experiences, known as kinaesthetic bonding (Hatch & Maietta, 1991). The kinaesthetic bond begins during pregnancy when the mother and baby are sensing each other’s movements and adjusting to each other accordingly. The shared motiongenerated sensory experience creates a mutual reality for mother and her baby through motion (Hatch & Maietta, 1991). After birth, however, kinaesthetic bonding requires a mother to be attuned to her infant and skilled in using space, timing and 18 effort to match her movements to her baby. The infant also needs to synchronise to the mother’s movements so that the interaction becomes mutual (Hatch & Maietta, 1991). It is through motion-generated synchronisation that a mother may express her attunement to her child, share a sense of vitality with her infant and bond with her child in the early months of the infant’s life. From five or six months of age, infants are gaining considerable gross and fine motor control as well as developing a sense of balance, allowing them to sit unaided and enjoy a greater variety of physical movements such as being held up high, turned upside down and swung (Ford, 2007). This progression in the infant’s development allows for increasing variations in movement and expands opportunities for mother and infant to share many new types of motion-generated experiences. Considering this, the use of shared movement may be a particularly pleasurable form of emotional communication in the second half of the infant’s first year of life. Emotional availability Developmental researchers are interested in better understanding the mechanisms of emotional communication, particularly those features of communication which lead to secure parent-child attachment. Past theorists have highlighted key characteristics of emotional communication as follows: (1) maternal sensitivity or attunement to the child to perceive and respond to cues and signals (Ainsworth, et al., 2004; Bowlby, 1969), (2) a supportive maternal presence or a secure base from which the child can explore and practice autonomy (Bowlby, 1969, 1988; Mahler, Pine, & Bergman, 1975), and (3) responsiveness of both parent and child to the negative and positive emotions of one another (Emde, 1980). More recently, Zeynep Biringen, a professor and child psychologist developed the theory of Emotional Availability (Biringen, 2000; Easterbrooks & 19 Biringen, 2000) which describes emotional communication as four parental and two child dimensions, including: Parental Sensitivity – behavioural style of the parent and the degree of pleasure and amusement with the infant Parental Structuring – the appropriate degree of structuring by taking care to follow the child’s lead Parental Non-intrusiveness – the ability to be available to the child without being intrusive to him/her; emotional presence Parental Non-hostility – the degree of background discontent, impatience and anger as well as covert and overt forms of hostility Child Responsiveness to parent – the child’s eagerness or willingness to engage with the parent and pleasure in interaction Child Involvement with parent – the degree to which the child attends to and engages the parent in play According to the construct, infants who experience positive emotional availability with caregivers should be better able to regulate their own emotions (Easterbrooks, Chaudhuri, & Gestsdottir, 2005). Furthermore, Biringen (2008b) created an assessment tool to allow researchers to examine and rate emotional communication, known as the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS). The EAS comprises of linear scales; one scale for each emotional availability dimension. The assessor is required to observe parent-child dyadic interaction and make clinically sensitive judgements about the behavioural contributions of both parent and child while scoring either the mother or the infant 20 (Ziv, Aviezer, Gini, Sagi, & Koren-Karie, 2000) thus, multiple facets of emotional transactions are captured. It is important to clarify that Emotional Availability and attachment are related, but not identical constructs. Emotional availability encapsulates the dyadic emotional communication between individuals and therefore, overlaps the attachment construct (Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000). Studies have demonstrated consistent links between attachment and emotional availability (Biringen et al., 2000; Biringen et al., 2005; Biringen, Matheny, Bretherton, Renouf, & Sherman, 2000; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000; Easterbrooks, et al., 2005). Two such studies have examined the relationship between emotional availability and attachment during the first two years of an infant's life. Firstly, Swanson, Beckwith & Howard (2000) examined the correlation between intrusive caregiver behaviours and attachment style in prenatally drug-exposed toddlers. Mother and toddler emotional availability was assessed before the mother left the room during the Strange Situation assessment procedure. The results showed that toddlers with a disorganised-insecure attachment were more likely to have intrusive caregivers, whereas toddlers with a secure attachment were more likely to have non-intrusive caregivers. In a second study, Ziv and colleagues (Ziv, et al., 2000) examined the relation between the Strange Situation classifications and emotional availability as measured during free play interactions between 12-month infants and their mother. Secure attachment was positively related to maternal Sensitivity, Infant Responsiveness and Infant Intrusiveness. More specifically, mothers of secure infants were rated higher on these scales than mothers of insecure-ambivalent infants. 21 Impact of emotional communication on infant development Experiences of emotional communication are important contributors to an infant’s developing ability to control, modulate and self-regulate emotional responses (Mazokopaki & Kugiumutakis, 2009; Schore, 2001, 2003; Weinfield, et al., 2008). Before birth, infants can recognise the different emotional states and arousal they are experiencing (Lenz & von Moreau, 2004). After birth, being hormonally and physically separated from the mother, the infant needs to learn to rely on himself for emotional regulation (Lenz & von Moreau, 2004). However, infants are ill-equipped to regulate their own emotions and turn to their caregivers to cope with their experiences of emotions such as distress, anger and fear (Weinfield, et al., 2008). Infants communicate their emotional states using only the behaviours available to them, for example, kicking, crying and eye-contact, but are dependent on others to correctly understand and react to them (Lenz & von Moreau, 2004). Infants learn to regulate their emotions through their experiences of the consistency and repetition of the caregiver-infant interaction (Beebe, Lachmann, & Jaffee, 1997; Lenz & von Moreau, 2004; Mazokopaki & Kugiumutakis, 2009). These early experiences of emotional communication provide the “… guided experience with managing stressful emotions and … the foundation to self-regulation” (Weinfield, et al., 2008, p. 84). Overall, the attunement of emotional states provides the connection between mother and child that is essential for the infant to acquire the capacity to organise himself more autonomously and develop self-regulation (Abad & Williams, 2007; Siegel, 1999a). Early interpersonal experiences can affect the structural organisation of the developing brain and result in adaptive or non-adaptive behaviours in later life (Schore, 2001). When a mother-infant dyad experiences emotionally attuned 22 communication the mother is continuously monitoring and responding to her infant’s shifting arousal levels and emotional states. These experiences of emotional communication shape the neural connections and structure of the infant brain that mediate coping and self-regulation, which in turn form the foundation for good selfregulation and the development of later socio-emotional functioning. Thus, it can be argued that some emotionally communicative interactions that influence the development of the infant’s brain and regulatory systems also determine attachment style, and by extension, later socio-emotional development (Gardner & Goldson, 2002; Mazokopaki & Kugiumutakis, 2009; Schore, 2001, 2003; Siegel, 1999b; Teti & Cole, 2011). In other words, attachment, emotional communication and infant development are linked. THE MUSICALITY OF EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION In this section, the musical side of emotional communication is presented. First, the musical nature of infants and their auditory preferences are considered. Second, the discussion turns to infant-directed speech as a common form of motherinfant emotional communication with particular focus on the musical, communicative and multi-modal nature of infant-directed speech. Third, there is a discussion of play songs and lullabies as a vehicle of emotional with particular focuses on infants' preference for maternal singing, the distinctive features of infantdirected play songs and lullabies and how singing as a form of emotional communication may impact attachment. Finally, the use of play songs and lullabies as a tool for music therapy intervention is considered, together with suggested 23 models of mother-infant relationship intervention and gaps of knowledge are considered. The Musical Nature of Infants Infants are essentially musical beings (Trehub, 2001; Trevarthen & Malloch, 2002). Even prior to birth an infant is primed for musical experience with an ability to perceive and process fundamental musical qualities (M. Papoušek, 1996). As early as eighteen weeks gestational age loud sounds cause the foetal heart to increase (Standley, 2003). By the beginning of the third trimester, a baby's auditory perception is consistently present enabling the infant to hear auditory signals in the womb (Birnholz & Benacerraf, 1983; Standley, 2003). After birth infants demonstrate increasing musical capacity. For example, sixmonth old infants demonstrate the ability to discriminate between dissonant and consonant music, showing also a preference for consonant over dissonant music (Trainor & Heinmiller, 1998). Nine to eleven-month olds can recognise melodies that have been transposed up or down in pitch (Trehub, Thorpe, & Morrongiello, 1987). According to Trehub (2001) “… infants do not begin life with a blank musical slate. Instead, they are predisposed to attend to the melodic contour and rhythmic patterning of sound sequences, whether music or speech” (p. 11). Infant preferences. An infant’s musical predisposition is particularly evident in their preference of vocal stimuli (Gardner & Goldson, 2002). Infants prefer voices that are familiar and have demonstrated a preference for their mother’s voice over other female voices (Standley & Madsen, 1990). For example, newborn babies younger than three days old can discriminate between its mother’s voice and another female voice. 24 Additionally, the newborn is capable of learning to suck in a particular pattern and alter sucking patterns accordingly to trigger an audio recording of their mother’s voice over other female voices (DeCasper & Fifer, 1980). Research has also shown that infants prefer high-pitched voices (female) over low-pitched voices (male), as well as higher pitched singing over lower-pitched singing (Gardner & Goldson, 2002; Trainor & Zacharias, 1998). It is well known that children and adults modify their speech instinctively when interacting with infants to appeal to their preference for higher frequencies by using a ‘music-like’ speech that contains expanded, larger pitched contours, higher pitch and rhythmic patterning, known as infant-directed speech, motherese or baby talk (Gardner & Goldson, 2002; Kitamura & Burnham, 2003; Nicholson, Berthelsen, Williams, & Abad, 2010; H. Papoušek, 1996; M. Papoušek, 1996; Shoemark, 2007; Shoemark & Grocke, 2010). The Musical and Communicative Nature of Infant-Directed Speech H. Papoušek and M. Papoušek (1996; 2000; 1996) believe that parents intuitively modify their infant-directed speech to construct an emotionally communicative code consisting of universal characteristics, including: smooth, continuously gliding pitch contours, simple unidirectional, bidirectional or bellshaped contours, one-syllable utterances and prolonged vowel sounds (M. Papoušek, 1996). Endless variations of these vocalisations are created which tends to affect infant arousal and attention in three ways (1) build-up of arousal and tension; (2) release of arousal and tension, and (3) playful elaboration of a high level of arousal (M. Papoušek, 1996) Kitamura & Burnham (2008) further examined the communicative intent of infant-directed speech across the first year of life. Adult-raters listened to excerpts of mothers speaking to their infants at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months and rated four types of 25 affective intent, including: express affection, comfort and soothe, direct infant behaviour and attract attention. The findings showed that comforting/soothing infantdirected speech was most apparent at birth and decreased as age progressed; directing behaviour increased significantly from birth to 12 months but particularly peaked at 9 months and; expressing affection generally increased as age progressed but peaked at 6 months, declined at 9 months and increased again at 12 months. In other words, infant-directed speech did not simply develop in a linear fashion as the infant matured. The authors suggest that mothers intuitively adjust their patterns of speech to communicate various affective intent according to their infant's age, phase of development and level of responsiveness. Overall, the findings reinforce that there is a communicative code embedded in infant-directed speech and that the infant's needs and development influence a mother's communicative intent. It is also well known that mother and infant are mutually engaged in emotional interpersonal communication as early as when the baby is two months old, by looking at and listening to each other, responding sympathetically to one another’s intricate rhythmic patterns, multimodal signals, vocal imitations and facial and gestural expressions (Aitken & Trevarthen, 2001; Gratier & Apter-Danon, 2009; Malloch & Trevarthen, 2009; Mazokopaki & Kugiumutakis, 2009; Powers & Trevarthen, 2009; Stern, Jaffee, Beebe, & Bennett, 1975; Weinberg & Tronick, 1994). Additionally, nine-week old infants have expressed distress at mistimed or ‘unmutually sympathetic’ maternal expressions, no matter how positive, joyful or playful they were (Marwick & Murray, 2009; Weinberg & Tronick, 1994). These findings confirm that infants are responsive to their mother's initiations in that their emotional expressions are well organised and systematically related to the environmental elements. In other words, infants are reciprocal partners in the dyadic 26 exchange. They are sensitive to, responsive to and consciously appreciate the emotionally communicative intentions of infant-directed speech (Aitken & Trevarthen, 2001; Beebe, et al., 2010; Nadel, et al., 1999). Interestingly, Bergeson & Trehub (2007) may have discovered a new communicative characteristic of infant-directed speech. Mothers were recorded talking to their infant on two occasions approximately one week apart. Bergeson & Trehub (2007) found that mothers produced 'signature tunes' in their speech. Even though the occurrences of speech were separated by a week, mothers used the same pitch and melodic rise/fall contour on several occasions. Additionally, an individual mother's signature tune was distinct from the other mothers in the sample. As Bergeson & Trehub (2007) state, "no mother produced tunes exactly like those of any other mother" (p. 653). It was proposed that signature tunes act as distinct markers of maternal speech, which may influence infant ability to recognise their mother’s voice. If this is the case, signature tunes may enhance the emotional tie between mother-infant and be potentially advantageous to mother-infant bonding. Importantly, infant-directed speech involves more than just vocal production. It is commonly accepted that infant-directed speech contain emotional communicative messages conveyed through a combination of pitch, touch, facial expressions, gestures and vocal tone (Aitken & Trevarthen, 2001; Dissanayake, 2000; Milligan, Atkinson, Trehub, Benoit, & Poulton, 2003; Stern, et al., 1975; Trainor, 1996; Trainor & Heinmiller, 1998; Trehub, Hill, et al., 1997; Weinberg & Tronick, 1994). Dissanayake (2000) suggests that the combination of sound, gestures and facial expressions is a multi-modal form of emotional communication which progresses according to the baby’s developing needs and abilities. In the first three months of the baby’s life, mothers will touch, hold, cuddle, rock and pat babies while 27 looking at their faces, smiling and performing repetitive infant-directed vocalisations. The baby gradually produces vocalisations, eye contact, touches, smiles and nods. From about two and half months onward the mother adjusts her sounds, movements and gestures to suit the baby’s changing needs and growing abilities by gradually moving from the more gentle cooing to more animated play. Her vocalisations and facial expressions become more exaggerated, formed more slowly, held for longer, given more dynamic intensity and variety and punctuated with behavioural silences. The baby responds by producing larger smiles, more active movements and a larger range of sounds and the mother in turn responds with greater exaggeration of mood, movement and tempo. Trevarthen & Malloch (2009; 2000, 2002) believe that the multi-modal mother-infant vocalisations stem from the desire to engage in emotionally communicative interactions and are a reflection of the innate abilities within all humans that expresses emotional communication known as communicative musicality. Communicative musicality between mother and child is expressed through an exchange of spontaneous and improvised vocal narratives created from the parameters of pulse, pitch, timbre, volume and gestures. By being attuned to the infant’s state of arousal and attention and attentively listening to the infant’s vocalisation the mother may respond sympathetically by imitating the pitch contour or repeating the vocalisation with variation, usually through exaggeration or by answering with a contrasting pitch contour accompanied by facial and behavioural gestures. When the mother and infant respond and adjust to each other, they engage in reciprocal musical or vocal narratives sustaining a “…co-ordinated relationship through time” (Trevarthen & Malloch, 2000, p. 6). Trevarthen & Malloch (2000) 28 describe this attunement and reciprocal interaction as ‘dancing’ in emotional communication. Dissanayake (2009) believes that the early operations of communicative musicality, as witnessed between mother and infant, serve to coordinate behaviour and emotion and by doing so, bond the pair. This musical communication serves each individual who need each other for their own reasons; the baby for survival and the mother, for reproductive success. These operations of communicative musicality, also known as protomusic, are the origins of capacities later used by humans in making and responding to music, such as in ceremonial practices. In other words, communicative musicality, as expressed through the mutuality of mother-infant interactions, is an essential aspect of the human experience, with a particular function of reinforcing concord, communion and conjoinment. Play songs and Lullabies as Emotional Communication Infant-directed singing In addition to preferring their mother's voice, the literature demonstrates that infants prefer infant-directed singing over infant-directed speech. Nakata & Trehub (2004) presented 6-month old infants with audiovisual episodes of their mother's infant-directed speech or singing. The infant's attention to the stimuli was recorded and analysed. The results showed that infants exhibited more sustained attention to an audiovisual presentation of their mother's singing voice than to an audiovisual of their mother's speech. It was postulated that singing acts as a synchronisation device to promote cohesion between mother and infant. Considering this possibility, the sustained attention that maternal singing facilitates may enhance the interpersonal tie 29 between mother-infant that is unique and different to the way that infant-directed speech engages the infant. Furthermore, maternal infant-directed singing has been documented to modulate infant arousal levels (de l'Etoile, 2006b; Shenfield, Trehub, & Nakata, 2003; Walworth, 2009). Shenfield, Trehub & Nakata (2003) measured the salivary cortisol levels in 6-month old infants before and after listening to maternal singing. The results showed that individual infant cortisol levels converged toward a common intermediate level. In other words, singing led to elevations in arousal for infants with low initial levels and reductions for infants with higher initial levels. Thus, maternal infant-directed singing appeared to promote arousal levels that are optimal for sustained infant attention. Overall, the literature illustrates that a mother’s singing voice is a preferred and engaging auditory stimulus capable of sustaining infant attention and modulating the infant’s arousal level. Considering that infant-directed singing sustains infant attention for longer than infant-directed speech, as well as the ‘dance’ of communicative musicality, forms of infant-directed singing, including the more structured infant-directed songs, may be considered as more effective in promoting sustained and pleasurable emotional communication and in this way contribute to the development of mother-infant attachment. Distinctive musical and expressive features of play songs and lullabies Play songs and lullabies are two types of songs known to facilitate emotional communication. Each form serves an emotional regulatory purpose: play songs arouse and engage the infant in play whereas lullabies soothe and relax the infant (Bargiel, 2012; Trainor, 1996; Trehub, Hill, et al., 1997; Trehub & Schellenberg, 1995). They also have distinctive musical and expressive features (Rock, Trainor, & 30 Addison, 1999; Trainor, 1996; Trehub & Schellenberg, 1995). Play songs are playful, tend to be sung with a ‘smiling tone’, capture the lyrics by exaggerating the rhythm and rhythmic groupings and impart feelings of joy. In contrast, lullabies are soothing, sung with a breathy tone, capture a sense of flow or ‘smoothness’ and convey affection and tenderness. The rhythmic character of a lullaby is not determined by the text, but rather the accompanying rocking or swaying movements. Additionally the lyrics of lullabies characteristically urge infants to sleep, whereas play songs are games and vehicles of enculturation; they encourage particular behaviours such as brushing teeth, counting and culturally specific features of the spoken language. Despite contrasting musical characteristics, there is one feature that both play songs and lullabies share; that is, both are accompanied by rhythmical movements such as swaying and knee jogging (Rock, et al., 1999; Trainor, 1996; Trehub & Schellenberg, 1995). This suggests that play songs and lullabies may facilitate sustained ‘musical kinaesthetic bonding’ experiences which may assist in the development of mother-infant attachment (Edwards, 2011a; 2011b; Vlismas, 2007; Vlismas, et al., 2012). Play songs and lullabies are also viewed as “… musical analogues of soothing and playful ‘baby talk’ or ‘motherese’ ” (Trehub, Hill, et al., 1997, p. 385). Research has found similarities between infant-directed songs and infant-directed speech. For example, the vocal deliverance of both infant-directed speech and infantdirected songs contain similar exaggerated enunciation of lyrics/words (Trehub, Hill, et al., 1997). et al., 1997). Also, as with the comparison between infant versus noninfant directed speech, infant-directed versions of songs are distinctly different to non-infant- directed versions. More specifically, research shows that infant-directed 31 versions of songs are sung in a more engaging manner and soothing or playful tone of voice than non-infant-directed versions. For example, Trainor (1996) recorded mothers singing a song to their infant and again in their infant's absence. Adult-raters listened to the recordings and accurately distinguished between the infant-directed and infant-absent versions sung by the same mother. Another group of adults listened to pairs of singing samples (one infant-directed, the other infant-absent) and were asked to choose which version rendered the most loving tone of voice. Critically, the infant-directed versions were rated as more loving 82.7% of the time. A third group of adults listened to the infant-present versions and rated whether the singing was attempting to put an infant to sleep (a lullaby) or arouse and play with an infant (a play song). The results showed there was a high consistency among raters inaccurately classifying the soothing or arousing function of the song. In other words, lullabies were perceived to be sung in a more soothing and relaxing manner whereas play songs were perceived to be sung in a more arousing and playful manner. Similarly, Trehub & colleagues (1997) recorded mothers singing in their infant's presence and in their infant's absence. Adult-raters listened to the recordings and accurately distinguished between the two versions. In a subsequent experiment another group of adult-raters evaluated the emotional engagement of the singing samples. The results showed that infant-directed versions of singing were rated as more emotionally engaging than non-infant-directed versions. Infants also behave differently when listening to play songs and lullabies. Rock & colleagues (1999) recorded mothers singing the same song in a play song style and lullaby style. Infants were videotaped listening to the two versions of singing style. The results showed that infants demonstrated more outward focus of 32 attention when listening to the play song style and more inward focus of attention when listening to the lullaby style. The authors concluded that distinctive features of play song and lullaby singing convey different emotional messages to infants and that the infants respond accordingly. In other words, mothers communicate various emotions during infant-directed songs, and importantly, infants are sophisticated listeners capable of detecting changes in musical stimuli and decoding their mother’s singing accordingly (de l'Etoile, 2006a). Research suggests that infants are 'biologically wired' or predisposed to listen to the distinctive, musical, expressive and emotionally communicative features of infant-directed songs over adult-directed songs. Masataka (2000) showed this preference in 2-day-old infants who were born to congenitally deaf parents. Since the parents used sign language as their first language, the newborns had no prenatal exposure to maternal speech/singing before the study. The results showed that the newborns newborns looked at a visual stimulus for longer when listening to infantdirected singing over adult-directed singing. In other words, despite the lack of prenatal exposure to maternal speech and singing, the infants were attracted to infantdirect singing. It was argued that logically, prenatal exposure to maternal speech/singing is not necessary for newborns to exhibit a preference and thus, infants are born with the preference for, and 'wired' to attend to, the expressive and communicative features of infant-directed songs. How play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication Musical interaction has been shown to contain communicative characteristics conducive to emotional communication. Mualem & Klein (2012) recorded mothers and their 12-month old infants engaging in music-related activities followed by toyrelated activities. Mothers chose the nature of the musical activity and whether or not 33 to use musical instruments or accessories. Multiple aspects of the mother-infant interaction were analysed and the results showed that during musical interactions, compared to play interactions, mother-infant dyads experienced significantly longer durations of eye contact, significantly longer communicative chains of interaction, and significantly less incompatible behaviours or asynchrony. In other words, the mother and infant maintained joint attention for longer periods of time and the interactions were more synchronised during musical then play interactions. While this study provides evidence for the use of musical interactions to promote motherinfant emotional communication, there are few studies that directly examine the effects of play songs and lullabies in relation to mother-infant emotional communication. The effect of music and movement on the quality of mother-infant interaction has been examined by comparing mothers who participated in a music and movement program and those who did not over a 5 week period (Vlismas, et al., 2012). 2012). In the music and movement program, healthy first-time mothers with healthy infants between two to four months old learnt a variety of play songs and lullabies as well as various ways to hold and move with their baby. In one experiment, mothers were videoed playing with their infants for six minutes before and after the 5-week period. Two blind raters rated the dyadic reciprocity of the interaction using The Mother-Infant/Toddler Play scale (Chatoor et al., 1985). The results showed that dyadic reciprocity increased for mothers who experienced music and movement whereas dyadic reciprocity decreased for those who did not experience music and movement. Demonstrably play songs and lullabies are effective facilitators of reciprocal emotional communication but there is little understanding of how or why this is the case. 34 An examination of the acoustic properties of infant-directed songs provides insight into how mothers convey different emotional messages and thus, facilitate emotional communication. When Trainor et al., (1997) examined the acoustic differences between infant-directed and non-infant-directed singing, they found that, irrespective of whether the song was a lullaby or a play song mothers sang at a slower tempo, sang with more energy in the lower frequencies, used longer interphrase pauses and sang with greater intensity of emotions in the infant-directed compared to non-infant-directed versions. More recently, Tsang & Conrad (2010) investigated the function of pitch in 6 and 7-month old infant preferences for lullabies and play songs. The results showed that infants preferred high-pitched over low-pitched versions of play songs but low-pitched over high-pitched versions of lullabies. In other words, the affective nature of music had an effect on infant pitch preferences which suggests that infants recognised the affective state that play songs and lullabies communicated. Both studies provide evidence that acoustic modifications made during infant-directed singing serve to communicate different emotional messages to the infant. Studies that analyse the musical and expressive elements of infant-directed songs also provide insights into the emotive quality of song-based communication. Delavenne, Gratier & Devouche (2013) recorded mothers singing a popular native play song to their infant at 3 and 6 months then explored the temporal elements of the mothers' infant-directed singing. The findings showed that mothers used specific expressive timing cues at both infant ages including marking the final phrase of each verse by slowing down the tempo and marking the end of the verse by lengthening the final syllable. The authors suggested that the timing cues stress the hierarchical 35 levels of the verse and act as important cues to help infants better perceive and attend to the structure of the song. Similarly, Longhi (2009) examined the temporal structure of twenty-seven play songs all with an 8-beat phrase structure, sung live by mothers to their infants. The results showed that mothers emphasise the upbeats, particularly the last beat of the phrase, by lengthening the duration of the upbeat accompanied by gestural behaviours. behaviours. It was argued that these expressive temporal cues help infants process and segment the musical event into smaller units, helping them to anticipate the following downbeat. Such patterning in the timing structure would encourage the infant to engage and time their participation to match to the relevant beats of the song. In other words, the temporal elements of play songs may help to assist mother- infant synchrony. While this one aspect of songs may encourage synchrony, there may be other melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and performance elements that also promote infant engagement and sustained dyadic communication. More research is needed to better understand how the musical and non-musical features of play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication (Reyna & Pickler, 2009). How play songs and lullabies contribute to attachment Despite the growing evidence to support the engaging and communicative nature of play songs and lullabies only one known study has examined the experience of singing songs in relation to attachment. In a second experiment, Vlismas et al., (2012) examined the effect of a 5-week music and movement program on the perception of attachment of mothers by comparing mothers who experienced music and movement to those who did not. The mothers completed Condon & Corkindale’s (1998) Maternal Attachment Questionnaire before and after the 5-week 36 period. The results showed a significant increase in the overall quality of attachment for mothers who experienced music and movement and a decrease in attachment in the absence of music and movement. To reiterate, the Maternal Attachment Questionnaire (Condon & Corkindale, 1998) asks mothers to objectively report on the frequency and intensity of their thoughts, feelings and behaviours involving their infant and is based on four indicators or constructs of attachment, including: pleasure in proximity, need-gratification, tolerance/acceptance and knowledge acquisition. The oppositional results suggest that all attachment constructs are associated with music and movement interactions in some way. However, the questionnaire quantifies the responses to provide an overall summary or overview of the participant’s perception of attachment. Consequently, the actual thoughts or feelings that the mothers experienced could not be examined nor could the reasons behind the mother's rating. Thus, more research is required to determine (1) whether the constructs are associated with music and movement experiences for mothers with infants above four-months old, (2) if specific constructs are more effected by musical interaction than others, (3) if there are other thoughts and feelings specifically related to play songs and lullabies, and (4) if there are thoughts and feelings unique to either play songs or lullabies. Baker and Mackinlay (2005, 2006) examined the subjective experience of a lullaby education program by analysing diary entries of participating mothers. The data demonstrated that singing lullabies was beneficial to the mother’s wellbeing, providing a ‘lift’ in moments of despair as well as increasing their sense of empowerment and control. The feelings of success as a result of lulling their baby to sleep validated thoughts and feelings of being a ‘good’ mother and providing a sense of pride, renewed confidence and self assurance in their capacity as a mother. 37 Although Baker and Mackinlay (2005, 2006) did not examine attachment specifically, they suggest the described positive experiences are vital for mothers who may be struggling to cope with the daily demands of mothering and therefore, lullaby singing has the potential to be a preventative measure in “… what could otherwise become a spiralling cycle of negative feelings leading to the potential for post-natal depression and mother-infant detachment” (Baker & Mackinlay, 2005, p. 86). Findings from studies examining the subjective experience of singing suggests that singing may be a vehicle for the transmission of maternal love (Escandón, 2008; Likierman, 1998). Through singing a mother may transmit her own feelings of love and care to her infant and the infant ‘picks up’ on the quality of feeling in the mother’s interactions. Likierman (1998) calls this emotional transmission positive projective identification. Mothers need to have her feelings received and appreciated by another; she “... needs to know not only that she is a responsive care-giver, but also a nice person to have for a mother, someone whose personal rather than functional mode of loving is wanted” (Likierman, 1998, p. 31). Consequently she transmits her good, loving and caring parts of herself not to intrude upon the infant, but to offer pleasure or emotional goodness which is not of the infant’s own making, like an unexpected gift. This not only meets the mother’s needs to be wanted it also provides the infant the experience of receiving instead of demanding pleasure. In other words, positive projective identification provides the infant with an experience of being wanted, rather than catered for (Likierman, 1998). Another study, inspired by psychotherapy and ethnography discusses a mother’s musicality in positive projective identification using data collected by observing a mother-infant dyad on a weekly basis over a two year period (Escandón, 38 2008). The mother was often observed singing and dancing and her infant would stop his current playing, look to the mother, kick his legs, shake his hands, smile and laugh in pleasure and joy. Escandón (2008) suggests that the mother was using musical expression to transmit the ‘good parts’ of herself which were felt by the infant as if he were penetrated by pleasure. Over time the regular experience of positive projective identification became internalised in the infant as a representation of the positive union or bond between mother and child combined with a sense of reassurance and containment. Escandón (2008) proposes that the infant uses this internal representation to defend himself against the anxiety of separation from the mother. In this way, regular singing interaction may contribute to the development of the mother-child attachment bond by reinforcing and internalising the positive mother-child union which may be used later in the infant’s life to cope with the stress of separation anxiety (Cozolino, 2010). Mother-Infant Singing as Intervention The literature clearly supports the use of play songs and lullabies for mother and infant to engage in emotionally communicative interaction. Surprisingly, the use of live musical practices by parents appears to be decreasing (M. Papoušek, 1996; Young, 2008). Vlismas & Bowes (1999) found that only two of thirty-nine mothers had sung lullabies to their young infants before participating in a formal music program and Baker & Mackinlay (2006) found only four of forty-two mothers had sung to calm or engage their babies before participating in a lullaby program. There are many potential contributors to the decreasing use of singing including: 39 Technology - One study in the United Kingdom found that live singing is being replaced or blended with music technology such as music CD’s and DVD’s (Young, 2008). It is possible that such trends are also occurring in Australia. Lack of time - Over one third of Australian parents interviewed in 2005 felt that they do not spend enough time with their children and three out of four found balancing work and family difficult (Tucci, Mitchell, & Goddard, 2005). With decreasing time availability, the amount of time that may be dedicated to daily one-on-one singing interactions may also decreases (de Vries, 2007; Vlismas, 2007) Lack of confidence in musical abilities, particularly singing – Lack of confidence causes parents to substitute their own live music-making with music CDs and DVDs. Parents have indicated they would like to play musical games and engage in music-making with their child but felt they lacked the skills and experience to do so (de Vries, 2007); and Limited knowledge of infant-appropriate repertoire - Parenting resources do not seem to guide or support the use of music, leaving parents to learn songs through children’s television programs or recordings (Trehub, Hill, et al., 1997; Vlismas & Bowes, 1999). This suggests that mothers’ practice of music activities with their infants is not recognised as an important part of daily caregiving (Vlismas, 2007). The majority of parents believe that how they were raised by their own parents is very influential in their own parenting practices (Tucci, et al., 2005). Parents who recall their mother singing to them are more likely to sing songs to their 40 own children than parents who do not recall this experience (Custodero & JohnsonGreen, 2003). There is a danger that knowledge of play songs and lullabies and associated musical practices will continue to shrink through lack of generational exposure unless parents are supported to expand their repertoire of songs and encouraged to use music as a vehicle of interaction with their babies. As pointed out by Vlismas (2007) “…if parents’ practise of musical interactions are sustained and become part of families’ nurturing home environments during the early childhood years, it is likely that this practice will form part of their children’s valuable memories which they, in turn, will then practise as parents” (p. 248). Early intervention is defined by Dunst (2000) as the provision of support and resources to families of young children from informal and formal support networks that both directly and indirectly influence child, parent, and family functioning. Music therapy is defined by the Australian Music Therapy Association as the intentional use of music and music-making to actively support people as they strive to improve their health, functioning and wellbeing (Australian Music Therapy Association, 2014). Music Therapy early intervention therefore, is the use of music and music-making to actively support and influence the health, functioning and wellbeing of families and/or family members in the early childhood sector. Considering this definition, the term ‘music therapy intervention’ in this thesis refers to all types of formal and informal music therapy provided to all parents, carers and children aged under 6 years (including those with/out disability, special needs, ‘at risk’ circumstances etc). Music therapy interventions offer varied and rich possibilities to encourage positive musical parent-child interactions, support positive attachment and remediate attachment difficulties (Pasiali, 2013). Music Therapy with premature infants and 41 mothers in the Neonatal Unit, for example, appears to positively impact mothers’ well-being and coping behaviour and motivation to sing with their infant (Haslbeck, 2012, 2014). In the Cevasco (2008) study, mothers of premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) recorded a personalised CD of their singing playsongs and lullabies to play to the infant to be used during hospitalisation and at home, after discharge. Mothers reported that knowing their infant listened to the CD of their singing helped them to cope with their infants’ stay in hospital, especially when their ability to visit was hindered to employment and medical complications. Haslbeck (Haslbeck, 2012, 2014) believes that training mothers in singing offers them an opportunity to encourage homeostasis and improve wellbeing in the infant (by minimising sensory deprivation and overstimulation, for example) while also providing an enjoyable activity for mother and infant to engage in. Experiencing such positive interaction addresses negative feelings of guilt, stress, fear and loss of self-esteem in the mother which may cause attachment difficulties. Empowering the mother to engage in attuned singing interactions therefore, may promote a healthy mother-infant relationship while providing developmentally beneficial support for the infant. Group community music therapy early interventions such as Sing & Grow have been offered to families with children up to five years of age who are at risk of marginalisation. Benefits of these programs include: an expansion of childappropriate repertoire, providing opportunities for mother and child to experience positive dyadic interactions, an increase in the parents’ frequency and enjoyment of musical interactions with their children, an increase in parents’ confidence in sharing music with their infant, self-reported strengthening of the parent-child relationship; Shoemark, 1996). Participating in group music therapy programs may provide the 42 supportive, non-threatening, motivating and enriched environment necessary to promote positive and emotional musical companionship and regenerate the tradition of musical practise (Vlismas, 2007). However, only few known studies have employed more rigorous evaluation designs and methodologies of such programs (Nicholson, Berthelsen, Abad, Williams, & Bradley, 2008; Nicholson, et al., 2010; Vlismas, 2007; Vlismas, et al., 2012). Trolldalen (1997) examined the musical processes or interplay of mothers with children aged 2-4 years old in a 10-week music therapy program. The therapist used songs/singing and improvisation to provide a flexible framework for motherchild interaction in which any initiation by the mother and/or child were immediately incorporated into the music-making. Trolldalen (1997) argues that musical interplay provides opportunities for sharing meaningful moments, that is, where mother and child meet each other through affective exchange, mutual recognition and sharing of joint attention, also known as intersubjectivity (Stern, 1985; Travarthen, 1985). These moments in turn, encourage positive development, for example, by promoting sense of self and self-esteem, while deepening the mother-child relationship by providing musical companionship. Most early intervention music therapy programs are offered to families with children up to five years old and only a few known studies focus on musical interaction during the first year of the infant’s life specifically (Baker & Mackinlay, 2006; Cunningham, 2011; Vlismas, 2007; Vlismas, et al., 2012). In one such study, Baker and Mackinlay (2006) conducted an educative music therapy program for healthy first-time mothers and their healthy babies. The mothers were taught how to effectively settle and calm their baby by singing lullabies in a way that first matched the baby’s emotional state and then calmed and soothed the baby. The mothers learnt 43 to reflect their baby’s distress by singing a faster and more up-tempo lullaby with a stronger vocal timbre and volume and then lower the emotional intensity of their singing by using a sweeter, gentler, quieter voice and decreasing the tempo to soothe and calm the infant (Baker & Mackinlay, 2006). Using this technique the mothers learnt the skill of reading and responding to their baby’s cues as well as emotional regulation resulting in mothers who were better able to settle their babies after the educative program. This suggests that individualised educative music therapy programs may positively influence the emotional communication between mother and baby through lullaby singing. However, more research and empirical evidence is needed to support this suggestion. Bargiel (2004), believes that the utilisation of parental singing, particularly play songs and lullabies may support the emergence and/or consolidation of a secure attachment. She suggests an individualised attachment intervention approach where the therapy is based not on therapeutic work through the medium of sound, as is the case with many therapeutic approaches, but rather the reproduction of real-life situations. The therapist creates a supportive environment while also modelling and facilitating musical interaction so that the parent may (1) become conscious of changes in the affective state and levels of anxiety and arousal of the baby, (2) develop and practise their vocal responses to the baby’s sounds, signals and cues, (3) recognise the baby’s needs for increased or limited stimulation, (4) enrich his/her lullaby and play song repertoire, and (5) maintain sustained interaction with the baby. The success of the intervention, in terms of influencing attachment then, is the continuation of sensitive and attuned musical interaction outside of the therapeutic setting. 44 De l’Etoile (2006a) also suggests an individualised ‘coaching’ approach where (1) the therapist models interaction, (2) the mother describes her infant’s responses, (3) the therapist assists the mother with interpreting her infant’s behaviour, (4) the therapist guides the mother to understand the connection between her infant’s cues and specific musical elements and (5) assists the mother to sing in a style that is most appropriate to the infant’s current needs. She believes the intervention should focus on recognition of the infant’s responses and various configurations of musical elements. In this way, mothers may learn to modify musical elements while singing in order to elicit the infant’s attention and match and/or alter the infant’s current mood and arousal level. Despite two suggested models of intervention, there is need for more research on the ways in which music therapy promotes emotional communication and secure attachment. De l’Etoile (2006a) suggests that future research should examine live musical interactions in order to reveal both the mothers’ and infants’ most natural and genuine reactions and be conducted with typically-developing infants and healthy mothers to establish possible behaviour ranges. She also states that “... additional studies are needed to clarify the non-musical aspects of ID (infantdirected) singing ...” (p. 27). Evidently, more information is needed about the musical and non-musical processes involved in promoting and developing attachment via song and in understanding the intuitive interactions of healthy mother-infant dyads. Summary The literature clearly supports live singing as a vehicle for emotionally attuned mother-infant communication. It has been shown that play songs and 45 lullabies facilitate emotional communication and positively contribute to attachment. However, little is understood about the musical and non-musical mechanisms involved in facilitating song-based emotional communication, and by extension, how singing interactions contribute to the development of mother-infant attachment. More research is needed to examine the intrinsic characteristics of mother-infant singing interactions, specifically in relation to the facilitation of emotional communication and the promotion of attachment. Such understanding would provide further insights into the therapeutic potential of singing songs and enable music therapists to better intervene and strengthen the security of mother-infant relationships. RESEARCH AIMS Hatch and Maietta (1991) state, “Before much can be done to intervene and affect the quality of parent-infant interactions, the functional efforts that make up these activities and contribute positively or negatively to the parent-infant bond must be better understood” (p. 254). This study examines the ‘functional efforts’ of mother-infant singing interaction to expand current understanding of how play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and positively contribute to attachment. The primary research question is: “how do play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and contribute to the mother-infant relationship?” To address this question multiple aspects of play songs and lullabies are examined by employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The mixed methods approach focuses on the following research aims: (1) To examine the mother’s subjective experience of using play songs and lullabies with their infant - this will be achieved by conducting a semi- 46 structured interview with each mother focussing on the thoughts and feelings mothers experience during singing interactions with their infant, (1) To examine the quality of interaction during the use of play songs and lullabies - this will be achieved by videoing mothers singing songs with their infant and rating the dyadic interaction using the numerical Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008b), and (1) To examine the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal singing interactions during the use of play songs and lullabies – this is achieved by transcribing and musically analysing case studies of optimal and less-optimal singing interaction in relation to attributes of interaction specified in the emotional availability framework (Biringen, 2000, 2008a, 2008b). In this chapter the literature concerning singing, music, attachment and emotional communication were reviewed, particularly in regard to how play songs and lullabies relate to the theories of emotional communication and attachment. In the next chapter the mixed methods research design and analysis will be discussed. 47 CHAPTER 3 – METHODOLOGY "[Singing] is an opportunity for me to focus on her as much as it is the other way around too" Tammy, first time mother, interview conducted on 13th September, 2011 In the previous chapter the literature review was presented followed by the research aims. In this chapter the convergent parallel mixed methods research design, procedures and analysis processes are outlined in detail. In total, twenty-three mother-infant dyads participated in the study. Twelve dyads were in the singing condition and the mothers videoed singing songs with their infant. Eleven dyads were in the non-singing control condition and the mothers videoed playing and interacting with their infant without singing (non-singing interaction). Firstly, all mothers were interviewed about their experience of either singing or non-singing interaction with their infant. Secondly, the video footage of all 23 mother-infant interactions was rated according to the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008b). Lastly, a subset of six mother-infant singing interactions were musically notated and analysed in relation to the scales of Emotional Availability to explore how mothers facilitate optimal and less-optimal song-based emotional communication. The findings and discussions of the qualitative and quantitative analyses are presented in the following chapters and converged to form the thesis conclusion. 48 PARTICIPANTS The participant sample included 23 mothers aged between 25 and 39 years (mean age 32.4 years). All the mothers were married, the primary caregiver of the infant, reported English as their first language, and scored < 8 on the Edinburgh PostNatal Depression Scale and reported to be in good health. The infants were aged between 5.2 - 7.9 months old (mean age 6.3 months) and all were reported to be born full-term without hearing impairment or other disability. Two additional mothers were recruited for the study but withdrew participation due to unforeseen circumstances. The study was advertised to mothers through MARCS BabyLab3 and community playgroups (see Appendix A). Interested parties contacted the present author who sent them a questionnaire, Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scales, participant information sheet and consent form (see Appendix B, C, D and E). The initial selection criteria for the mothers included: 1. Aged between 23 and 39 years as mothers outside this bracket are at higher risk of depression and their children are at higher risk of developmental problems which may influence the behaviour of the mother and/or infant (Khoshnood et al., 1998); 2. Mother of an infant aged 5-8 months old 3. Scored below 12 on the Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale (scores of 12 or above indicates the likelihood of post-natal depression) as depression 3 MARCS is a research institute of the University of Western Sydney 49 effects the quality of mother-infant interactions and the mother’s perception of attachment (Paris, Bolton, & Weinberg, 2009). 4. Currently not diagnosed with depression. Mothers who were previously diagnosed with depression but scored before 12 on the Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale were eligible to participate 5. Completed year 12 of High school and speaks English as the first/main language, allowing the mothers to clearly express themselves during the interview; 6. Comfortable singing in front of a camera. This criterion was only necessary for the singing condition. If a mother was uncomfortable singing but otherwise eligible, she was automatically assigned to the control condition. No mothers were excluded from the study due to mother age, infant age, Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale scores, current depression, High School qualification or language. One mother was uncomfortable singing in front of a camera, but otherwise eligible and therefore, automatically assigned to the control condition. All other eligible mothers were randomly allocated to the singing or non-singing condition by lottery. The present author wrote ‘singing’ and ‘non-singing’ on separate pieces and placed them in a container. She then drew a piece of paper and allocated participants to either the singing or non-signing condition according to the condition drawn. Mothers in the Singing condition also had to meet the following additional criteria: 1. Demonstrate she can sing each song correctly (without looking at the lyric sheet and independent of the present author). 50 The purpose of being able to demonstrate the ability to sing each song fluently was to maximise the spontaneous nature or naturalness of the interaction. If the mother was not completely comfortable singing a song, that is, did not know the words or melody, this might have interfered with the naturalness of the mother-infant interaction being videoed and examined. One mother did not meet the additional singing criteria completely. There was one lullaby that she did not know. However, this was not due to memory difficulties. It was simply because she did not like the particular lullaby and preferred singing other songs and it was agreed that she continue participation without the particular lullaby in her repertoire. MATERIALS Music materials The repertoire of ten songs taught to the mothers was chosen from resources created by early childhood educators and professional artists including Mary Lee, Lynn Kleiner and songs from the Wee Sing (book series). The repertoire was purposefully chosen from sources of information that are not prominently accessible through television or retail stores to increase the likelihood that the mothers will be learning new repertoire thus, expanding the amount of songs that would be observed while also providing a potentially desirable motivation to participate in the study. A preliminary music analysis of the songs was completed to ensure there were musical elements to facilitate synchrony, engagement and emotional regulation (arouse attention, maintain attention, or soothe, calm and relax). The repertoire also 51 contained a range of play songs that involve a variety of movements (e.g. tickling, kissing, knee-jogging, dropping or lifting). The final selection is as follows4: 1. Acka Backa Soda Craka by Mary Lee (tickly, kissy and knee-jogging play song) 2. Jig jog by Lynn Kleiner (knee jogging play song) 3. Belly Button. Traditional poem arranged by the present author, registered music therapist (tickly/kissy play song) 4. Trot Trot to Boston by Mary Lee (dropping/lifting play song) 5. Going to the moon by Mary Lee (knee-jogging and dropping/lifting play song) 6. Hush-a-bye, baby-bye (traditional lullaby) 7. Sleep baby sleep (traditional lullaby) 8. Cradle Song by Schubert (traditional lullaby) 9. Suogan (Traditional lullaby) 10. Stroke your hands by Robin Howat, registered music therapist5 (soothing song). Emotional Availability Scales The Emotional Availability Scales used in this study comprise of six emotional availability dimensions. The four parental dimensions include: Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-intrusiveness and Non-hostility. The two child dimensions include: Responsiveness to mother and Involvement of mother. Each parental and child 4 Effort was made to trace sources and copyright owners. Songs of unknown authors/copyright holders were retrieved from www.maryleemusic.com, Merrily Merrily … A book of songs and rhymes for babies and young children, published by the Australian Breastfeeding Association and Wee Sing for baby by Pamela Conn Beall and Simone Hagen Nipp, published by PSS! Price Stern Sloan. 5 Included with kind permission from the late Robin Howat 52 dimension includes seven subscales. For each dimension, the first two subscales are rated from 1-7, and the third to seventh subscales are rated from 1-3. A summary of type of observable behaviours/qualities the assessor considers for each subscale are provided below. Parental Sensitivity (1) Affect – is there a clear enjoyment of the child? Is the parent’s affect genuine, relaxed, balanced, bland, cool or detached, depressed, withdrawn, aggressive or traumatised? (2) Clarity of perceptions and appropriate responsiveness – is the parent aware of infant signals and responds easily and correctly? Is the parent willing to respond in an appropriate and prompt manner? Or, is the parent inconsistent in the perception and/or responsiveness of infant signals or unaware of oblivious to subtle cues but aware of blatant communications? (3) Awareness of timing – is the parent aware of timing, seems off in timing at times or lacks awareness of the importance of timing? (4) Flexibility, variety and creativity in modes of play or interaction – is play fun with lots of enjoyment or are there some playful times but the play seems repetitive or is there little play, variety and enjoyment? Is the adult flexible or is there little flexibility seen? (5) Acceptance – does the parent speak/act in respectful ways, with occasional disrespect with clear disrespect or does not speak/interact at all? (6) Amount of interaction – was there enough, minimal or very little/no interaction given the context and/or directions? (7) Conflict situations – is the parent skilful in moving, not skilful in moving or does not try to move conflicts toward resolution? 53 Parental Structuring (1) Provides appropriate guidance and suggestions – does the parent use preventative (proactive) guidance and suggestions, make subtle and varied suggestions/comments that lead the child along the right path for the situation? Or, is the parent inconsistent in providing preventative guidance or vacillates between too much and too little guidance or is there little or no guidance observed? Is there an emotionally scaffolding and enveloping quality of the inputs that creates a ‘holding environment’ for the child that leads the child in a positive way? (2) Success of attempts to structure – Are the attempts successful in that they move the child to a higher level and the child receives the inputs or are the attempts not successful (although plentiful) or are the attempts repetitive and do not seem to influence the child or take child’s reactions into account or is there no/minimal interaction? (3) Amount of structuring – does the parent use just the right amount, less than ideal or too little structure tried (adult may talk and interact but no structuring per se or an avoidance of structuring)? (4) Limit setting, setting boundaries proactively - does the parent set limits and boundaries appropriate to task/situation, or are there no limits to set in the context? Or, does the parents set limits on occasion or not at all? (5) Remaining firm in the face of pressure – does the parent remain firm but continue to maintain a connection to child or the child does not put pressure on the adult or there is no pressure observed? Or, is the parent inconsistent with remaining firm, caves in sometimes or caves in easily? 54 (6) Verbal vs nonverbal structuring – are both channels used to structure or only verbal/non-verbal or is neither used much? (7) Peer vs adult role – is the adult clearly the adult (‘oler’ and ‘wiser’) and uses a gestural system to indicate difference in an appropriate way or does the adult and child sometimes/usually seem like age mates/at the same level or is there too little interaction to judge? Parental Non-intrusiveness (1) Follows child’s lead – does the adult let the child lead and follows the child/s lead or generally let the child follow in play or assume the lead role with regard to child or become overly protective/suggestive even if benign? Or, does the adult lead, over-mentor, over-parent and expect child to follow? (2) Non-interruptive ports of entry into interaction – does the adult wait for optimal breaks to enter the interaction or sometimes just enters the interaction or clearly interrupts or abruptly interrupts and very frequently with lots of ‘don’ts’/physical intrusions? (3) Commands, directives – does the adult use ‘do’s’ sparingly, occasionally or create a situation of constant demands? (4) Adult talking – is talking used as communication and part of dialogues, used to overpower, lecture of over teach, for the adult’s sake only or is there minimal talking? (5) Didactic teaching – does the adult teach a great deal but in a way that does not ignore relating or occasionally does not take into account the presence of an interactive partner or teaches as if the child is an object/has a lot to catch up on or there is little teaching of any kind? 55 (6) Physical vs verbal interferences – are there few verbal interferences or, occasional, usually verbal, interferences, or physical interferences? (7) The adult is made to “feel “ or “seem” intrusive – does the child never or sometimes indicate the adult is intrusive, or does the child seem to rebuff/move away to indicate adult is being intrusive? Parental Non-hostility (1) Adult lacks negativity in face or voice – does the adult not use negative words/phrases/tone of voice and has good emotional regulation? Or, does the adult demonstrate many subtle signs of negative emotion/stress such as huffing, puffing, easily irritated or is there negativity in voice/face? (2) Lack of mocking, ridiculing, or other disrespectful statement and/or behaviour and general demeanour, whether obvious or subtle – is there evidence of mocking/ridiculing or does the adult begin to say/do something but stops self or seems aware of the disrespect? Or, does the adult say things in a joking way or demonstrate behaviour that is disrespect, mocking, ridiculing? (3) Lack of threats of separation – does the adult never, begin to use but then stops self, or clearly use threats of separation? (4) Does not loose cool during low and high challenge/stress times – does the adult maintain composure during stressful times or lose cool during challenging contexts but able to remain stably calm/positive or lose cool under low challenge times and easily? (5) Frightening behaviour/tendencies – does the adult show no evidence of physical/verbal assaultive behaviours or is the adult’s face/voice frightening 56 in some subtle way or become verbally/physically abusive or demonstrate other clearly overtly frightening behaviour? (6) Silence – is the adult not silent very much, use the silent treatment when in a discipline situation or talk so little that the tone of interaction seems deadened? (7) Themes or play themes hostile – is the play appropriate to the materials with/out malevolent themes/resolution or is the play violent or containing disturbing themes? Child Responsiveness (1) Affect/emotion regulation/organisation of affect and behaviour – is the child’s affect positive, genuine (not a people pleasing way), is the child able to regulate emotions well and demonstrate emotional range appropriate to the context? Or, is the child’s affect generally positive but with a quality of inappropriateness and demonstrates occasional dysregulation, inconsistency or under-regulation or an over-reliance on adult for regulation? Or, does the child seem emotionally shut down, not connected to the adult emotionally, over-regulated and avoidant of emotions? Or, is the child’s affect sad, irritated, depressed, threatening, aggressive, confused, traumatised and is disorganised easily? (2) Responsiveness – when the adult initiates, is the child likely to respond verbally and/or nonverbally or does the child have an over-responsive quality or qualities that are less than optimal (but still responsive) or is the child likely not to respond and seems oblivious or the adult does not initiate much? (3) Age-appropriate autonomy-seeking and exploration – does the child seek out opportunities to be exploratory and autonomous or show some but not very 57 clear signs of autonomy seeking for age or seem passive, stay very close to adult or show too much autonomy? (4) Positive physical positioning – does the child mould to the adult’s body and seek if physical contact appropriate for age or seek physical contact that may not be healthy such as physical proximity indicating that the child may be overconnected or does the child, rarely, if at all, seek physical contact or seem avoidant of the adult? (5) Lack of role reversal/over responsiveness – does the child show no signs of role reversal (parentified behaviours) or show minimal signs of role reversal or show clear/distinct signs of role reversal? (6) Lack of avoidance – is the child attentive to play/activities but not to the exclusion of the adult? Or, is the child not avoidant but also not connected to the adult? Or, is the child seemly avoidant of adult? (7) Task oriented/concentrate – is the child focussed on the object play but does not, occasionally or usually excludes the adult? Child Involvement (1) Simple initiative – does the child show initiative in bringing adult into interaction by looking, talking etc or initiate some of the time? Is the child’s initiating positive or negatively involving or combined with anxiety? Is the child quite uninvolving and seem task-oriented or does not initiate at all? (2) Elaborative initiative – does the child involve in a way that creates a positively elaborated interaction rather than simple exchanges or is the child connecting with the adult around an object or moderately elaborative in initiative (simple exchanges) or not seen elaborating and engaging after making initiatives? 58 (3) Use of adult – does the child go to adult for emotional and playful exchanges or use the adult both emotionally and instrumentally, or does the adult seem more like a tool that child uses to get instrumental, rather and emotional needs met? (4) Lack of over-involvement – is there no evidence of negatively involving adult or only rare involvement through distress/anxiety etc or is the child clearly over-involving? (5) Eye contact, looking – does the child show involvement through multiple, few of no instances of nonverbal channels? (6) Body positioning – does the child involve through positioning body toward adult or rarely/never positions body facing adult? (7) Verbal involvement – does the child involvement through babbling/talking and frequently? Or, involves only on few/scarce instances or not at all? Summary of the Emotional Availability Scales The Emotional Availability Scales provide a holistic assessment of dyadic interactions because judgements of Emotional Availability encompass the parent's understanding of the child's emotional experience, together with the child's responses to the parental bids (Biringen, 2000, 2008a, 2008b). To examine the quality of interaction between mother and infant, trained assessors are required to observe video footage of the interaction and make clinically sensitive judgements about the behavioural contributions of both mother and child. Before actually rating the interaction, the assessor first considers the overall health of the relationship. The assessor asks, “Is there an emotional connection or not?” and “is it a healthy connection or not?” Various relationship qualities are described by Biringen (2008a, 2008b). For example, a relationship may appear to be optimally emotionally 59 available and securely attached. Any stressors are dealt with optimally, both adult and child are emotionally recruitable and demonstrate good emotional regulation. The affect of both adult and child are genuine, positive and relaxed. However, a relationship may appear less than optimally emotionally available and, rather, ‘good enough’. Both adult and child seem generally positive and there is an emotionally recruitable quality to the relationship, but with less of a spectacular quality. Another type of relationship comprises of a mis-match or separation. For example, the adult may appear to use emotional availability skills quite well but the child lags in terms of the child’s side of emotional availability or seems to have a complicated emotional availability, perhaps due to disability. In other words, the child does not match the child’s emotional availability. An “apparently” healthy relationship quality is another different type of emotional connection described by Biringen (2008a, 2008b). The adult-child relationship is observed to be good in many ways with a connection and good times, but the connection does not seem entirely healthy. There seems to be something lacking or not completely relaxed about the relationship. The caregiver’s affect may seem exaggerated or pseudo-positive (ingenuine) or the adult may seem warm but nurture/encourage dependency. Perhaps the adult is working hard to engage the child and draw affect out and the result is a seemingly tiring, effortful and draining relationship. Overall, both adult and child are enjoying each other, but it is difficult to give a ‘clean bill of health’ to the relationship. Other relationship qualities involve a separation or detachment between adult and child. For example, the adult is detached but the child is still seeking some connection with the adult or both adult and child appear detached, unavailable, cool, distant, avoidant and ignoring of one another. 60 Once the overall emotional connection is considered, the assessor moves on to the actual rating of the dimensions. The assessor observes the video footage as many times as necessary to complete all the ratings. Additionally, for this study, the author designated rating categories of emotional availability for use with the music analysis. The categories were determined by particular divisions of scores as outlined in the scoring materials for the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008b), including optimal (29), high (20-28), mid (11-19) and low (7-10). A summary of the dimensions, subscales and rating categories is provided in Table 1. Table 1: Summary of the abridged version of the Emotional Availability Scales, 4th Edition (Biringen, 2008b). Dimension Description Subscales Rating Categories Parental Sensitivity Sensitivity refers to the adult's positive affect, ability to be emotionally responsive to their child and behavioural style. 29 – optimal sensitivity 20-28 – high 11-19 – mid 7-10 – low (non-optimal sensitivity) Parental Structuring Structuring refers to an adult’s ability to provide an adequate frame or scaffold for interactions such as the ability to follow the child’s lead and set limits for in/appropriate child mis/behaviour. Parental Nonintrusiveness Non-intrusiveness refers to the mother's ability to provide autonomy for the child whilst being an available and supportive frame i.e. ability to be available to the child without being intrusive to him/her Non-hostility refers to the ability to regulate negative emotions such as impatience and anger. It includes both covert and overt forms of hostility such as background discontent and signs of negativity Affect (1-7) Clarity of perceptions and appropriate responsiveness (1-7) Awareness of timing (1-3) Flexibility, variety and creativity in modes of play or interactions (1-3) Acceptance (1-3) Amount of interaction (1-3) Conflict situations (1-3) Provides appropriate guidance and suggestions (1-7) Success of attempts to structure (1-7) Amount of structuring (1-3) Limit setting, setting boundaries proactively (1-3) Remaining firm in the face of pressure (1-3) Verbal vs nonverbal structuring (1-3) Peer vs adult role (1-3) Follows child’s lead (1-7) Non-interruptive ports of entry into interaction (1-7) Commands, directives (1-3( Adult talking (1-3) Didactic teaching (1-3) Physical vs verbal interferences (1-3) The adult is made to “feel “ or “seem” intrusive (1-3) Adult lacks negativity in face or voice (1-7) Lack of mocking, ridiculing, or other disrespectful statement and/or behaviour and general demeanour, whether obvious or subtle (1-7) Lack of threats of separation (1-3) Does not loose cool during low and high challenge/stress times (1-3) Frightening behaviour/tendencies (1-3) Silence (1-3) Themes or play themes hostile (1-3) Parental Nonhostility 61 29 – optimal structuring 20-28 – high 11-19 – mid 7-10 – low (non-optimal structuring) 29 – optimal nonintrusiveness 20-28 – highly 11-19 – mid 7-10 – low (highly intrusive) 29 – optimal non-hostility 20-28 – highly 11-19 – mid 7-10 – low (highly hostile) Child Responsiveness to parent Responsiveness refers to the child's positive affect, ability to regulate emotions, overall demeanour when in interaction with the adult as well as eagerness or willingness to engage with the parent Child Involvement with parent Involvement refers to the degree to which the child attends to and engages the parent in play i.e. attempts to involve the parent in interaction. It involves both positive and negative forms of involvement Affect/emotion regulation/organisation of affect and behaviour (1-7) Responsiveness (1-7) Age-appropriate autonomy-seeking and exploration (1-3) Positive physical positioning (1-3) Lack of role reversal/over responsiveness (1-3) Lack of avoidance (1-3) Task oriented/concentrate (1-3) Simple initiative (1-7) Elaborative initiative (1-7) Use of adult (1-3) Lack of over-involvement (1-3) Eye contact, looking (1-3) Body positioning (1-3) Verbal involvement (1-3) 29 – optimal responsiveness 20-28 – highly 11-19 – mid 7-10 – low (non-optimal responsiveness) 29 – optimal involvement 20-28 – highly 11-19 – mid 7-10 - low (non-optimal involvement) PROCEDURE Groups There were two groups of participants, a singing group and a non-singing group. All mothers were aware that the basic aim of the study was to examine how singing songs contributes to the mother-infant relationship. They were also aware that they would be assigned to either a singing or non-singing group and would be videoed and interviewed about their experiences, according to the group they were assigned. Singing Condition In the singing condition, and before the study began, mothers participated in four singing sessions in which they practiced a set of songs (see Music Materials above). Each session lasted approximately forty-five minutes and was facilitated by the present author. The rationale for introducing repertoire to participants was essentially precautionary. As discussed in Chapter 2, the literature suggests that parents’ musical interaction with their children is decreasing (Baker & Mackinlay, 62 2006; de Vries, 2007; M. Papoušek, 1996; Vlismas & Bowes, 1999; Young, 2008), There was also a concern that the recruited mothers could have had a limited knowledge of play songs and/or lullabies or an unbalanced repertoire (e.g. a mother may know some nursery rhymes, but not any lullabies). Therefore, to maximise the amount and variety of songs to be observed, mothers were first taught a small, but varied set of infant-appropriate repertoire containing five play songs and five lullabies. Data from the pre-selection questionnaire reveals that mothers were already engaged in daily musical interactions with their infant. Eleven of twelve mothers in the singing condition reported singing every day to their infant. Only one mother reported to sing weekly but also commented that she mainly hummed, rather than sang songs directly to her child, and that these songs were mainly popular songs from the radio. Most mothers also reported they sang both play songs and lullabies, listing classic nursery rhymes such as, Old MacDonald had a farm, Incy Wincy, Row, row, row your boat and Twinkle Twinkle little star and traditional lullabies such as Hush little baby, Rock-a-bye baby and Brahms lullaby. Generally, more play songs were listed than lullabies which may suggest an unbalanced knowledge or play songs versus lullabies. Overall though, the concerns that participants may have limited repertoire of songs was somewhat unfounded (See Limitations, p. 361 for further discussion). However, the participants often verbally expressed their desire and enthusiasm to learn more songs. At the very least, the set of songs provided to the participants served as an attractive motivator for participating in the study. As a teaching aid, the mothers were given an audio CD containing a recording of each song. To create the CD, the present author re-recorded the songs using the recording program Protools. The present author recorded her own voice 63 singing the melody and instrumental accompaniment for harmonic support. Playsongs were accompanied by acoustic guitar 6. Lullabies were accompanied by synthesised strings and harp, recorded via keyboard, performed by the present author7. The mothers were also given a lyrics folder containing the lyrics and suggested movements for each song (see Appendix F). To create the lyrics folder, the present author simply retyped the lyrics and movements into a word document. The author explained that the CD was not to be used as an accompaniment to interaction or to replace live musical interaction during the period of the study; it was a teaching aid only. During data collection mothers visited the MARCS BabyLab three times approximately a fortnight apart. During the first and second visit the mothers were videoed singing songs with their infant. The mothers were asked to, “sing songs and interact as you do at home” and to use any songs in the learnt repertoire but were free to sing other songs that they already knew. Generally, mothers were told that the songs should be sung spontaneously, and that they should not feel restricted in how they expressed themselves when singing. Mothers were also allowed to bring any toys they felt necessary (many chose not to). Immediately after the second video session the mothers participated in a semi-structured interview. During the third visit, the mothers were asked to verify the accuracy of the interview analysis. This process involved the mothers reading through the interview transcript and analysis and providing comments about the analysis (see Appendix G for the verification sheet that each participant completed). 6 A professional guitarist, Daniel Stewart, donated his time to record the guitar accompaniment, as directed by the present author. 7 Copyright holders are unknown for many songs (see Footnote 4). Therefore, the recordings and full score of the repertoire have been excluded from the thesis. However, the lyrics and suggested movements of the songs (as provided to the participants) have been included in Appendix F. 64 Control Group The mothers in the control group were not required to learn the songs. Mothers visited the BabyLab three times, but instead of being videoed singing songs, they were videoed interacting/playing freely with their infant. Mothers were provided a small box of baby toys and were allowed to bring in their own toys into the room as well. Mothers were asked to, “interact and play as you do at home”. The videoing sessions took place in the same dedicated recording room in the MARCS BabyLab. Below is a diagram outlining the research process for both the experimental and control group: Singing Condition only 4 weekly singing sessions learning songs Both singing and control groups Visit 1 – Interaction video session 1 Visit 2 – Interaction video session 2 plus interview Visit 3 –Interview verification Figure 2 – Diagram outlining the research process. Video recording Mother and infant were video recorded in a dedicated interaction room at MARCS BabyLab for 20 to 25 minutes. The BabyLab recording room was 2.4 x 2.1 meters and contained a high chair reclined at a 45 degree angle (to encourage eye contact with the mother) and an adult sized chair about 30 centimetres away from the high chair. Four hard-disk camcorders were placed on the walls of the room. The 65 camera set up is shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4. Camera 1 was mounted high up on the wall to capture any interaction that occurred while the mother was standing/dancing. Camera 2 was mounted mid way up the same wall as Camera 1 to capture a side view of both mother and infant while interacting in the chairs or on the floor. Camera 3 was mounted high up on the opposite wall and pointed downwards to capture a bird-eye view of the interaction. This angle captured a variety of interaction, such as when the mother stood up, walked around/danced or when mother and infant interacted on the floor. Camera 4 was mounted high up another wall to capture more views of the infant while in the high chair or being lifted into the air. The purpose of having the multiple cameras placed in various positions around the room was to ensure that all dyadic interaction was captured e.g. when mothers were sitting and when they were standing their heads might be out of frame of one camera but would be captured by another. Also, due to the size of the room, each camera was fitted with a wide angle 0.7x magnification lens. This wide-angle lens allowed a broader view of the room and the mother and infant to be captured. All four cameras were connected to a 4-channel video mixer, which allowed all video angles to be displayed simultaneously on a computer monitor in the control room. Downloaded videos were saved as '.dv' files using iMovie for the purpose of exporting to the video editing software, Adobe Premiere Pro 5. Editing included increasing volume and removing footage at the beginning and end of the video, especially video of an empty room. A diagram of the recording room and a picture of the recording room, as captured by the 4-way cameras in Figure 3 and 4 below: 66 Curtain hiding camera cords and glass window Camera 3 – high up on wall Camera 4 – high up in Camera 2 – mid corner way up wall Door Camera 1 – high up on wall Figure 3 – Diagram of the BabyLab recording room showing the position of the mother, infant and cameras Figure 4 – Image of the 4-way camera capture of the BabyLab recording room. Mothers and infants were seated in the recording room, and instructed to interact freely (for specific instructions see Participant Groups above). Mothers either sang infant-directed songs to their infant (singing condition) or interacted freely with their infant (control group) for 20-25 minutes. Mothers completed two video sessions, two weeks apart. 67 Interview with mother After the second video session the author conducted a semi-structured interview with each mother in the same room. The infant remained in the room with the mother but an assistant cared for any older siblings that were present. The purpose of the interview was to (1) investigate the mother’s experience of using play songs and lullabies, (2) to identify the attachment-related and bonding constructs experienced during such interactions, and (3) explore the differences between the experience of using songs versus non-singing play interaction i.e. what does the live use of songs provide that non-singing interaction does not? Each interview began with an open-ended question. The mothers in the singing condition were asked: “What is your experience of singing songs with your child?” Mothers in the non-singing condition were asked “What is your experience of interacting/playing with your child?” For both the singing and non-singing condition, the interviewer referred to, but was not limited to, a set of pre-prepared questions/prompts to encourage mothers to expand on their responses and ensure consistency across the interviews (see Appendix H for full list of questions). These questions were deliberately open-ended to prompt mothers to consider various aspects of their experience such as: how the mother feels during play songs and lullabies specifically; whether the mother is conscious of any thoughts or decisionmaking processes while interacting and what these thoughts are; the reason behind choosing/continuing/changing a particular song or play activity; how the experience of interacting impacts on the mother and what the experience of interacting provides the mother-infant relationship. The interviewer reflected back summarised responses 68 and asked for clarification of meaning throughout each interview to ensure the mother's experience was properly understood. Since mothers were aware of the basic aims of the study the mothers focused their responses on either singing or non-singing interactions and also distinguished between singing and non-singing interactions in their responses. Mothers in the singing condition would talk about non-singing interactions, and the mothers in the non-singing condition would talk about singing interactions, and outline how each type of interaction was perceived and experienced by them. Each interview was video recorded and transcribed. The transcription was then analysed. On the mothers' third visit to the BabyLab, the mothers were asked to read the interview transcription and a summary of their analysis and confirm that is was a correct interpretation of what they said and believed. Qualitative interview analysis The interview data was analysed using an eleven-step phenomenological process adapted from Grocke (1999) who examined the subjective experience of receptive music therapy. The transcript of each participant was analysed (step 1-7) to determine meaning units (or themes) and summaries of each participant's experience of singing or non-singing interaction. Once all the individual summaries were verified by the participants a group analysis was conducted across each group to determine composite themes and a group summary of the experience of singing and non-singing interaction, using the following steps: 1. Each interview transcript was read through to gain a sense of the overall experience. 2. The transcript was read again, and key statements were underlined. 69 3. The key statements were placed together and grouped into themes, termed meaning units. Each unit was given a category heading. 4. The meaning units for each transcript were transformed into a summary (also known as a distilled essence) of experience. 5. The interview transcript (with key statements underlined) and the summaries were verified by the participant on the mother's third visit. 6. Any changes, omissions, additions and comments made by the participant were noted. If necessary, editions were made to the analysis and the mother was asked to verify the summary again. When the mother determined the summary was accurate this step of the analysis was deemed complete. 7. The meaning units were compared and grouped according to Condon and Corkindale‘s (1998) attachment constructs e.g. meaning units related to pleasure in proximity were grouped under the heading ‘Pleasure in Proximity’. The new groupings clearly demonstrated which constructs were associated to the mother’s experience of interaction. Any meaning units not related to the attachment constructs or the mother's perception of her relationship with the infant or her experience of singing with her infant (e.g. comments about her relationship with an older child or how the experience of parenting in general have changed the mother's perspective on life) were grouped under the heading 'Other'. 8. Once step 6 and 7 had been completed for each participant, the common meaning units across all interviews (per sample) were paralleled to complete a group comparison analysis, also known as a horizontal distilling process. Any meaning units under the heading 'Other' (as discussed above in step 7) were not relevant to the aim of analysing the mother's experience of singing 70 with her infant and how it relates to attachment. Therefore, meaning units under 'Other' were not included in the analysis. 9. The meaning units from each participant were compared. The common meaning units were grouped together and transformed into composite themes. 10. The composite themes were distilled into four composite essences - one essence/summary for each attachment construct (Condon & Corkindale, 1998) 11. The composite themes that were shared by at least 50% of the sample were then transformed into a final global description of the experience of motherinfant singing or non-singing interaction. 12. Finally the composite themes (that were shared by at least 50% of the participants) for the singing and non-singing condition were compared to determine how the experience of singing interactions differs to non-singing interactions. As a result of this analysis process the author distilled data about the subjective experience of using play songs and lullabies (or non-singing play interactions) for each dyad separately as well as across each sample as a whole. Emotional Availability analysis The 20 -25 minutes of video footage of each mother-infant dyad was coded by the present author and external expert using the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS), as outlined in 'Materials'. Both the present author and expert coder were trained and supervised by Zeynep Biringen. The present author coded all videos and for purposes of evaluating reliability, the second expert rater coded 40% of the videos. The expert rater was independently contracted and unaware of the aims of the 71 study or the dyadic groupings. Any ratings with an initial difference of more than +/1 were negotiated and typically, coding was more aligned with the expert rater. Overall inter-rater reliability was r = 0.94 (Pearson’s correlations). Means of each emotional availability dimension and correlations between the groups were calculated. Transcriptional Music Analysis The video footage of six mother-infant dyads in the singing condition was selected to extract musical and behavioural features of mother-infant singing interactions. The selected cases demonstrated varying degrees of emotional availability to ensure that both optimal and less-optimal interactions were analysed. The cases were analysed as follows: 1. The video footage for each case study was viewed multiple times and notes were taken. The author focussed on the dimensions of emotional availability and noted when clear examples of each emotional availability occurred (e.g. infant becomes still and silent during lullaby singing [Video 1 - 05:38]). 2. From the notes, three or four excerpts of interaction demonstrating different aspects of emotional availability were chosen for transcription. An excerpt consisted of a song, including repetitions of the song and any infant-directed speech occurring before, during, after and inbetween repetitions of the song. At times it was difficult to determine when a song interaction began and ended due to the occurrences of infant-directed speech. Generally, speech that was related to the song (e.g. the mother asking "do you want to sing a song?" or commenting "that was fun") was included in the excerpt of interaction. The excerpts were transcribed into musical notation using the computer program 72 Sibelius. The mother’s voice, infant’s voice and movements/actions were included in the score. 3. Once a transcription was completed the author listened to the footage again while reading over the notation. Any errors were corrected. 4. The excerpts were then analysed according to the structural elements of music: structure/form, pitch, rhythm, tempo, tone/timbre, dynamic and expressive techniques. Since there was only one vocal line the elements of harmony and instrumentation were irrelevant to the analysis. 5. The musical motifs, themes and characteristics were grouped in a table according to the emotional availability dimension they related to and once completed the findings were compared to derive musical principles of optimal singing interactions. Convergence and interpretation The final stage of a convergent parallel mixed methods design is the convergence and interpretation of all the analysed data (Creswell, 2009; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). This involves considering each data set individually and collectively to gain a holistic understanding of the experience of singing songs and non-singing interactions, in regard to the research aims. By interpreting each data set individually and in combination, many insights into the multi-faceted nature of mother-infant interaction and attachment may be achieved. Consequently the analyses and discussion in this study focus on understanding either: (1) a particular aspect of the experience of singing or non-singing interactions, (2) the overall experience of singing songs or non-singing interactions, or (3) how the experience of singing songs differs from (is unique to) non-singing interactions. Finally, 73 conclusions are drawn from the multiple interpretations with the purpose of providing an overall account of how singing was found to facilitate emotional communication and promote secure attachment. METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS Bias It might be considered that there was a bias in relation to teaching the mothers a set repertoire of songs. Mothers did not participate in an intervention program where they are coached in reading infant signals and manipulating the musical elements to respond accordingly. Instead, they were merely helped to learn a set of songs. There was no expectation that the songs be performed in any particular way or indeed that they were used. Mothers were free to behave how they liked in their interactions with their infants during video recording. Epoché It is important for every researcher to consider the trustworthiness or validity of a study. Qualitative methodologies, particularly phenomenology, require a researcher to immerse herself into the research process (Broido & Manning, 2002; Creswell, 2009; Denzin & Lincoln, 2008; Moustakas, 1994). There are many strategies that may be employed to increase the trustworthiness or validity of a study (Creswell, 2009; Grocke, 1999; McMurray, Pace, & Scott, 2004). One strategy is the use of a member check or participant validation which is incorporated into the phenomenologically inspired transcript analysis. Another strategy is to undertake a process of reflection that facilitates the awareness of, acknowledgement and 74 understanding of personal bias called an epoché, or examination of bias (Creswell, 2009; Moustakas, 1994). The researcher reflects on how her own background, culture, history and experiences may influence the interpretation of data. The renewed awareness of self allows the researcher to consciously suspend biases throughout the data collection and analysis processes, allowing an uninhibited flow of information (Erlandson, Harris, Skipper, & Allen, 1993). Philosophers and researchers recognise that the epoché does not imply an absence of presuppositions, but a consciousness of one’s own presuppositions (Grocke, 1999). In other words the researcher cannot eliminate, only suspend bias (See Appendix I for the completed epoché). SUMMARY In this chapter the mixed methods research design, procedure and analysis were outlined. In essence, employing the convergent parallel design allows the author to examine multiple facets of dyadic interaction simultaneously and thus, achieve a more holistic investigation. From the following chapter, the findings from each data set will be presented. The next chapter (Chapter 4) will present the Interview and Emotional availability findings of each participant from the singing condition. Chapter 5 presents the Interview and Emotional Availability findings of each participant from the non-singing condition. Chapter 6 presents the findings at the group level of analyses for both the ratings of Emotional Availability qualitative interviews. In Chapter 7, the musical and behavioural features of singing interaction will be explored. This will include the presentation of the findings from the six detailed music analyses and the derivation of musical principles of the mothers' 75 optimal and less-optimal singing interactions. Lastly, in Chapter 8, all the results will be merged in a final discussion considering all data sets followed by the thesis conclusions. 76 CHAPTER 4 – INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE OF SINGING INTERACTION "The fact that I make him stop crying when I'm singing, that's huge. I don't have to feed him or anything, I just sing and it's enough (...) if he's just going to stop crying because I'm singing him a song, and he could be really distressed, and it'll calm him down to the point where he's like falling asleep almost. I think that's, to me, really powerful" Tullia, mother of two, interview conducted on 7th December, 2011 The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how singing songs facilitates emotional communication and contributes to the mother-infant relationship. Multiple aspects of dyadic singing and non-singing interactions were analysed. This chapter presents the findings on a case by case basis for the singing condition. Specifically, Chapter 4 includes individual summaries of the findings from (1) the ratings of Emotional Availability which provides behavioural indicators of the quality of dyadic interaction, and (2) the semi-structured Interview which reflect the subjective experience of the mother during her singing interactions with her infant. The analysis of the Interview is structured to provide an explication of the meaning units or themes that arose during the interview, and how they relate to Condon & Corkindale's (1998) attachment constructs, which is subsequently discussed, and related back to Emotional Availability ratings. It should be noted that all names have 77 been changed to protect the privacy of the mothers and infants who participated in the study. ALICE & CINDY Alice is the mother of two children, Ethan and Cindy (her second born). Cindy was 5.5 months old at her first video session. In this session, Cindy was flushed, distressed, and seemed to be in pain from teething. Alice spent most of the session trying to calm and soothe Cindy's distress. At her second video session, Cindy was 6 months old and remained happy for the duration of the video session with no signs of her previous distress. Although the first video session was stressful for mother and child, the comparison of the video sessions demonstrate Alice’s use of songs in two very different situations. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Alice's scores are categorised as high, according to the division of scores outlined in the 'Materials' section of the Chapter 3 (see p. 52). As shown in Table 2, she scored between 26 and 27 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility, despite the distress shown by Cindy in the first session. Cindy also had high scores on both child dimensions. Averaged across the two sessions, Cindy scored 25.5 for child Responsiveness and 25.5 for Child Involvement. Overall, Alice and Cindy are highly emotionally available. From observation, Alice was relaxed, warm and appropriately animated without being ‘over-the-top’. She demonstrated enjoyment of her child and responded appropriately and promptly to Cindy's cues. When Cindy was distressed 78 Alice spent a great deal of time gently modulating her negative emotions. Overall Alice’s structuring positively guided Cindy as she followed Cindy’s interests and reactions in a non-hostile manner. Even in the stressful situation of the first video session (Cindy’s distress) Alice remained calm and showed minimal signs of negative stress. Cindy’s affect was generally positive. She responded well to Alice’s initiations and demonstrated a range of positively and negatively involving behaviours. She demonstrated more anxious behaviours in session 1 and therefore received a lower Child Involvement score for this session. However, even when she was distressed she demonstrated an ability to be regulated; an equally important indicator of high emotional availability. Table 2: Summary of Alice and Cindy’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA8 Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 27 High 26.5 High 26 High 27 High 25.5 High 22.5 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 27 27 26 27 25 27 27 27 25 26 21 24 Interview Findings Verification was given by Alice who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and verified summary are found in Appendix J. The only concern she had was that people may think Cindy 8 EA is an abbreviation of Emotional Availability. This abbreviation is used throughout the summary tables in Chapter 4 and 5 79 is an unhappy baby and was glad that Cindy's usual happy demeanour was captured in the second video session. The overall meaning units/themes from Alice's interview are shown in the second column of Table 3. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, and (3) need gratification and protection, shown in the first column of Table 3. Other meaning units are also included such as, how singing helps Alice and Cindy to bond more, looks after both Alice and Cindy’s well-being, and is beneficial for the whole family. Table 3: Alice’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Alice feels happy when she sings songs with Cindy It’s fun to see Cindy squeal with delight during songs Singing is a pleasant, happy and peaceful experience for Alice. She experiences a more active peacefulness during play songs and a more trance-like peacefulness during lullabies Singing is quality time (as opposed to quantity time) – they are doing something together - they experience a connection or sense of togetherness When Cindy is showing signs that she’s happy and enjoying herself then both feel happy and enjoy interacting (neither feel bored) Singing songs creates a spiral of happiness where Alice and Cindy feed off each other’s happiness Singing songs stops a spiral of grumpiness by turning a potentially grumpy spiral into a spiral of happiness Singing is a tool that makes mothering easier Singing has a calming effect on Alice. It has positive benefits for her well-being as well Even if Cindy is not calming down, singing helps Alice to feel less helpless, particularly in stressful situations such as Cindy crying in the car Singing has helped Alice and Cindy to bond more. Alice often thinks about all the things she needs to do, however once she starts singing all previous thoughts disappear (are forgotten) and she becomes focussed on Cindy Alice’s awareness of Cindy’s cautious nature influences the shape of the interaction. Alice will often repeat songs a few times until Cindy has indicated whether he likes or dislikes a song Cindy’s changing tolerance for movement also influences how Alice will use the songs e.g. she does not like going up too many times so she will mix up the directions or change the words of the song to accommodate a different direction Feelings of boredom will influence how Alice sings songs. If Cindy is looking bored Alice will change songs When Cindy is showing signs that she’s happy then Alice will continue to repeat a song Cindy’s emotional state will influence Alice’s speed of singing Cindy’s reactions determine the direction of the interaction. If Cindy is looking happy and calm then Alice will continue repeating a song trying to get her more excited or more calm 80 Knowledge acquisition Other When Alice sings songs with Cindy she is focussed on Cindy and nothing else. Songs are used when Cindy is bored, in stressful situations (such as Cindy crying in the car) and when Alice is available (not in the middle of something) or toys do not make her happier Cindy responds positively to Alice singing the same repertoire of songs. She becomes less wriggly, more still, focussed and attentive and she starts to smile and giggle. When Alice starts singing Cindy’s boredom is turned into happiness. Songs also stop her crying and screaming and calm and settle her down There’s something nice about using the same repertoire. It provides Cindy with familiarity which seems to contribute to her overall positive experience of songs. Singing is another tool which makes Cindy happy or calm Alice will often repeat songs a few times until Cindy has indicated whether he likes or dislikes a song Songs are used anywhere, anytime e.g. at Jonathan’s soccer practise. Alice will sing throughout the day – there is no set ‘singing time’ – it just depends on what they’re doing at the time NONE The calming effect of singing lullabies in stressful situations (such as Cindy crying in the car) has positive benefits for the whole family e.g. instead of Jonathan echoing phrases of frustration (e.g. “stop crying Cindy”) he will model Alice’s singing by singing his own version of a lullaby to help Cindy clam down Discussion Central to Alice's interview was the statement, “If I had to sum it [singing] up in one word, it would be ‘peaceful’. Even the active happy ones [play songs]”9. Alice describes slipping into a ‘singing zone’ characterised by peacefulness and being totally focussed on Cindy. This combination of characteristics seems to envelop or contain Alice and Cindy in their interactions. In other words, Alice and Cindy become absorbed in each other. In turn, the involving/interactive nature of singing facilitates a sense of togetherness or quality one-on-one time. The peacefulness that Alice experiences is also associated to maternal health and well-being. She describes sharing in a spiral of happiness (which prevents a spiral of distress) and feeling less helpless and stressed by singing. Thus, the ‘singing zone’ facilitates a frame of mind which enables Alice to calm herself down and reduce negative feelings while simultaneously meeting Cindy’s needs. In other words, singing serves a dual function: it effectively meets Cindy’s need for 9 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Alice’s interview which took place on June, 20, 2011. 81 emotional modulation while also helping Alice to better cope with the demands of mothering. The spiral of happiness is also important in terms of emotional communication. By sharing in Cindy’s emotional modulation Alice is able to amplify positive emotions and take joy in her daughter. These two elements are equally important as soothing distress to positively impact infant health and demonstrate emotionally availability (Biringen, 2008b; Schore, 2001, 2003; Siegel, 1999a, 1999b). It is interesting to note that singing has extra familial benefits, particularly in regards to Ethan, Alice’s eldest son. During moments when Cindy is distressed Ethan copies Alice’s singing behaviour. Instead of becoming frustrated he attempts to modulate Cindy’s emotions by singing his own version of a lullaby. Such behaviours may increase family connectedness and functioning. However, further analysis and exploration is beyond the scope of this study. Perhaps future research could examine the benefits of singing to all family relationships, including siblings. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Alice’s peaceful and focussed frame of mind may have helped her to achieve high emotional availability. The Interview findings reveal that Alice calmed herself by singing (which reduced feelings of stress, helplessness and hostility), was focussed on Cindy while singing and consciously thought about responding to Cindy’s cues and signals. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Alice implemented sensitive and prompt singing responses to Cindy’s cues and signals. She also appeared to easily interpret and respond to Cindy’s cues. Together, the 82 findings suggest that Alice’s peaceful and focussed frame of mind helped to facilitate highly sensitive, non-intrusive and non-hostile singing interactions. Also, the positive contribution that singing made to Alice and Cindy's bond was perceived to be very distinct and unique. KELLY & LUCAS Lucas is Kelly’s first child. At the first video session he was 7 months old and very tired. He had periods of happiness but became unsettled and upset during the session. At the second video session Lucas was 7.5 months old and remained quite happy for the duration of the session. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Kelly's scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 4, she scored between 23.5 and 26.5 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility, despite Lucas being unsettled in the first session. Lucas also had high scores on Child Responsiveness (23.5) but was borderline between mid and high scores for Child Involvement (20). Kelly showed a clear enjoyment of Lucas, responded promptly to his cues and her affect was positive, warm and animated. Nonetheless, there was a slight ingenuity or ‘performance quality’ to her affect, perhaps due to the pressure associated with recording her interactions for research. Kelly tried to provide positive and preventative structuring. Her attempts led Lucas in a positive way and were mostly successful. She was generally non-intrusive and tried to follow Lucas’s lead. 83 She also demonstrated emotional regulation and non-hostility e.g. she did not mock or ridicule Lucas and showed very minimal signs of negative stress and irritation. Lucas scored differently in the two child dimensions. His involvement scores were lower than his responsiveness scores. Lucas’s affect was generally positive although he showed some difficulties with self-regulation. However, he was expressive and likely to respond positively to Kelly’s initiations. Lucas’s involvement was less optimal than his responsiveness and tended to show only simple means of initiating and elaborating interactions. He also used both positively and negatively involving behaviours throughout both sessions. Table 4: Summary of Kelly and Lucas’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 24 High 26 High 23.5 High 26.5 High 23.5 High 20 Borderline high/mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 24 24 26 26 23 24 27 26 24 23 21 19 Interview Findings Verification was given by Kelly who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix K. She also provided some written comments describing her enjoyment of reading the summary and how certain songs have spread to extended family members and encouraged singing interaction amongst the whole family. The overall meaning units/themes from Kelly’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 5. These meaning units were related to three attachment 84 constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, and (3) need gratification and protection, shown in the first column of Table 5. Other meaning units that relate to the mother-infant relationship focus on how singing provides a connection, is beneficial to both Lucas’s and Kelly’s well-being, is an effective parenting tool in Kelly’s absence, may be implemented anywhere and at any time of day and provides opportunities for Lucas to bond with his other carers. Table 5: Kelly’s meaning units are they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Singing is a happy pleasant experience, particularly when Kelly sees Lucas being happy It creates a spiral of happiness, Singing helps Kelly and Lucas feel happy and Kelly feels happier seeing Lucas happy. Moods are contagious – Lucas’s bad mood can put Kelly in a bad mood. Singing lifts both Kelly’s and Lucas’s mood (bad moods are turned into happy moods via a spiral of happiness). Singing makes both Kelly and Lucas happy Singing helps Lucas to feel connected to Kelly even when physically separated (e.g. in different sections of a room) Singing calms Lucas down which provides Kelly feelings of relief Moods are contagious – Lucas’s bad mood can put Kelly in a bad mood. Singing lifts both Kelly’s and Lucas’s mood (bad moods are turned into happy moods via a spiral of happiness). Singing looks after both Kelly’s and Lucas’s wellbeing Kelly often thinks about the things she needs to do or how she’d like a nap too while lulling Lucas to sleep Singing songs helps Kelly to cope with being a mum and looking after Lucas 24 hours a day. It provides relief from his screaming and gives her something positive to do besides housework. Having a larger repertoire of songs has helped Kelly to feel less helpless Singing songs will calm Lucas down which provides Kelly relief Variations of songs minimise Kelly’s boredom allowing her to continue singing without going crazy Singing helps Lucas feel connected to Kelly even when physically separated Singing calms Lucas down, even if they are physically separated and in different parts of the room Kelly will sing to keep Lucas happy and calm When playing, Kelly is thinking more about teaching Lucas something in particular. During lullabies she thinks about getting Lucas to sleep and during play songs she’s thinking about the two of them or trying to make Lucas happy Kelly will use Lucas’s favourite song (Acka Backa) before others because she knows it will work Singing variations prevents Kelly from feeling bored which means she can keep singing to Lucas without feeling crazy Singing changes Lucas’s grumpy mood to a happy mood Singing helps Lucas to stay calm, preventing him from screaming in distress Moods are contagious. Lucas’s bad mood or distress will upset Kelly – it can be like a negative spiral. Plus the more upset he gets the harder it is to calm him down. Singing disrupts this cycle. Singing helps Lucas to learn e.g. songs are used to help him learn the skill of chewing and swallowing Kelly will create variations of songs to suit what she’s trying to teach Lucas at the time e.g. chewing food 85 Knowledge acquisition Other Songs have developed particular associations with specific caregiving routines based on how effectively they were previously e.g. Belly button while changing nappies – the songs helped keep Lucas happy, calm distracted/engaged in the past so were consistently used. Over time associations were developed Kelly uses specific strategies when Lucas is starting to go over the edge. She combines a particular holding position with lullabies to help calm his distress Kelly’s family (who mind Lucas the most) all know his favourite songs. Plus she leaves the CD and lyrics for other carers who mind Lucas on a short-term basis so they can sing the same repertoire in Kelly’s absence. Kelly believes that the songs are an effective tool in keeping Lucas happy. Singing is another effective strategy to keep Lucas calm and happy Words are modified to suit the movements she’s currently doing e.g. walking, rocking Kelly has a creative background which means she is very comfortable with changing things and improvising. She creates variations of songs spontaneously and based on behaviours she sees during or shortly after a song. During play songs she’s thinking about the two of them (focussed on each other) Generally Kelly sings whatever songs come into her head at the time. NONE Kelly will sometimes choose songs according to what movements she can do with Lucas e.g. when he’s sitting on her lap she will sing horsey songs because sitting position in conducive to the trotting motion Songs offer Lucas’s other carers something else to do with Lucas other than watch and supervise him. She believes singing songs offers her family opportunities to bond with Lucas and that they will look back on singing as ‘happy times’ together Discussion The two key features of Kelly’s experience of singing songs are that: (1) singing serves a dual function of modulating emotions and helping Kelly cope with motherhood, and (2) there is a difference between the experience of play and singing and between play songs and lullabies. One function of singing is that it is an effective tool for keeping Lucas calm and happy. Kelly describes singing as a method of disrupting a spiral of distress when Lucas starts crying. It also modulates Kelly’s mood by providing relief and lifting her spirits. It also helps Kelly to better cope with motherhood by (1) providing something to look forward to that is positive and fun to do with Lucas, (2) reducing feelings of helpless because she worries that she is not doing as much as she could with Lucas and singing provides an interpersonal activity that addressed this concern, and (3) Singing provides a creative outlet. For example, Kelly develops variations of songs or improvises new lyrics. By being creative with her singing Kelly’s boredom 86 is minimised and this enables longer periods of singing which meets Lucas’s needs. Thus, the intrinsically fun and interactive nature of singing combined with its ability to modulate emotions characterises the dual function of singing. For Kelly, there is a distinct difference between the subjective experience of play and singing. She also differentiates between play songs and lullabies. Play is characterised by an external focus of attention, one that concerns Lucas’s development and teaching him skills. Play song interaction is characterised by a twoway or reciprocal focus of attention; both Lucas and Kelly focus on each other and experience quality “us” time. Lullaby interaction is characterised by a one-way focus of attention; Kelly will focus on Lucas’s need for sleep and fulfilling that need and she sees this as a one-way interaction. This finding provides another perspective on previous research. Rock, et al. (1999) found that infants demonstrate more outward focus of attention (to their caregiver) when listening to play songs and more inward focus of attention during lullabies. However, the infant’s direction of attention may also impact the mother’s subjective experience of singing. According to Kelly's interview, lullabies feel more like a mothering task that meets Lucas’s needs whereas play songs feel more like quality one-on-one “us” time and therefore facilitate feelings of togetherness. The contrasting experience of play songs and lullabies has interesting implications for Kelly and Lucas’s relationship. Since lullabies do not provide the same sense of togetherness as play songs, it is even more important for Kelly and Lucas to engage in play song interactions regularly to experience the benefits of focussed “us” time. 87 Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings reveal that Kelly tried very hard to be sensitive, non-hostile and structure her interactions. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Kelly demonstrated generally high but not optimal emotional availability. The Interview findings reveal that Kelly thought about modulating Lucas’s emotions and believed singing benefited her well-being in multiple ways which, by extension, benefited her relationship with Lucas and ability to cope with motherhood. By reducing stress, minimising boredom and providing a fun creative outlet, singing promoted positivity and non-hostility. Together, the Interview and Emotional Availability findings illustrate that Kelly is enthusiastic about learning about parenting and doing the best she can for Lucas and that she made a conscious effort to be emotionally available. BETH & RITA Beth is the mother of two daughters Sandra and Rita. Rita, her second child, was 6.7 months old at her first video session and 7.1 months old at her second video session. During both video sessions Rita appeared very happy and relaxed. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Beth's scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 6, she scored between 26.5 and 28 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Rita also scored highly for Child Responsiveness 88 (25.5) and Child Involvement (22.5). Overall, Beth and Rita are highly emotionally available. Beth's affect was genuinely relaxed, warm and appropriately animated without being ‘over-the-top’. She clearly enjoyed Rita, was aware of cues and responded appropriately and promptly. Beth structured interactions in a way that led Ruby positively and contained an emotionally enveloping quality. They were mostly successful and very non-intrusive. By recognising and following Rita’s interests and attention cues Beth provided a spacious quality to the interaction. Beth was also nonhostile. She was always respectful to Ruby and demonstrated only slight signs of irritation. Rita's affect was generally positive and she was able to regulate her emotions well. She was likely to respond to Beth’s initiations positively and she demonstrated a range of positive emotions. She was a little less involving than she was responsive. Due to her age Rita had a limited range of communicative faculties to initiate and elaborate interactions. However, Rita frequently used simple modes of involvement throughout each session. Table 6: Summary of Beth and Rita’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 28 High 26.5 High 28 High 27.5 High 25.5 High 22.5 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 28 28 26 27 28 28 28 27 26 25 23 22 89 Interview Findings Beth agreed that the transcript and summary of the interview was accurate, and made no written comments. Both the transcript and summary of the interview are found in Appendix L. The overall meaning units/themes from Beth's interview are shown in the second column of Table 7. These meaning units were related to three attachments (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, and (3) need gratification and protection, shown in the first column of Table 7. Other meaning units are included such as, how Rita's current position may influence which song Beth chooses to sing. Table 7: Summary of Beth’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure proximity Tolerance/ acceptance Meaning Units/Themes in Need gratification/ protection Beth experiences an affectionate type of positive and emotional response to singing – it is similar to cuddling She particularly enjoys seeing Rita smile and giggle. Beth experiences a sense of closeness to Rita when she sings. She feels a loving soothing closeness during lullabies and a fun, happy playful closeness during play songs Beth enjoys the quiet one-on-one lullaby experience more than the play songs Learning new songs has helped to minimise feelings of boredom created from singing the same nursery rhymes over and over again Singing breaks up the monotony of baby routines. It adds something else to the day Beth feels satisfied and pleased that she can provide something Rita enjoys Beth feels pleased and proud that Rita associated Beth with a source of comfort (as opposed to another adult) Singing allows Beth to settle Rita’s teething grizzled without needing to use panadol When Rita looks like she is enjoying herself Beth will continue to repeat a song. If Rita looks like she’s getting bored then she will switch to something else. Singing is another parenting tool that is particularly useful because of its portability and therefore can be used anywhere, anytime Play songs are used to excite and engage Rita or to encourage her to interact. Lullabies are used to calm, relax and prepare Rita for sleep Other play activities such as reading is more focussed on an activity whereas singing is more focussed on Rita and bonding Beth has observed positive and calming responses to her singing e.g. singing Stroke your arms while rubbing sorbelene cream onto Rita after bath time relaxes Rita or when Rita is cranky in the car singing will settle her down. Singing lullabies before bed time helps Rita to relax enough to fall asleep once she’s put into bed. Beth observes reactions e.g. smiles and leg kicks to determine if she is feeling happy or bored. Beth is focussed on Rita when singing songs, however the thoughts experienced during play songs and lullabies differ. During play songs Beth will sometimes 90 Knowledge acquisition Other have thoughts (about jobs/chores etc) pop into her head whereas during lullabies she is totally focussed on Rita and will think affectionate thoughts such as “my baby is beautiful” Songs are integrated into everyday life – they are sung at various times of the day depending on what Beth and Rita are doing at the time NONE Rita’s position will influence what song to do next e.g. if Rita is n Beth’s lap it is easy to do songs like Acka Backa and Zoom Zoom or if she’s lying down it’s easy to do Stroke Your Arms Discussion The key feature of Beth’s experience of singing is that songs are an effective and portable parenting tool to keep Rita happy and calm while also impacting positively on Beth and Rita’s relationship. The success of effectively modulating Rita’s emotions provides Beth with feelings of satisfaction and pride that simultaneously reinforce Beth’s role and function as primary caregiver. In other words, Beth feels very satisfied that she, as opposed to another adult, is the principal source of comfort and happiness for Rita. These feelings in turn, reinforce and validate Beth’s perception of herself as Rita’s mother and ‘true’ primary caregiver. Singing also impacts Beth and Rita’s relationship by providing a sense of affection and closeness that is distinct from other activities such as reading and toy play. In her interview Beth says: I think I tend to have more of a ...10 emotional response, type of response when I’m singing as opposed to if we’re reading books or just um, playing with toys on the floor. I think ... for me singing is the same kind of reaction I get if I’m cuddling her. 11 She also expands on her thoughts by saying: I think when I’m singing I tend to think more of the affectionate type things like what I said before, “she’s a beautiful baby” and all that sort of stuff. But I don’t know. I don’t 10 ... denotes a pause in all quotations from interviews. All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Beth’s interview which took place on August, 4, 2011. 11 91 know if I think the same sort of things when I’m reading. I think when I’m reading I’m more focussed on the book than on my relationship with her For Beth, singing is an opportunity to be entirely focussed on Rita (rather than on an external object) and experience unique feelings of affection, closeness and bonding. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that a positive and highly emotionally available relationship may also benefit from singing interactions. The Interview findings reveal that singing provided Beth with positive feelings of closeness and affection as well as reinforcement and validation of being ‘mother’. Additionally, songs were integrated into day-to-day life. Therefore, Beth experienced these unique positive feelings on a regular basis. The Emotional Availability results reveal that (1) Beth and Rita’s relationship was healthy, positive and warm, and (2) Beth intuitively sang songs with very high sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness and non-hostility. Together, the Interview and Emotional Availability findings illustrate that singing songs facilitated emotional communication by providing a medium for Beth to amplify and share positive emotions, soothe distress and take joy in her daughter while reinforcing a sense of togetherness, closeness and self as ‘mother’. It is unclear what Beth’s perception of attachment would be without the contributions of singing. However, this case demonstrates that the subjective experience of singing is distinctly valuable and beneficial to an already healthy, positive and secure mother-infant dyad. 92 JANE & JULIET Juliet is Jane’s second child. She was 6.3 months old at her first video session and 6.7 months old at her second video session. She was a bit ‘sniffily’ and quiet during both video sessions but otherwise appeared quite happy. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Jane scored highly in all the parental dimensions, although her sensitivity score was lower than the other dimensions. As shown in Table 8 she scored between 22 and 26 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness and NonHostility. Juliet was borderline between mid and high scores for both Child Responsiveness (20) and Child Involvement (20). From observation, Jane's affect was mostly bland and neutral but she also demonstrated enjoyment of Juliet. She seemed aware of Juliet’s cues and signals but at times appeared to have difficulty interpreting and responding to them appropriately. Jane and Juliet appeared to have an emotional connection and good moments together, but there was something lacking or ‘off’ about the quality of the relationship. The relationship appeared ‘apparently’ healthy, rather than entirely healthy as outlined in the Emotional Availability Scales (Condon, 2010). Generally, Jane structured interactions positively by following Juliet’s lead and was appropriately non-hostile, respectful and calm. Juliet’s affect was generally positive, although there were instances of confusing affect (half laughing half crying) and dysregulation. Also, there were times when she seemed task-oriented rather than emotionally connected. Juliet’s 93 involvement was simple and fairly frequent. However, there was a mixture of positively, negatively, emotional and instrumental involving behaviours, thus lowering her involvement scores. Table 8: Summary of Jane and Juliet’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 22 High 25.5 High 24.5 High 26 High 20 Borderline high/mid 20 Borderline high/mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 21 23 25 26 24 25 26 26 19 21 20 20 Interview Findings Verification was given by Jane who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix M. The overall meaning units from Jane’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 9. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection. Other meaning units focus on how songs have provided Ethan another mode of interacting and bonding with his baby sister as well as how Jane finds it difficult to plan one-on-one time with Juliet. Table 9: Jane’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ Singing makes both Jane and Juliet happy e.g. if Jane is feeling blue or grumpy singing songs will make Juliet happy and seeing her happy makes Jane happy Jane feels a sense of closeness and bonding when she sings to Juliet Jane experiences a unique positive feeling when she sees Juliet respond. It’s a combination of pride, love, amazement and awe that she has created a little being with her own mind Jane feels a sense of relief when singing Sleep Baby Sleep puts Juliet to sleep 94 acceptance Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other Jane feels a sense of closeness and bonding when she sings to Juliet The unique positive feeling she experiences is a combination of pride, amazement and awe that she has created a little being with her own mind. There is also a sense of validation when she sees Juliet responds – that there is a positive result to her efforts While singing Jane will often think about whether Juliet is reacting to a song or if a song is affecting Juliet n any way. Jane sings Sleep Baby Sleep to calm Juliet and help her to sleep. Jane has been wanting a ‘sleep song’ to fill in a gap in the sleep routine. Songs relax Juliet Songs generally keep Juliet happy, even when she’s twisting around in the car and Jane cannot touch her, singing will capture her attention and keep her happy and calm Songs capture Juliet’s attention Singing interactions are based on Juliet’s reactions e.g. if Juliet looks happy then she likes a song. Therefore Jane will repeat a song. If Juliet looks disinterested then she’ll try something else Is Juliet’s responses change (e.g. after a few repeats of the same song) Jane will try to interpret Juliet’s behaviour to work out what to do next The choice of song is determined by Juliet’s current type of distress Looking after a 3 year old tends to push Juliet’s needs to the back burner Jane has witnessed how singing teaches children sounds, words and rhythms by watching her first son’s development. She hopes singing will also encourage Juliet’s development Jane will sing to teach Juliet something Singing with animation and actions captivates Juliet more When Juliet’s reaction changes Jane thinks of the reason behind her behaviour to determine what to do next. Jane will sing randomly throughout the day, depending on what she and Juliet are doing NONE Singing is one of the few things that infants can respond to Jane finds it difficult to plan regular one-on-one time with Juliet due to a lack of routine Recently, Ethan has wanted to sing to Juliet his own – it’s as if he wants the opportunity to bond with his sister through song Discussion One of the key features of Jane’s experience of singing is that it provides a pleasurable bonding experience by creating a sense of closeness. Jane has also observed her eldest son seeking this sense of closeness with his sister. After describing Ethan singing songs to Juliet, Jane says, “It’s like he wants to um bond with her too kind of thing”12. As mentioned in Alice’s discussion exploring sibling relationships is beyond the scope of this study. However, it is interesting to note that 12 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Jane’s interview which took place on September, 7, 2011. 95 Jane both feels and observes the sense of closeness during familial singing interactions. A somewhat perplexing element of Jane’s sense of closeness is that it also contains elements of satisfaction, pride and amazement. Jane describes this feeling as a sense of awe that she has created a little unique being. This feeling is relatively new and tends to occur when Juliet responds to Jane’s singing. It seems that getting a response back from Juliet is viewed as the positive result of Jane's self-sacrificial efforts to interact with and care for Juliet. In other words, Juliet’s interactive responses provide Jane positive reinforcement of her mothering efforts and validate her sense of being Juliet’s creator, carer and ‘mother’. Another key feature of Jane’s interview is that she distinguishes the experience of play songs and lullabies. She will experience emotional modulation while singing play songs, but not during lullabies. Also, she will feel relief when singing lullabies, but not during play songs. Jane says, “I guess it’s a good feeling when you sing happy songs and it makes her smile and stuff … and the putting to sleep thing is a relief, it’s not really a good feeling, it’s sort of a ‘whatever works’ ”. In other words, lullabies have an association to need-fulfilment that play songs do not have. Another key feature of Jane’s experience of singing concerns sensitivity. Jane described frequently thinking about interpreting and responding to Juliet’s cues. She repeats/changes songs according to Juliet’s signs of interest and spends time interpreting Juliet’s cues in order to determine how best to respond. However, her efforts are not entirely successful or prompt. In her interview she says, “It [singing] doesn’t always work” and her inconsistent success is illustrated by her near borderline sensitivity scores. Jane’s conscious thought processes demonstrate a 96 difficultly in understanding, responding to and meeting Juliet’s needs. In other words, she is willing to respond appropriately, but does not interpret and communicate easily. Such difficulty results in inconsistent perception and responsiveness to cues. Furthermore, Juliet’s borderline responsiveness scores further demonstrate Jane's difficulty with sensitivity. Juliet’s confusing affect and dysregulation indicate there is a quality of inappropriateness and unpredictability within the relationship which explains the ‘off’ or ‘not-entirely-healthy’ quality to the relationship (discussed above, see p. 93). Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that being ‘typical’ (or not ‘at risk’) does not guarantee a healthy mother-infant relationship. Despite her high categories or scores, the Emotional Availability findings reveal that Jane did not intuitively interact in an optimal manner. The Interview findings demonstrate that Jane experienced unique positive feelings of closeness, satisfaction, amazement and validation of being ‘mother’. The findings also reveal her difficulty and efforts to understand, recognise and interpret Juliet’s cues and signals. Together the findings illustrate a mother who understood basic concepts of emotional availability (e.g. responding to cues) and tried to be highly emotionally available. However, the dyad showed concerning signs of an ‘apparently’ healthy emotional connection. Interestingly, despite the ‘apparently’ healthy connection Jane still experienced benefits of closeness and validation. This suggests that mothers in need of intervention, but not receiving intervention may still experience some sort of positive impact to the attachment constructs by singing songs. 97 TAMMY & WENDY Wendy is Tammy’s first child. She was 5.7 months old at her first video session, appeared a little tired and occasionally became restless, particularly at the end of the session. At the second singing session Wendy was 5.9 months old and appeared much more relaxed, settled and happy. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Tammy's scores are categorised as High, although her non-intrusiveness score is lower than the other dimensions. As shown in Table 10, she scored between 22.5 and 26.5 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Averaged across the two sessions, Wendy scored highly for Child Responsiveness (21) but had Mid scores for Child Involvement (17.5). Tammy was generally positive, warm and animated although there was a slight ingenuity or inappropriateness to her affect. She clearly enjoyed Wendy but was slightly inconsistent in her recognition and response to cues. Generally, Tammy structured interactions positively and successfully. However, there were few instances where she ‘lost’ Wendy. Tammy was also mostly non-intrusive but there were some instances of intrusiveness, which consequently lowered her total intrusiveness score. Tammy was also appropriately non-hostile; she demonstrated good emotional regulation and minimal signs of negative stress and irritation despite Wendy's fatigue. 98 Wendy scored differently in the two child dimensions. She was more responsive than she was involving. Her affect was generally positive although there were times when she seemed over-responsive and task-oriented; she did not seem avoidant but not always connected to Tammy either. Wendy also appeared to become dysregulated easily and quickly. Wendy used simple methods of initiating and elaborating interactions, although not that frequently. There were also some instances of Wendy rolling away from, instead of positioning herself toward, Tammy. At times she appeared more interested in her toys than in involving Tammy emotionally, thus she received lower involvement scores. Table 10: Summary of Tammy and Wendy’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 23.5 High 24.5 High 22.5 High 26.5 High 21 High 17.5 Mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 23 24 25 24 23 22 26 27 20 22 16 19 Interview Findings Verification was given by Tammy who agreed that transcript and revised summary were an accurate reflection of her interview. The transcript, original summary and revised summary are found in Appendix N. The overall meaning units from Tammy’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 11. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, and (3) need gratification. Other meaning units focus on how Tammy would use the 99 songs anywhere, anytime and how finding the opportunity to learn songs during the day is difficult due to the multi-tasking nature of mothering. Table 11: Tammy’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other Singing is a fun enjoyable experience for Tammy, particularly when she sees Wendy smile and giggle Singing is an enjoyable, pleasurable experience for Tammy which makes both Tammy and Wendy happy. Happiness bounces off each other – singing will make Wendy smile and seeing her smile makes Tammy happy Tammy feels tenderness and love when singing lullabies The connection while singing is different to other play interactions because Wendy reacts more and maintains more eye contact with Tammy Singing provides an opportunity for Tammy to share in Wendy’s happiness and something to do together. Learning new songs has provided Tammy more variety when she sings, minimising feelings of boredom from repeating the same song over and over again. The better Tammy knows a song the more she can improvise while singing to create spontaneous versions of songs – this provides variety and a fun creative outlet Tammy desires to bond with Wendy. Singing songs, by creating a connection helps to strengthen the sense of bonding which creates more of a feeling that Wendy is her own child rather than a baby she’s taking care of The repetitive singing of Sleep Baby Sleep also calm Tammy down and reduces her stress levels – it is almost like a mantra in a stressful sleeping situation Singing creates a connection between Tammy & Wendy. The combination of a physical and emotional connection makes singing unique to other interactions Singing makes Wendy happy and smile, even if she’s in a bad mood. Tammy will sing when Wendy is squirmy or fussy to calm her down or excite and engage her Singing captures Wendy’s attention. This is helpful e.g. when Tammy is wanting Wendy to stop wriggling while changing nappies or focus on feeding Tammy will sing lullabies when Wendy has trouble getting to sleep. Sometimes Wendy will cry and become more and more hysterical. Singing distracts Wendy and disrupts the progression of her distress. Once Tammy has Wendy’s attention, the lullaby will help Wendy to calm down and fall asleep Singing the cyclical song ‘Sleep baby sleep’ acts as a mantra for Tammy when Wendy becomes hysterical. By calming herself down she is able to calm Wendy down Wendy’s reactions and level of interest/attention shape the direction of the singing interaction. If Wendy is reacting and enjoying herself then Tammy will continue to repeat a song. If not, she will song another song or do something else. Tammy changes how she sings lullabies to turn them into happy action songs to sing to Wendy Tammy and/or Wendy’s physical positioning influences what song Tammy will choose to sing e.g. if standing up at the dog park Tammy will sing a song conducive to standing like Humpty Dumpty Tammy believes singing will help Wendy to develop Singing pushes out other thoughts e.g. about groceries. Singing focuses Tammy’s throughs on singing and Wendy Singing provides an opportunity for Wendy and Tammy to focus on each other. When playing with toys Tammy and Wendy focus on the object they are playing with rather than each other. Tammy will sing whatever pops into her head throughout the day NONE Tammy mostly uses play songs because she gets more of a reaction from Wendy during these songs. If Wendy reacted more to lullabies Tammy would consider 100 using them more. Tammy tends to use Sleep Baby Sleep because the round nature of the song makes it easy to sing over and over again (conducive to lulling) Tammy and/or Wendy’s physical positioning influences what song Tammy will choose to sing e.g. if standing up at the dog park Tammy will sing a song conducive to standing like Humpty Dumpty Learning songs on her own takes a lot single-focus brain power whereas most of Tammy’s day requires multi-tasking. The opportunity for focussed attention (which is required to learn new material) is difficult to find. Tammy enjoyed expanding her repertoire via this study Tammy really dislikes a lot of the modern kids songs and has enjoyed learning more traditional style play songs Discussion What is striking about Tammy’s essence is the quadruple function of singing songs. Firstly, singing songs is considered an effective and reliable tool to capture Wendy’s attention, calm her down and keep her happy. Tammy says, “But singing, she’ll actually stop and focus on you for the longest period of time out of anything”13. The attention-grabbing characteristic of singing also stops a spiral of hysteria which then enables Wendy to settle and fall asleep. Tammy explains, “If I sing to her it’ll help break up the crying. She’ll just stop to listen me (…) 14 it’ll be enough to disrupt the hysterical acceleration”. Secondly, singing modulates Tammy’s emotions. Lullabies calm her down and reduce her stress levels whereas play songs provide an opportunity for Tammy and Wendy to share in each other’s happiness. Tammy says, “it’s not so much I’m giving her her only opportunity to be happy by singing, it’s more like I get to be a part of that happiness”. Thirdly, singing provides a creative outlet for Tammy. She improvises and spontaneously changes the lyrics of songs. By learning new songs and developing 13 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Tammy’s interview which took place on September, 13, 2011. 14 (…) denotes missing text in all quotations from the interview transcripts. 101 new versions of songs she expands the variety of musical experiences available to her which in turn, minimises boredom and adds fun and pleasure to her day. Fourthly, Tammy experiences a focus of attention while singing. Singing will push other thoughts out of her mind whereas she finds herself multi-tasking during other play activities. Importantly, the focus of attention is reciprocal. Tammy says, “It’s [singing] an opportunity for me to focus on her as much as it is the other way around”. This focus of attention simultaneously facilitates a feeling of connection. Tammy says, “It’s [singing] about the connection … It makes me feel more like she’s mine than just a baby I’m taking care of” Singing is described as an interpersonal activity that involves each party and demands focussed attention. This focussed involvement creates a sense of connection, which in turn, reinforces the sense of Wendy being Tammy’s own baby (conversely Tammy’s sense of being Wendy’s ‘mother’). Indeed, the sense of connection is a crucial component of the tolerance/acceptance construct. Therefore, it is logical to assume that Tammy’s perception of being ‘mother’ would be significantly altered if she were to stop singing. In other words, singing seems to provide a unique positive contribution to Tammy and Wendy's attachment. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that a generally positive and healthy relationship may benefit from singing songs. The Emotional Availability findings reveal that Tammy was generally highly emotionally available but did not intuitively sing in an optimal manner. The Interview findings reveal that Tammy's experience of singing provides unique contributions to the mother-infant relationship by facilitating a sense of connection 102 and simultaneously modulating Tammy and Wendy’s emotions and providing a fun creative outlet. Together, the Interview and Emotional Availability findings illustrate that an overall positive dyad not receiving intervention may still benefit from singing songs and value its distinct contribution to the mother-infant relationship. SKYE & MARLEY Skye is the mother of two boys. Her youngest son Marley, was 5.8 months old at his first video session and appeared very happy and content. At the second video session he was 6.3 months old and appeared happy but a little tired. As the video session progressed he became a little unsettled and restless. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. All of Skye's scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 12 she scored between 27 and 27.5 in the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Marley also scored highly scoring 27 for Child Responsiveness and 24 for Child Involvement. Overall, Skye and Marley were very highly emotionally available. Skye’s affect was genuine, warm, relaxed and appropriately animated. She was aware of Marley’s signals and responded appropriately and promptly. She led Marley positively by providing proactive and appropriate guidance and an emotionally enveloping quality to the interaction. She successfully followed Marley’s lead and created a spacious quality to the non-intrusive interaction. She was also very non-hostile and showed only minimal signs of negative stress. 103 Marley’s affect was positive and relaxed and he appeared to regulate his emotions well. He was likely to respond to Skye’s initiations and demonstrated a range of appropriate emotional expressiveness. Marley initiated and elaborated interactions through simple modes such as eye-contact and smiles and he used these communications frequently throughout each session. Overall, he was as involving as he could be considering his age and developmental abilities. Table 12: Summary of Skye and Marley’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 27.5 High 27.5 High 27.5 High 27 High 27 High 24 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 27 28 28 27 27 28 27 27 27 27 24 24 Interview Findings Verification was given be Skye who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix O. The overall meaning units/themes from Skye’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 13. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998) (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection. Other meaning units focus on how songs are used anytime, anywhere and are simply integrated into her family’s everyday life. 104 Table 13: Skye’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Meaning Units/Themes Knowledge acquisition Other Singing is a fun and enjoyable experience, particularly when Skye sees Marley’s positive, happy responses. The fun catchy nature of the songs make Skye feel happy when she sings them Before the study Skye didn’t sing to just Marley very much. Singing Marley’s songs has impacted positively on Skye and Marley’s relationship by providing an opportunity to share quality one-on-one “us” time together (sense of togetherness/connection) Singing lullabies at bedtime calms Skye down, particularly when they help calm Marley Changing songs keep Skye entertained (minimises feelings of boredom) While singing, Skye’s thoughts tend to be focussed on Marley and on singing and nothing else. Only when she needs to watch over Griffin while singing with Marley will Skye multi-task. Otherwise singing itself is enough to occupy the brain. Singing is a means or distracting and entertaining both Marley and Griffin when they are bored, restless or cranky Singing calms Marley down, even if he is in the car. If he becomes frantic, however (e.g. feeling very hungry), not much will calm him down except feeding. The new songs have provided another means for Skye to focus on just Marley and share a positive play activity together Sometimes Skye is forced to multi-task while singing with Marley (e.g. also keeping an eye on Griffin) but it tends to be solely focussed on Marley. Enjoyment is the main factor in shaping the singing interactions, if Marley and/or Skye are enjoying themselves Skye will repeat a song. The interaction is also shaped by Marley’s cues and behaviours. Skye will respond to Marley’s cues and sing songs to influence Marley’s moods (help him be happy or calm) Quality time is when Skye is focussed on Marley and when the interaction isn’t about meeting ‘a need’. Singing is one way of having quality time with Marley Skye will sing songs in various places at any time of the day e.g. at home, in the garden or while taking a walk with the kids Singing happens at any time during the day – it isn’t planned, it’s spontaneous spontaneous inspirations also influence what song Skye will sing e.g. seeing a spider in the garden will prompt Skye to sing Incy Wincy spider NONE Skye considers singing to be a specific and unique type of play item/activity that is simple integrated into her family’s everyday life and enjoyed by the whole family. There really isn’t an alternative to singing. At the moment singing songs is more about Griffin and his current enjoyment of (and frequent requests for) songs The songs learnt in the study Skye considers as Marley’s as opposed to Griffin’s songs The length of the song also influences whether Skye will repeat a song or not Discussion A key feature of Skye’s experience is that singing has a very clear purpose, role and function. It serves as an effective parenting tool to keep Marley happy and calm while also providing an opportunity for quality focussed ‘us’ time. This quality time is particularly important for Skye. She describes how she may have plenty of 105 time with Marley during the day, but it is experiencing the one-on-one focus of attention that facilitates ‘us’ time. So yes, it’s [singing] quality time because it’ll be, you know, one-on-one face time and really focussed on him rather than trying to talk to him while trying to unload the dishwasher as well (…) Yeah, cause you spend, I spend all day with them but not all of it is quality time15 Skye elaborates and further distinguishes quality time from other interactions by saying: But sometimes the one-on-one time is not quality time because they’re cranky and you’re trying to do something else but you get of forced into doing kind of, face time. Sometimes there’s that close face time but it doesn’t feel like quality time because you’re feeling a bit harassed and forced into it rather than choosing to do it In other words, there is a clear distinction between singing as a caregiving tool versus a medium for sharing a sense of fun. It is when the interactions are pleasure-based, rather than need-based that one-on-one interactions feel like quality ‘us’ time. Skye’s quality time with Marley is also influenced by her differentiation between ‘Marley’s songs’ and ‘Griffin’s songs’. A certain set of repertoire has a stronger association to Marley. Therefore, when Skye sings these songs she feels a sense of ‘our fun’, something that is uniquely shared by only Skye and Marley. In this way, Skye experiences a sense of togetherness when she sings. Skye goes on to describe the positive affect that the focused quality ‘us’ time has on her relationship with Marley by saying, “I think I said I didn’t do much singing with him before this [the study] so it’s given us that, you know, activity which is a really enjoyable one (…) So it’s had a positive impact on our 15 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Skye’s interview which took place on October, 13, 2011. 106 relationship”. Overall, singing provides Skye and Marley a pleasurable, focussed and shared experience which contributes to Skye's sense of togetherness. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that singing songs served an important function and purpose for a highly emotionally available relationship. The Interview findings reveal that singing songs was a valuable medium for emotional communication, particularly experiencing shared pleasure in each other. The Emotional Availability findings reveal that Skye sang songs with almost optimal emotional availability. Her sensitivity is further illustrated in the Interview by comments such as, “I might change [songs] in terms of trying to manage him” and, “You know, in a particular situation there might be some kind of cue that leads me to sing something”. Demonstrably, Skye knew her son well and could easily recognise, interpret, and appropriately respond to Marley’s cues. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that songs were experienced as, and perceived to be, an important part of mothering. Singing fulfilled a unique role of providing focussed ‘us’ time which in turn, facilitated a sense of connection and togetherness. Thus, by ingraining songs into day-to-day life and singing them with high emotional availability, singing contributed positively and uniquely to Skye and Marley’s relationship. 107 KAY & ADELINE Adeline is Kay’s first child. She was 6.5 months old at her first video session and 7.1 months old at her second video session. Adeline was happy and relaxed during both the video sessions, although she was quite preoccupied by the high chair in the recording room. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Kay's scores are categorised as High. As shown in Table 14 she scored between 25 and 27 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Adeline scored highly for Child Responsiveness (24) but was borderline between mid and high scores for Child Involvement (20.5). Kay appeared generally warm and animated, although at times, her face was a little bland. She seemed to enjoy Adeline and was generally aware of her cues. However she seemed a little more concerned with singing songs than with staying emotionally connected to Adeline, perhaps due to the pressure associated with recording interaction for research. Kay tried to structure well by providing nonintrusive guidance and following Adeline's interests, responses and cues. Kay was also very non-hostile and showed only slight signs of negative stress near the end of the sessions. Adeline was more optimally responsive than she was involving. Her affect was relaxed and positive and she mostly responded positively to Kay’s initiations. Adeline was occasionally dysregulated but was able to regulate her emotions quickly. Adeline used simple methods of initiating and elaborating interactions and 108 fairly frequently and used a combination of positively and negatively involving behaviours. Table 14: Summary of Kay and Adeline’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 25 High 26.5 High 25.5 High 27 High 24 High 20.5 Borderline mid/high Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 24 26 27 26 26 25 27 27 23 25 20 21 Interview Findings Verification was provided by Kay who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix P. Kay verbally commented that the felt lucky to participate in the study and reaped benefits from learning new repertoire. The overall meaning units/themes from Kay’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 15. These meaning units related to the following three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection, as shown in the first column of Table 15. Other meaning units focus on how singing occurs spontaneously throughout the day. Table 15: Kay’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure proximity Meaning Units/Themes in Singing songs with Adeline is a happy, positive and fun experience Emotions seem to bounce off Kay and Adeline. When Adeline is calm then Kay feels relaxed and when Adeline is content, Kay feels content Singing has two purposes – to have fun happy time together and to soothe Adeline Songs are an opportunity to focus on each other and have fun quality time 109 Tolerance/ acceptance together. In this way singing brings us closer together – sense of togetherness Singing is an opportunity to have fun happy time together Singing is a way of communication or holding a conversation with Adeline Seeing the positive effect of singing (e.g. turning crankiness into happiness or soothing Adeline) provides Kay feelings of satisfaction and validation that she is doing the right thing and is a good mother Kay feels very happy and content when she can see that she has made her baby happy (as opposed to another adult) It is an opportunity to spend fun quality one-on-one time together. In this way singing brings us closer together. Adeline’s temperament also influences what type of song Kay will sing Once the associational thought has passed Kay will focus on Adeline and on adapting the songs to make Adeline happy and have fun There are instances when the only way to calm Adeline is to sing a particular song that Kay has been singing to Adeline since she was born. Even if she is in the car singing will calm Adeline down Singing soothes Adeline’s distress or crankiness and helps her relax Singing can turn disliked routines such as nappy changes into a happy activity for Adeline Singing has two purposes – to have fun happy time together and to soothe Adeline Songs may be used in a variety of ways – as a distracter when Kay is busy but also an opportunity to focus on each other and have fun quality time together. Singing is a way of focussing on each other and having quality one-on-one time together. It is an opportunity to spend fun quality time together. Singing is a dependable parenting tool that Kay knows will make Adeline happy when she is upset or cranky, Kay hopes that talking and singing to Adeline a lot will help Adeline’s language development Songs are used as a distracter when Kay is busy Kay will sing a song that pops into her head. This is influenced by what she and Adeline are doing and what is in her view e.g. seeing a picture of a rainbow will inspire Kay to sing the Rainbow Song Kay sings throughout each day. She often switches between singing, playing and talking interactions NONE For a split second Kay will have an associational thought linked to a song Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other Discussion A striking feature of Kay’s experience is that singing serves a very clear and distinct dual function. Firstly, it is a dependable parenting tool to soothe or distract Adeline. For example, Kay says, “There’s been one or two times and crying and nothing will calm her down except for a song” 16 While singing fulfils Adeline’s needs, it simultaneously modulates Kay’s emotions. When Adeline is calm, Kay feels calm; when Adeline is happy, Kay feels happy. 16 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Kay’s interview which took place on November, 2, 2011. 110 Secondly, singing is a medium to share fun happy times together. Kay describes how singing involves a focus of attention and sense of togetherness by saying, “So it’s just something for me to … not just sitting there and I’m just doing something over here while she’s playing, I’m still … I feel like … we’re engaging in some kind of conversation [while singing]” In other words, Kay and Adeline aren’t in the same room doing separate things side by side. Instead, singing involves both of them in a joint activity which in turn creates a feeling of closeness and connection. She says, “I guess it brings us closer together because we’re communicating and talking together through singing (…) Yeah I think it brings us closer together cause it’s time we’re spending together doing … interacting together”. The dual function of singing also benefits Kay’s maternal well-being. When she sees the positive responses of her singing Kay experiences feelings of satisfaction and reassurance. By acknowledging her success in achieving Adeline’s happy and calm state, Kay feels reassurance of her mothering ability which in turn, validates her perception of self as ‘good mother’. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that singing songs served an important function and purpose for a positive emotionally available relationship. The Emotional Availability findings reveal that Kay intuitively sang songs with high emotional availability. The Interview findings reveal that singing songs was perceived to be a dependable medium for meeting Adeline’s needs and sharing fun communicative interactions. Additionally, the success of her singing validated Kay’s sense of ‘good mother’. 111 Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that songs were experienced as, and perceived to be, an important part of mothering. Kay felt confident in her ability to meet Adeline’s needs by singing. Simultaneously, the frequent success of her interactions provided Kay with frequent validation of being a good mother. The reciprocal involvement that singing demands also provided feelings of closeness and togetherness. By ingraining songs into day-to-day life, and singing them with high emotional availability, Kay experienced multiple and frequent benefits to the mother-infant relationship. TRUDY & KAYLA Trudy is the mother of one child, Kayla. Kayla was 7.5 months old at her first session, was very hungry and appeared to be preoccupied by the curtains in the recording room. At the second video session Kayla was 7.9 months old and very interested in both the curtains and high chair in the recording room. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Trudy's scores are categorised as high, although her sensitivity score was lower than the other dimensions. As shown in Table 16, she scored between 22 and 26 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Kayla scored a high score of 21 for Child Responsiveness and a mid score of 18 for Child Involvement. Trudy's affect was warm and generally positive. However, she seemed to have to work hard to draw out affect and enthusiasm from Kayla. She had a slight 112 ‘performance’ quality to her affect and demonstrated a degree of inflexibility, which lowered her total sensitivity score and gave the impression that the relationship was not entirely healthy, according to Emotional Availability (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). Generally, Trudy structured interactions positively but sometimes she 'lost' Kayla or the interactions lacked a holding/emotionally enveloping quality. Trudy was also appropriately non-intrusive and non-hostile and showed only some signs of negative stress (such as yawns and sighs) during each session. Kayla scored differently in the two child dimensions. Her responsiveness score was at the bottom of the high-scoring range. Her affect was generally positive, however there was little expressive range observed. She was not avoidant e.g. she was likely to respond to Trudy’s initiations but with less expressiveness. Kayla was also slightly less involving than she was responsive. She showed some simple and elaborative involvement but not with consistent frequency throughout each session. Table 16: Summary of Trudy and Kayla’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 22 High 24.5 High 24.5 High 26 High 21 High 18 Mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 23 21 25 24 25 24 26 26 21 21 19 17 Interview Findings Verification was provided by Trudy who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and 113 summary are found in Appendix Q. Trudy also provided a written comment that she really enjoyed the study and that learning new songs added variety to her day. The overall meaning units/themes from Trudy’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 17. These meaning units were related to the following three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection, as shown in the first column of Table 17. Other meaning units focus on how singing is simply a part of play time, is integrated into day-to-day life and helps the day to run smoothly by keeping Kayla happy. Table 17: Trudy’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure proximity Meaning Units/Themes in Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other Singing with Kayla is a fun and pleasurable experience Seeing Kayla happy makes Trudy feel happy Trudy enjoys singing. Having something to do that she enjoys and is interested in adds pleasure to her day There is something special about singing because it’s something that only Trudy and Kayla have – it’s their own activity. Being able to calm and relax Kayla by singing provides Trudy feelings of relief Singing lullabies calm Tracy down which then helps to calm Kayla down. Trudy will focus on her own voice, rather than Kayla’s screaming to calm herself down. Learning new songs and being able to sing a greater variety of songs has been a pleasurable experience and has helped to minimise boredom from singing the same set of songs over and over again. When interacting with Kayla, Trudy will think thoughts about trying to make Kayla happy e.g. “what can I do to entertain you?” “how can we make this fun?”. Sometimes she will think about the things she needs to do and while trying to calm Kayla down e.g. “I’ve got things to do, let’s get you to sleep and get you calm and get you happy and then I can go and do what I’ve got to do” If Trudy is having a casual day at home her attention tends to be focussed on Kayla, however during days she is busy and has appointments she will be focussed on trying to time Kayla’s sleeps etc so that we can get to your appointment on time Songs are portable and can be used outside the home e.g. in the car Wheels on the Bus is the number 1 distraction song. As soon as Kayla hears it she will stop her grizzling and listen Kayla will use Going to the moon to capture Kayla’s attention, engage her and make eating solids fun Trudy sings Belly Button to teach Kayla about body parts Trudy sings lullabies to help Kayla settle Trudy tends to sing whatever comes to her mind at the time. She’ll repeat a song if Kayla looks like she enjoyed it (e.g. giggles) Singing is a part of play time. It is integrated into day-to-day life NONE Keeping Kayla happy helps the day run smoothly. Singing songs helps to achieve this smoothness. She tends to use Sleep Baby Sleep because she likes the song 114 Discussion Trudy’s interview leaves an impression of simplicity. To Trudy, singing songs is simple: it’s enjoyable, an effective and portable parenting tool, and beneficial to her own well-being. Throughout the interview, Trudy describes singing play songs as intrinsically “fun”. For example she describes deriving extra pleasure from singing due to her personal background and interest in music, saying “It’s just nice to have singing back in my life again, like a reason for it” 17. There is also a sense of something ‘special’ when Trudy directs her singing to Kayla. Since she is the only adult who sings to Kayla, play songs and lullabies provide something unique that only the two of them share. Overall, singing songs provides a pleasurable experience that reinforces a sense of ‘our songs’ or ‘our shared enjoyment’ which contributes to Trudy’s sense of togetherness with Kayla. Trudy describes the effectiveness of singing as capturing Kayla’s attention. She says, “As soon as you start singing that [The Wheels on the Bus] she stops the grizzly grumbly um and just listens to you”. She also describes how singing modulates emotions. Play songs provide happy and pleasurable feelings for both herself and Kayla whereas lullabies calm Trudy and Kayla down. Once Trudy is calm, she is better able to meet Kayla’s need to be soothed. Subsequently, when Kayla is calm, Trudy will experience feelings of relief. She says, “And [I feel] relief when she’s tired and grizzly and she relaxes to my voice and songs”. Trudy does not reveal much about her inner thought processes during the interview. She talks about meeting Kayla’s needs generally, but rarely refers to specific cues or situations. In one instance she describes repeating a song according 17 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Trudy’s interview which took place on November, 24, 2011. 115 to interest cues, by saying “I’ll repeat it [a song] if I’ve really enjoyed singing or if I can tell that she’s enjoyed it”. In another instance she describes choosing a song according to Kayla’s needs, saying, “I use songs as a distraction sometimes (…) so if she’s starting to get grizzle … so as a distraction [I sing]” and “to calm her down we use one of the slow songs”. However, she does not expand on her thoughts and intentions any further. This gives the impression that her understanding of responding to cues (whether it is in general or of Kayla’s cues specifically) is somewhat limited. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that a simplistic application of songs may provide some benefits to maternal wellbeing, even if the relationship is not entirely healthy. The Emotional Availability findings reveal that Trudy intuitively sang songs with generally high emotionally availability. However, Trudy and Kayla demonstrated factors to suggest their emotional connection was ‘apparently’, rather than entirely healthy (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). 2008b). The Interview findings reveal that play songs and lullabies had a clear and simple function: to make Kayla happy or calm. However, Trudy’s understanding of sensitivity and/or its application via song appeared somewhat limited in that her demonstration of singing as a communicative tool was less than ideal. Importantly, despite her lower sensitivity, and the 'apparent' health of her relationship with Kayla, Trudy still had a positive experience of singing and valued its role in her mothering. 116 SASHA & SHARI Shari is Sasha’s second child. During the first video session Shari was 5.7 months old. She became restless and tired and about half way through the session and fell asleep in Sasha’s arms. At the second video session Shari was 6.4 months old, appeared happy and alert then became hungry near the end of the session. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Sasha's scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 18 she scored between 26.5 and 28 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Shari also scored highly for both Child Responsiveness (22.5) and Child Involvement (22). From observation, Sasha was warm, calm, relaxed and animated in her own way. She interpreted cues accurately and responded appropriately and promptly. She used preventative and positive guidance to lead Shari positively and was very nonintrusive and non-hostile. She waited for optimal breaks to enter the interaction and followed Shari’s reactions and cues to develop and initiate interactions. She had good emotional regulation and demonstrated a lack of ridiculing, ‘burdensome’ and irritated behaviours. Shari showed slight disorganisation when falling asleep in video session 1 and occasional dysregulation in session 2 but generally had a positive and relaxed affect. She was likely to respond to Sasha’s initiations and showed a range of emotional expressiveness. Shari was also quite involving. She used simple verbal and 117 non-verbal means to initiate and elaborate interactions and used a combination of positive and negatively involving behaviours. Table 18: Summary of Sasha and Shari’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 27.5 High 26.5 High 27 High 28 High 22.5 High 22 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 28 27 27 26 27 27 28 28 23 22 22 22 Interview Findings Verification was provided by Sasha who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix R. Sasha also provided a verbal comment that the summary was perfect. The overall meaning units/themes from Sasha’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 19. These meaning units were related to the following three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection, as shown in the first column of Table 19. Table 19: Sasha’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Tolerance/ acceptance Meaning Units/Themes Sasha enjoys singing with Shari Sasha feels she shares Shari’s excitement, particularly during the pinnacle moments of play songs Singing is a way of communicating with Shari. Sasha feels a sense of satisfaction when she can put Sasha to sleep using lullabies. She feels she is a better mother Sasha feels that singing songs has created a closer bond with Shari because she has 118 been singing to her since she was young Sasha feels calmer when she sings lullabies. Sasha feels quite relaxed about putting Shari to sleep. She has consciously avoided certain sleeping habits that caused her eldest son to have difficulties sleeping anywhere outside his normal room, lighting and dummy. Even if out at dinner, Sasha is confident that Shari will fall asleep to a lullaby which then allows Sasha to rejoin the adults If singing lullabies still isn’t working Sasha will put Shari down, take 3 deep breaths to calm herself down and try again. She then closes her eyes and focuses on relaxing. Once Sasha is calm Shari will gradually settle down Sasha will think about in what order to sing lullabies according to Shari’s level of sleepiness e.g. if Shari has been quite excited then Sasha will start with a softer play song like Twinkle twinkle and gradually work her way to lullabies like sleep baby sleep. Sleep baby sleep tends to be the very last song that Sasha will sing to put Shari to sleep Sasha feels calmer when she sings lullabies and therefore Shari feels more relaxed and calm Often Sasha will sing lullabies to settle Shari down enough to fall asleep on her won. But if Shari is upset Sasha will rock and sing Shari to sleep. Singing lullabies will gradually settle Shari from active playtime to sleep. Singing lullabies puts Shari to sleep faster than rocking on its own. Sasha will sing particular songs at particular instances during the day e.g. she will sing food type songs while breastfeeding to help Shari become familiar with caregiving routines Songs can be used anywhere, anytime e.g. at home, in the car or at a dinner party Sasha will get rid of all the toys when she sings play songs with Shari so that she is not distracted by anything and will pay attention to Sasha and the songs When she compares Shari to her eldest son, Sasha has noticed a difference in how Shari communicates back to her. Shari will babble a lot more than her son did at the same age and Sasha feels it is because she is singing so frequently to Shari After bath time Sasha tends to feel a little stressed and will rush massaging and dressing Shari. Consequently, Shari will pick up on her stress and feel a bit upset. However singing songs after bath time helps Shari to feel calmer Sasha will sing to Shari when they are in separate rooms. It is her way of letting Shari know that mummy hasn’t gone and is still around. Shari seems happier when she sings which reassures Sasha that Shari is alright where she is – she doesn’t need to be worried or checking up on her. It crosses physical barriers Shari’s reactions, expressions and responses determine the direction of the singing interactions. It is mainly Shari’s enjoyment of the interaction that will determine what to do next e.g. if Shari is smiling and enjoying herself then Sasha will repeat a song Sasha will consciously build up the sense of anticipation by beginning singing in a plain way and becoming more excited as she approaches the pinnacle of the song (the part that Shari likes the most). She also changes the actions or movements of a song to match what Shari would prefer to do e.g. instead of having Shari sit and bounce on her knee Sasha will help Shari stand during a song Before singing play songs, Sasha will approach Shari in a way that lets her know it’s playtime Shari will consciously try not to make eye contact with Shari when singing lullabies as this indicates awake playtime. Often Sasha will close her own eyes to avoid eye contact and help Shari settle Sasha tends to sing whatever comes into her head throughout the day NONE NONE Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other 119 Discussion Sasha is a quietly confident mother. What is apparent from her interview is that she put a lot of thought into how to parent Shari. She considered the pros and cons of how she had cared for her eldest son, considered the consequences of her actions and carefully decided on how to approach parenting with Shari. As a result Sasha has a very clear focus on what, when and how to use songs as well as the reason behind these decisions, particularly in terms of Shari’s health and welfare. Four of the most striking elements of Sasha’s interview are (1) the differentiation between the experience of talking and singing, (2) the use of lullabies as Shari’s one and only association to sleep time, (3) Sasha’s confidence that she can lull Shari to sleep anytime and anywhere, and (4) the conscious thought processes and structuring to achieve/maintain Shari’s happy/calm state. Sasha clearly expresses a difference between her experience of talking and singing. She says: And I try to talk to her and tell her, you know, I’m changing your nappy but I just feel like I’m talking to myself. But when you’re singing it’s like she seems more happier, as if she’s understanding (...) it’s like a way of communicating to her through singing 18 Talking is described as rather ‘one-way’. It is as if Sasha is thinking out loud rather than directing her thoughts to another person. Singing on the other hand, is expressed as “communication”, something that is directed to Shari and is received and acknowledged. The communicative aspect of singing also creates a feeling of closeness. Amazingly, Sasha feels she has a closer bond with Shari than her elder son due to the greater amount and frequency of singing interactions. She says, “I started 18 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Sasha’s interview which took place on December, 9, 2011. 120 singing at an earlier age [with Shari] and it’s like we’re more interacting and with more of a bond” Lullabies have a particular purpose of calming Shari down and preparing her for sleep. Once Shari is sung into a relaxed state, Sasha will put Shari to bed and fall asleep independently. Sasha has three particular lullaby strategies. Firstly, lullabies are the only association to sleep time. Sasha consciously avoided training Shari to become dependent on certain lighting or quietness to fall asleep. Secondly, she consciously avoids eye-contact while singing lullabies to avoid interpersonal stimulation. Thirdly, she either sings lullabies straight away or starts with play songs then merges into lullabies with the intent of gradually moving Shari from an active to a relaxed state conducive to sleeping. Evidently, Sasha is proud of and confident in her ability to calm and relax Shari by singing lullabies. She describes in detail the trouble she had with her eldest son and how she was determined not to replicate the same mistake. Sasha also describes how using lullabies as her only sleep strategy allows her to enjoy adult socialisation while also attending to Shari’s needs: I feel relaxed, because I know if we’re going out for dinner with a lot of people ... I know with my son [when he was a baby] he can get over tired and there’s so much going on, but he needs to be in his room and I rock him to sleep or give him a dummy, he depends on this and it has to be very quiet (...) With her I planned it so that I still have the lights on and there’s still noise. Like if there’s noise I don’t want it to be too quiet so that she gets used to it. So I can just take her in a room, sing lullaby and settle her down and she’ll go to sleep and I can still be part of the dinner. She won’t cry or anything. I sort of learnt from the past mistake in a way (...) And depending on where we are I know she can sleep. We don’t need a specific room or lighting or dummy 121 Sasha openly shares the inner thought processes behind her singing. For example, she describes how Shari’s degree of interest determines when to repeat a song or not, by saying, “When we’re doing the play songs I look for the expression on her face and how she is responding, like if she’s smiling or if she’s blank then, ok I won’t bother singing it twice” She also intentionally increases the sense of anticipation during play songs to match and share in Shari’s excitement. Evidently, Sasha consciously follows, interprets and responds to Shari’s cues to achieve and maintain Shari’s happy/calm state. Sasha’s consideration and conscious application of songs has one key benefit to the tolerance/acceptance construct. She describes the positive feelings of observing her interaction success by saying, “I feel like it’s satisfying, I feel like I’m being a better mother as well”. In other words, seeing the positive results of her singing provides reassurance and satisfaction that she has achieved her goal of improved mothering. Thus, singing songs validates Sasha’s perception of self as good and better mother. Conclusion A comparison the Interview and Emotional Availability findings illustrate a mother taking conscious action to achieve better mothering success and fulfilling her objective by singing songs. Play songs and lullabies were deliberately chosen to be a crucial component of her improved parenting approach and were clearly valued in its role in achieving/maintaining Shari’s happy/relaxed state. The Interview findings reveal that Sasha consciously and carefully thought about sensitivity and structuring while singing. The Emotional Availability findings reveal that Sasha responded to Shari’s cues and signals with accuracy and ease and 122 intuitively sang songs with almost optimal emotional availability. Together the findings illustrate congruence between Sasha’s intentions and behavioural interactions. Her awareness and understanding of sensitivity combined with her clear intentions demonstrate highly appropriate and successful singing interactions. In Sasha’s case, first-hand experience with her eldest son, trial and error and careful consideration acted as an ‘education intervention’. With experienced-based education and conscious effort Sasha improved her parenting approach and achieved high emotional availability. Sasha demonstrates that singing songs may fulfil a fundamental mothering role. When sung with high emotional availability, clear intention and congruence play songs and lullabies may effectively meet an infant’s needs and provide confidence in a mother’s ability to consistently meet her infant’s needs. Simultaneously, the experience of singing may facilitate a sense of closeness and provide validation of being ‘good mother’. HOLLY & OPHELIA Holly is the mother of one child, Ophelia. At the first video session Ophelia was 5.4 months old. She was a little cranky throughout the session and seemed determined to explore the two chairs in the room. At the second video session Ophelia was 5.9 months old. She appeared refreshed and happy but as the session progressed became more restless and grizzly. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. As shown in table 20, Holly scored 19 on the dimension of Parental Sensitivity, 123 which is categorised as borderline between mid and high scores. She also scored between the high scores of 23.5 and 25.5 on the dimensions of Parental Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Ophelia scored a high score of 21.5 for Child Responsiveness but was borderline between mid and high scores for Child Involvement (20.5). Holly's affect was positive but not entirely relaxed; at times she appeared overly animated. Holly clearly enjoyed Ophelia but had an ‘over the top’ and rushed quality to her interactions. She was also slightly inconsistent in interpreting and responding appropriately to Ophelia’s cues. These observable qualities suggest that Holly and Ophelia’s relationship was ‘apparently’ healthy rather than entirely healthy, according to Emotional Availability (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). Generally, Holly structured interactions in a positive and non-intrusive manner but sometimes she was made to feel intrusive. She was generally respectful and non-hostile and demonstrated only a few signs of frustration, irritation and impatience during Ophelia's restlessness. Ophelia's affect was generally positive but she became dysregulated occasionally and demonstrated difficulty in regulating her emotions. Although she responded to Holly’s initiations, she was also quite task-oriented. Also, Ophelia used simple verbal and non-verbal modes to initiate and sometimes to extend interaction. However, there were frequent negatively involving behaviours throughout each session, which lowered her Involvement scores. Table 20: Summary of Holly and Ophelia’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 19 Borderline mid/high 25 High 23.5 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness 20 18 25 25 23 24 124 Non-hostility Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Child responsiveness Child involvement 26 25 22 21 20 21 25.5 High 21.5 High 20.5 Borderline mid/high Interview Findings Verification was provided by Holly who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix S. The overall meaning units/themes from Holly’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 21. These meaning units were related to all four attachment constructs (Condon, 2010; Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition, as shown in the second column of Table 21. Table 21: Holly’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Singing is a fun and enjoyable experience Holly feels happy when she sings play songs. When singing silly songs she gets excited herself. Holly’s happiness then helps Ophelia to feel happy. Singing is focussed one-on-one bonding time together. They are doing something together Singing settle both Holly and Ophelia down. When Holly is feeling upset with Ophelia she will sing to relax herself By helping Ophelia slow down Holly also has a chance to slow down By providing Ophelia a bit of independence (physical separation from Holly) Holly was and is still able to experience some personal space and more energy to do other things with Ophelia. Singing is bonding time together. Learning what Ophelia likes and doesn’t like via singing contributes to the bonding nature of singing. Relaxing herself helps Ophelia to settle Holly doesn’t think about much when she’s singing. Any thoughts are focussed on what will make Ophelia happy. Holly’s choice of song depends on Ophelia’s current mood e.g. if Ophelia is happy she will start with a silly song but if she is cranky Holly will start with a softer song like Twinkle twinkle then build up to a more excitable silly song. Sometimes the only way of settling Ophelia down is by meeting the physical need (e.g. hunger and tiredness) that is causing her distress Ophelia is a very busy baby with a short attention span. Holly needs to change songs frequently to capture and maintain her attention. By capturing Ophelia’s attention, singing songs settles Ophelia and gives her a chance to slow down. 125 Knowledge acquisition Other Ophelia can also become upset if she continues her fast busy pace for an extended period of time. Providing settling time via singing therefore prevents Ophelia from becoming distressed Singing will grab Ophelia’s attention However Ophelia needs to be in the mood for singing to enjoy it e.g. sometimes Ophelia needs to express her crankiness before she is interested in an activity Holly hopes singing will help Ophelia to learn and encourage her talk. She has since a difference in toddlers depending on whether their parents sing to them or not. Being aware of the difference motivates Holly to sing Singing has helped Ophelia to deal with physical separation by providing a transition from clinginess to physical independence (this is achieved by building up the excitement of songs and by gradually moving Ophelia out of Holly’s arms to the floor). This helped Ophelia to be happy enough to stay separated from Holly and be distracted by a toy. Singing is bonding time because it is focussed one-on-one time together. Instead of concentrating on a toy Holly and Ophelia are concentrating on each other. This attention of each is characterised by eye contact and doing something together rather than side by side. Holly sings outside of the home e.g. in the car to settle Ophelia if she is upset The only time Holly doesn’t really sing is at Ophelia’s bed time the singing seems to excite her rather than relax her If Ophelia is enjoying a song then Holly will continue singing. If Ophelia is not paying attention then Holly will stop and let Ophelia do what she wants Sometimes Ophelia becomes disinterested in a song. When this happens Holly will stop singing it for a week or so and then reintroduce it to Ophelia. Holly sings spontaneously throughout the day Singing provides a way for Holly to learn what things Ophelia likes and doesn’t like. NONE Discussion What is striking about Holly’s case is that she devised her own intervention. During the months of Ophelia’s constant clinginess, she discovered a way to achieve physical separation by singing play songs. Holly describes this process by saying: I had a lot of trouble with her till about 2 months ago. The only thing she wanted was to be picked up. So I had to carry her the whole day (…) She’s really clingy, I start singing with her. I start soft and I go more silly songs and I can actually put her down ‘cause then she’s happy and she’s getting more happy and then she’s, I can just leave her on her floor for a minute because I can get her distracted, like with the toys after. [Interviewer: But you couldn’t go straight to the toy?] No 19 By increasing the excitement of the songs Holly guided Ophelia to an ever increasing state of happiness and gradually enabled physical independence. In turn, Holly’s 19 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Holly’s interview which took place on December, 5, 2011. 126 well-being was being addressed. Holly explains, “Before I was just … I felt like a drained feeling; no space, no nothing” Achieving even temporary physical separation therefore, provided her much needed and appreciated personal space and relief. The key component of Holly’s singing process is emotional modulation. Achieving physical separation was dependent on Ophelia’s happy state. Interestingly, Holly’s perception of the purpose of the emotional modulation changed over time. When she described using songs to achieve physical independence, the emphasis was on her own need for personal space; the primary function of the singing was to address her own health and well-being by achieving a happier state in Ophelia. Currently, when Holly describes singing, she mainly speaks of fulfilling Ophelia’s need for modulation and the emphasis is on Ophelia’s well-being. Holly also describes how singing play songs also helps her own well-being being feeling more positive. However, she expresses this benefit as a ‘bonus’ or extra benefit of singing songs rather than being the main purpose of singing. In other words, Holly’s perception of songs changed from being a means of experiencing personal space and addressing her own needs to addressing Ophelia’s modulation needs. Now that Ophelia is coping with physical separation, singing serves a dual function: to meet Ophelia’s needs for modulation as well as facilitate pleasurable quality one-on-one time. Previously, Holly and Ophelia’s one-on-one time was based on Ophelia’s negatively involving and exhausting behaviours. Presumably, the need for physical separation overrided any enjoyment that singing may have otherwise provided. Without the need for physical separation, one-on-one singing time is now experienced as a pleasurable opportunity to engage in a joint activity and promote bonding and a sense of togetherness. 127 It is interesting to note that the additional function of facilitating quality bonding time occurs only after Ophelia’s clingy phase. This suggests that the current health of a relationship influences how a mother experiences singing interactions and consequently, the extent to which attachment constructs are impacted upon. For example, Holly does not mention experiencing validation of self as ‘mother’ during the interview and it is unclear why this is the case. One could speculate that the relief of finally passing through a clingy phase would be of more prominence than feelings of satisfaction and mothering competence. Or perhaps Holly has not yet experienced enough consistent singing ‘success’ with Ophelia to experience such validation. As demonstrated by her borderline sensitivity score, she was inconsistent in her recognition and response to Ophelia’s cues. Perhaps this inconsistency influenced the lack of validation experienced. Evidently, more research is necessary. It would be valuable for future studies to compare the subjective experience of singing for mothers in optimal versus ‘apparently’ healthy versus ‘over-dependent’ relationships. Understanding the perceived function and value of singing within various relationship dynamics would provide insights into the role of singing as a therapeutic intervention for specific types of emotional connections. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings suggest that singing may serve important and various functions according to the health of the mother-infant relationship. The Interview findings reveal that during a period of clinginess, singing served an important function of achieving temporary physical independence. However, once the clinginess diminished, singing served as a mothering tool to modulate Ophelia’s emotions and to provide quality one-on-one 128 bonding time. The Emotional Availability findings reveal that after experiencing a period of clinginess, Holly and Ophelia’s relationship was generally positive but not entirely healthy (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). Presumably, without therapeutic intervention, Holly and Ophelia’s relationship merged from a clingy or overdependent relationship to an ‘apparently’ healthy emotional connection. Together the Interview and Emotional Availability findings illustrate that the health of a relationship influences the perceived function of singing. Also, experiencing benefits such as focussed quality time may be contingent on a certain degree of relationship health. Holly’s case suggests that the range of impacts to the attachment constructs is restricted and influenced by the current health of a relationship. Furthermore, Holly was a mother who needed help. To her credit, she devised her own singing process to better cope with Ophelia’s clinginess. However, without intervention, Holly and Ophelia’s emotional connection did not improve to an entirely healthy state. Holly’s case demonstrates that a mother not classified as ‘at risk’ may require support and guidance to achieve a healthy and secure attachment and enhance maternal health and well-being. TULLIA & MARK Mark is Tullia’s second child. He was 6 months old at the first video session. As he entered the recording room he appeared well-rested, happy and excitable, although as the session progressed he became a bit cranky and upset. At the second video session he was 6.4 months old. He appeared happy for most of the session but became quite tired by the end. 129 Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Tullia's scores as categorised as high. As shown in Table 22, she scored between 25 and 27 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Mark scores a highly for Child Responsiveness (24) but was borderline between mid and high for Child Involvement (19.5). Tullia's affect was positive, warm and appropriately animated. She also recognised and responded to Mark’s cues appropriately and promptly. Tullia structured interactions positively and in a respectful and non-hostile manner. She also followed Mark’s interest cues and only rarely did he indicate her to be intrusive. Mark scored differently on the child dimensions. His affect was positive and relaxed. He was likely to respond to Tullia’s initiations with a range of expressiveness and demonstrated only some dysregulation, usually at the end of the session when he was becoming tired. Mark was less involving than he was responsive. He would initiate some of the time using mainly non-verbal modes of communication (e.g. looking and smiling) but also spent time turning away from Tullia to explore the room. He also used both positively and negatively involving behaviours in each session which contributed to his lower score. Table 22: Summary of Tullia and Mark’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 25 High 25.5 High 25.5 High 27 High 24 High 19.5 Borderline high/mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 24 26 25 26 26 25 27 27 24 24 19 20 130 Interview Findings Verification was given by Tullia who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix T. Tullia also commented that she had a positive experience during the study and expressed thanks for the opportunity to participate and learn new songs to sing with her son. The overall meaning units/themes from Tullia’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 23. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection, as shown the first column of Table 23. Other meaning units relate to how Tullia is looking forward to having more one-on-one time with Mark when her older daughter goes to school. Table 23: Tullia’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Singing is a fun enjoyable experience for Tullia. She particularly loves singing to Mark at night – it is a sweet loving experience She feels closer to him when she sings Singing makes Tullia feel happy or calm which then makes Mark feel happy or calm. Singing makes Mark feel happy and seeing Mark happy makes Tullia feel happy. Tullia feels a sense of peacefulness and serenity when she sings. Singing adds a special element to Tullia and Mark’s relationship because it is something only they enjoy together. No other adults sing to Mark Being able to see how Mark responds to her singing (e.g. feeling calmer and happier) provides Tullia with feelings of satisfaction. By being the person who provides him with comfort makes her more special and significant to Mark. This has a huge impact on Tullia and her perception of being ‘mum’ Singing bonds Tullia and Mark. Being able to stop Mark’s crying and distracting him with singing has a huge positive impact on Tullia. It also provides feelings of relief that she has stopped his crying Singing calms both Tullia and Mark down. She feels relief that the crying has stopped. Tullia feels like a better mum knowing that she is doing something that is good for Mark’s development (by singing) If Tullia is getting bored of singing the same song over and over again she thinks “come on, come on, one more and he’ll be asleep” Tullia feels a lot of guilt when she compares how much more time she spent Melayna (first child) when she was Mark’s age. Having quality singing time also helps to ease her guilt as she feels she is doing something to spend quality time with Mark Once Mark has fallen asleep she feel satisfied that she kept singing and could 131 Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other make Mark feel calm and settled and fall asleep Tullia is very conscious of singing when she can to Mark. Tullia is focussed on Mark and nothing else when singing. Singing is a powerful tool to distract Mark and keep him calm and happy. It is useful even in the car to stop his crying and when he is very distressed. Open shut them is the number 1 distraction song that Tullia will use to capture his attention and make him happy Tullia finds it difficult to sing to Mark when Melayna (first child) is around the house. If she hears them singing she wants to join in and the interaction becomes centred on Melayna rather than Mark. Singing is such a good parenting tool because it’s portable, always available and easy to use – it is not something she needs to pack, look for or stress about if she can’t find it. She can use it anytime, anywhere. Tullia tries to sing Mark a variety of songs to stimulate his brain development Tullia will choose songs based on Mark’s current needs (e.g. sleepy) Tullia will repeat a song is Mark is enjoying it. Tullia will repeat lullabies over and over because she can see it is calming Mark down. Even if she is getting a little bored of singing a lullaby over and over again she reminds herself that it is helping Mark. Tullia tends to sing whatever pops into her head throughout the day which, usually are her favourite songs such as You are my sunshine NONE Tullia is looking forward to when Melayna (1 st chid) goes to Kindergarten for 2 days so that she can enjoy having more one-on-one time with Mark Discussion The personal impact to well-being is one of the most important aspects of singing for Tullia. Firstly, singing calms Tullia down and provides feelings of peacefulness. Secondly, by calming herself down she is able to calm Mark down. Once Mark is calm she feels relief. Thirdly, Tullia feels a sense of satisfaction when she successfully calms Mark down. She says, “The fact that I make him stop crying when I’m singing, that’s huge. I don’t have to feed him or anything, I just sing and it’s enough”. Tullia feels a greater sense of relief and satisfaction when it has been more difficult to calm Mark down. She says: it’s hard because sometimes I just don’t want to sing it again but it’s helping. It’s making him feel better. So even if it’s boring to sing it so many times it helps him. Then I feel better anyway because he’s calmer 132 In other words, Tullia is confident that continuing to sing will calm Mark down and she feels satisfied with herself for continuing her singing, despite boredom, to achieve Mark’s calm state. The achievement and satisfaction of successfully modulating Mark’s emotion also helps her to bond with Mark and feel significant to him. She explains: Well, it definitely makes us closer. It makes me more, um, what’s the word? Um … I guess it makes me more, I don’t know if this is the right word: valuable to him? As in, I’m the one that sings to him and I’m that person that comforts him with singing and stuff. It makes me more special to him In other words, her success in modulating Mark’s emotions reinforces her sense of connection with Mark as well as her sense of self as ‘mother’. Furthermore, Tullia describes how singing minimises feelings of guilt about not spending as much time with Mark as she did with Melanya when she was Mark’s age. Tullia describes taking advantage of moments in between Melayna’s demands to sing with Mark and how experiencing quality focussed time helps to balance out the lesser quantity of one-on-one time available with Mark. She says, “But yeah, it’s that second child thing, I feel so much guilt. That’s probably why I like music. Like, when I sing to him I feel better because, you know, you have that guilt but then you’re doing something”. In other words, intentionally experiencing quality time with Mark via singing minimises Tullia's guilt. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that singing songs played a key role in caring for the modulation needs of an infant as well as maternal well-being. The Emotional Availability findings reveal that Tullia intuitively sang songs with high emotional availability. The Interview findings 133 reveal that by effectively modulating both Mark’s and Tullia’s emotions, singing greatly impacted Tullia’s mental health and well-being. Together, the Interview and Emotional Availability findings illustrate that singing was experienced and perceived to be an important part of mothering and maternal health. It is unclear what Tullia’s well-being and emotional availability would have been like without the contributions of singing. However, this case demonstrates that singing served distinctly valuable functions for a positive and emotionally available mother-infant dyad. KAREN & COLIN Karen is the mother of three children. Colin, her youngest was 5.7 months old at first video session and appeared alert, attentive and happy. He was very interested in the orange high chair and become very tired near the end of the session. At the second video Colin was 6.3 months old. He was tired buy happy and fell asleep near the end of the session. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Karen's scores are categorised as high, although her sensitivity score was lower than the other dimensions. As shown in Table 24, she scored between 22 and 27.5 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Colin scored highly for Child Responsiveness (21) but scored a mid score of 18.5 for Child Involvement. Karen's affect was warm and animated. She clearly enjoyed Colin and generally responded to Colin’s cues appropriately and promptly. However, she 134 seemed so focussed on continually singing songs. Possibly, the pressure associated with being videoed for research compromised her emotional connection with Colin. Also, Karen’s structuring provided Colin with positive guidance and it generally had an emotionally enveloping quality to it. However, due to her almost constant singing, some of her structuring was ignored by Colin. Generally, Karen followed Colin’s interest cues and reactions in a non-intrusive and non-hostile manner. Colin showed some instances of dysregulation but was generally positive and relaxed and likely to respond to Karen’s initiations. However, he could have demonstrated more emotional range in his expressiveness. Colin also used simple means to initiate and extend interaction. However, he not elaborate interaction as much as he initiated it. He was slightly task-oriented and used both positively and negatively involving behaviours, warranting a lower involvement score. Table 24:- Summary of Karen and Colin’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 22 High 25.5 High 24.5 High 27.5 High 21 High 18.5 Mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 22 22 25 26 24 25 27 28 21 21 19 18 Interview Findings Verification was given by Karen who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix U. 135 The overall meaning units/themes from Karen's interview are shown in the second column of Table 25. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection, as shown in the first column of Table 25. Table 25: Karen’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Some play songs just make Karen feel happy. Singing is a fun, enjoyable loving and affectionate experience for Karen Colin responds positively to singing e.g. he will smile and get excited and make noises. Sometimes he will mimic Karen by moving his mouth and tongue. Observing these reactions add to the enjoyment of singing interactions Karen sometimes has affectionate, loving thoughts such as “I could play with you all day” Singing is quality one-on-one time with Colin Singing helps Karen to feel less helpless in certain situations e.g. when in the hospital singing helps Karen feel she is doing something to help Colin feel better. Singing has calmed Karen to such an extent that she has fallen asleep while singing lullabies. Singing does more than just calm Karen down. It gives her ‘time out’ from her busy day and allows her to reflect and become more self-aware about everything e.g. she is able to be in the moment and appreciate Colin rather than letting the baby phase whizz by. Singing is important to Karen as a person, not just as a mum or parent because it provides her time to be calm, reflect and become aware. The fact that Karen is also calmed (when settling Colin) helps her to feel better about the whole calming process. Karen remembers when she didn’t know to sing and the difference it made to her own wellbeing as well as her care of Eva (first child) And knowing that she has spent quality time with Colin means she doesn’t feel guilty about not spending tie with just him Karen feels satisfied with her achievement of calming Colin, which then reinforces the feeling that Karen is a good parent. Singing provides a win-win situation When Karen sings with Colin previous thoughts about work or studies are pushed aside or ‘shelved away’ and she becomes focussed on Colin and ‘in the moment’ Once focussed on Colin Karen will think about his reactions Karen sometimes has other thoughts while singing e.g. she may think about trying to get him to sleep such as “ok, go to sleep, calm, come on” Singing calms Colin down when he’s feeling upset, sleepy or uncomfortable (e.g. in the hospital) Colin will stare, watch and listen attentively, especially during the soft lullabies Singing calms both Karen and Colin down. Singing will calm Karen down which then helps Colin to calm down. Karen will sing to Colin at night when he wakes up. She will hold him close, look at his face and sing him a lullaby. Colin will stare back and then go to sleep. Singing makes settling Colin easier to achieve because it calms Karen and Colin. Singing works faster than anything else to calm Colin Singing provides Karen an effective parenting tool and quality time with Colin Karen sings in the car when Colin is getting distressed. She finds singing useful because she cannot touch Colin to calm him down while driving. Singing crosses that physical separation to calm Colin down Singing is Karen’s main way of spending quality time with Colin. She will sing maybe 4 or 5 times a day with just Colin, even if it’s just one song, it’s still quality 136 Knowledge acquisition Other time with him Singing captures Colin’s attention, engages him and makes him happy. Singing is more effective at engaging Colin than talking. Karen will tend to sing songs that both she and Colin enjoy. When he is looking straight at Karen (giving her attention) and smiling and laughing then Karen knows he is enjoying himself and she will continue singing. If Colin looks disinterested or is not responding as much to the happy songs Karen knows she needs to change songs or stop singing. Karen sings spontaneously throughout the day. She sings songs without even realising it NONE Since that first experience of singing Karen has gotten used to singing everyday and encourages her friends to sing to her children At this young age there isn’t much else Karen can use to communicate with Colin. Karen will sing lullabies over and over again because the repetition suits the songs. Discussion Two key features of Karen’s experience of singing resonates strongly throughout the interview, including: (1) her belief in singing is an effective and reliable tool to modulate emotions, and (2) the benefit of singing to Karen’s wellbeing. Karen often talks about modulating Colin’s emotions by singing. For example she says, “It [singing] does actually stop him from going all frantic”20. She also describes singing as working faster than other parenting methods. “He definitely seems to enjoy it and respond to it whether he’s tired or whatever, he’ll still stop, whereas if I talk to him when he’s beside himself he won’t always stop” and “I’ll just hold him up close and sing to him and it might take a minute and a minute doesn’t sound like very long but it is when they’re like that, they will work a lot faster than anything else” Evidently, Karen believes singing is the most effective tool for modulating Colin’s emotions. Singing is particularly important for Karen’s well-being. Firstly, singing will calm both Karen and Colin down. Also, when Karen is calm she is better able to 20 All quotes in the discussion were extracted from Karen’s interview which took place on December, 8, 2011. 137 calm Colin down. Secondly, the success of calming Colin down provides a sense of achievement and mothering competence. The process of calming Colin down helps Karen to feel calmer and satisfied with her mothering while also validating her sense of self as ‘good mother’. Thirdly, singing provides an opportunity to experience pleasurable and focussed quality time with Colin. Fourthly, experiencing the quality of singing interactions reassures Karen that she is making the most of any one-onone time with Colin and minimises feelings of guilt that arise from having to divide her attention amongst her three attention. Lastly, singing provides an opportunity for self-reflection and awareness which in turn allows Karen to better enjoy Colin’s current baby phase. Karen explains: But I know for me it’s not just about calming, it kind of centres you a little bit and it makes you take that time out. And I do know, when I have some of those moment I think, ‘Ok, he’s going to grow up soon’. You just have those flashes of like he’s growing up soon and you’re going to miss it. (…) I think it’s important for me, even if it’s just as a person, not even a parent or a mum, just to kind of do that calm because otherwise I don’t always get time to do it and have a bit of reflection (…) that’s what I was trying to say before, a bit of that reflection as well as self-awareness On a personal level, singing provides a valuable opportunity to promote mindfulness. By adopting an ‘in the moment’ frame of mind, Karen is able to calmly self-reflect and take joy in her son. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that singing served an important function in addressing both Karen’s and Colin’s emotional and mental needs. The Interview findings reveal that Karen advocated singing for its effectiveness in modulating emotions and providing multiple benefits 138 to her well-being. The Emotional Availability results reveal that Karen and Colin’s relationship was generally positive and Karen intuitively sang songs with generally high emotional availability. Together, the Interview and Emotional Availability findings illustrate that a generally emotionally available dyad experienced and perceived songs to be an important part of mothering, health and well-being. The positive experience of singings songs was unique, multi-layered and distinctly valuable. By ingraining songs into everyday life and singing with high emotional availability, singing positively and uniquely contributed to Karen’s and Colin’s relationship. CHAPTER SUMMARY The purpose of this chapter was to analyse (1) each mother’s subjective experience of using play songs and lullabies, and (2) the quality of each dyad’s interaction during the use of play songs and lullabies. The findings illustrate that all mothers experienced something positive from singing songs but also, that each mother had a unique subjective experience of singing. For some mothers, the benefit to well-being was particularly important and prominent, for others it was the ability to reliably modulate her infant’s emotions. Similarly, each dyad scored differently on the Emotional Availability scales. Some dyads scored highly in all of the Emotional Availability dimensions whereas some scored a range of high and mid scores across the dimensions. Some dyads appeared to have a healthy and positive connection, others less so. In other words, the analyses and discussions highlight the individuality and complexity of each dyad. Interestingly, despite the individuality of the dyads, all mothers experienced some sort of positive contribution to the mother's perception of 139 attachment and benefit to maternal well-being. In the next chapter the analysis of the subjective experience and quality of non-singing interactions will be presented and discussed. 140 CHAPTER 5 - INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE OF NON-SINGING INTERACTION "I'll just hold him close and sing to him and it might take a minute and a minute doesn't sound like very long but it is when they're like that, that [singing] will work a lot faster than anything else" Karen, mother of three, interview conducted on 8th December, 2011 In the previous chapter, the individual findings of the Interview and Emotional Availability findings for the singing condition were presented. The findings demonstrated that the experience of singing and the degree of Emotional Availability was different for each dyad. This chapter presents the findings on a case by case basis for the non-singing condition. It includes individual summaries of the findings from (1) the ratings of Emotional Availability which provides behavioural indicators of the quality of dyadic interaction, and (2) the semi-structured Interview which reflect the subjective experience of the mother during her non-singing play interactions with her infant. The analysis of the Interview is structured to provide an explication of the meaning units or themes that arose during the interview, and how they relate to Condon & Corkindale's (1998) attachment constructs, which is subsequently discussed, and related back to Emotional Availability ratings. It should be noted that all names have been changed to protect the privacy of the mothers and infants who participated in the study. 141 JULIA & LUKE Julia has two sons, James and Luke. Second born, Luke was 7.9 months old at his first video session and appeared very happy and relaxed. At the second video session he was 8.1 months old and appeared quite restless. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Julie's scores are categorised as high, according to the division of scores outlined in the 'Materials' section of Chapter 3 (see p. 51). As shown in Table 26, she scored between 24 and 27.5 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Luke also scored high scores on both child dimensions. Averaged across the two sessions, Luke scored 27 for Child Responsiveness and 23.5 for Child Involvement. Overall Julia and Luke have a highly emotionally available relationship. From observation, Julia's affect was animated and although she seemed slightly ‘over-the-top’ at times, she clearly enjoyed Luke and responded to his cues promptly and appropriately. Julia tried hard to structure positively and successfully but occasionally was a little intrusive. Generally, she followed Luca’s cues and interests in a non-intrusive, non-hostile and respectful manner. Luke demonstrated good emotional regulation and was very responsive and expressive. He was likely to respond to Julia positively and generally looked happy and relaxed. Luke was also very involving. He frequently looked to his mother, 142 sustained eye-contact, babbled and smiled. On occasion he also reached out to his mother and imitated her. Table 26: Summary of Julia and Luke’s Emotional Availability scores Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 24.5 High 27 High 25.5 High 27.5 High 27 High 23.5 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 24 25 27 27 24 27 27 28 27 27 24 23 Interview Findings Verification was given by Julia who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix V. Julie also commented that she enjoyed participating in the study as it provided exclusive one-on-one time with Luke and found it surprising that so much of her interaction is an unconscious behaviour. The overall meaning units/themes from Julia’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 27. These meaning unites related to all four attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition, shown in the first column of Table 27. Other meaning units are also included such as, how having children has impacted Julia's life generally. Table 27: Julia’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure proximity Meaning Units/Themes in Julia feels excited and proud when she’s interacting with Luke and witnesses Luke make new developments and discoveries. 143 Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other Interacting with Luke is a fun and enjoyable experience Julia does not experience negative feelings when interacting with Luke The reactions from Luke is what makes the interaction fun Getting positive reactions match or counterbalance the other bad times e.g. getting up at night Interacting with Luke is easy in that he reacts a lot with smiles and giggles. Julia is very conscious about making sure her attention is divided evenly between her two boys i.e. both Luke and James will have one-on-one quality time with her When Julia notices Luke figuring something out she will consciously try to encourage and extend certain behaviours e.g. when he started to touch the baby book she encouraged his touching to continue Signals from Luke shape the interaction e.g. arms up means he has had enough Julia makes note of Luke’s responses during interactions e.g. Luke starting to copy her During interactions Julia often thinks about what will work or what she can do to continue preoccupying Luke and keeping him happy Julia will sometimes consciously learn new material (e.g. Timmy song) because Luke has reacted positively to it. Julia will remember what has made Luke happy in the past and incorporate these things into the current interaction. She also tries to remember new things that he found enjoyable for the future. Luke’s reaction drives the direction of the interaction. If he enjoys something Julia will continue doing it, if not Julia will try something different. A positive reactions means the interaction is working Interacting with Luke is about getting a reaction from him and preoccupying him When Luke is happy it means that the interaction is working Julia wonders what Luke is thinking and what goes on in his mind There is something automatic about the interactions e.g. Julia will not make a conscious decision to sing but when she starts rocking she automatically starts to sing. She also doesn’t plan it just comes out at any time. The feelings toward her own children is unique to her feelings toward her relatives Having children has opened up a new sense of empathy towards parents around the world Discussion Julia had a very positive and validating experience when she verified the interview analysis. When reading, writing and verbally expanding on her comments she expressed a sense of pleasure and pride in her mothering. However, these feelings of mothering pride were not experienced during the play itself, only upon reflection once removed from the experience. It was particularly validating for Julia to realise how much she thought about responding to Luke’s reactions. For example, she made mental notes about things that Luke had enjoyed in the past with the intention of utilising them again in the future, saying, “I think because I’ve sneezed 144 once and he laughed so it’s just yeah, I keep doing it (…)21 if you get that reaction you sort of keep going or remember that it works” 22. Interestingly, Julia did not seem to be conscious of these thought processes during the play experience, only during the verification process. The key feature of Julia’s subjective experience of playing and interacting is Luke’s reactions. Observing Luke’s reactions facilitates two things: (1) positive feelings of pleasure and (2) curiosity and thoughts about what going in Luke’s mind. When Julia observes Luke’s reactions she describes experiencing feelings of pleasure and fun, saying, “Just getting that reaction makes it …23 I mean I try to get the reaction I suppose, I guess, it’s what makes it fun and enjoyable to do”. Observing Luke’s reactions to discovery provides additional feelings of pride and amazement. Furthermore, Julie thinks about what is going on in Luke's mind and the reason behind Luke’s actions and reactions. For example, she says, “I always think, I wonder what they think about, what ticks over”. Evidently, Julia thinks a lot about Luke’s reactions as well as the intention behind his actions during play interactions. However, it is the combination of these thoughts and feelings of pleasure, fun, amazement and pride (of Luke) that characterise the experience of non-singing interactions for Julia. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Luke’s reactions formed the basis of Julia’s behavioural and subjective experience of non-singing play interactions. The Emotional Availability scores 21 In all quotations from the interview, (...) denotes missing text. All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Julia’s interview which took place on June, 15, 2011 23 In all quotations from the interview, an ellipsis denotes hesitation, not missing text. 22 145 reveal that Julia intuitively interacted with high emotional availability. The Interview findings reveal that Julia thought about scaffolding interactions according to Luke’s reactions and that feelings of pleasure, amazement and pride (of Luke) stemmed from observing Luke’s positive reactions. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that emotionally available interactions require observations of, and thought processes about, the infant’s communications and responses. Even though Julia was not totally aware of it, her prioritisation of infant reactions was a prominent part of her facilitation of emotionally available interactions. In turn, Luke’s positive reactions to her interaction success facilitated positive thoughts and feelings related to the attachment constructs and thus, positively impacted Julia and Luke’s relationship. SIMONE & SASHA Simone is the mother of two children, Tom and Sasha. Second born, Sasha was 7.8 months old at her first video session and 8.3 months old at her second video session. During both sessions Sasha appeared fairly settled and relaxed. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Simone's scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 28, she scored between 25 and 27.5 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Sasha also scored highly for Child Responsiveness (23) but was borderline between mid and high scores for Child Involvement (20.5). 146 From observation, Simone's vocal tone sounded gentle and warm but, during the first session, interacting on video seemed to have influenced her affective expressions, which appeared a little bland and tense. During the second session, she appeared more relaxed, demonstrated more structuring and a clearer enjoyment of her daughter. Generally, Simone structured interactions positively and successfully, although attempts were short in duration. She followed Sasha’s cues and interests in a non-intrusive and non-hostile manner, demonstrated good emotional regulation, respect and minimal signs of negativity. Sasha scored differently on the two child dimensions. Although not avoidant or emotionally shut down, she was not very expressive either, particularly in the first session. This is despite her overall relaxed demeanour. She also tended to appear task-oriented and gave the overall impression of not being totally emotionally connected to her mother. Sasha was less involving than she was responsive. She demonstrated some simple initiatives but did not elaborate much. For example, smiling and babbling were infrequent, particularly during the first session. Overall, Simone and Sasha appear to have a generally positive relationship, but they also demonstrated factors to indicate that their emotional connection is not entirely. Despite the overall high scores, their relationship appears to be 'apparently' healthy, according to Emotional Availability (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). Table 28: Summary of Simone and Sasha’s Emotional Availability scores Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 26.5 High 25 High 27 High 27.5 High 23 High 20.5 Borderline high/mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 26 27 23 27 27 27 28 27 22 24 19 147 Video 2 22 Interview Findings Verification was given by Simone who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix W. The overall meaning units/themes from Simone's interview are shown in the second column of Table 29. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, and (3) need gratification and protection, as shown in the first column of Table 29. Other meaning units are also included, such as how Simone’s speech background impacted her interaction and her thoughts about play. Table 29: Simone’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Meaning Units/Themes Knowledge acquisition Other Interacting with Sasha is a lovely happy and nice experience Simone feels a sense of pride and happy surprise when she sees Sasha do something new or different It’s particularly lovely to see Sasha laughing during interactions It’s particularly lovely to see Sasha reaching new developmental milestones It’s pleasant having a non-busy day to spend with Sasha Simone enjoys true one-on-one time with Sasha Sasha does not experience negative feelings when interacting with Sasha Simone experiences positive thoughts when interacting with Sasha e.g. isn’t it nice she’s an easy going baby Sasha has a very settled and easy going temperament (e.g. she sleeps well) which means Simone doesn’t feel as exhausted as when Tom (her eldest) was a baby At home Simone is preoccupied with thoughts e.g. jobs that need to be done Simone’s preoccupation with jobs to be done and scheduling appointments means she’s not always in the moment Simone will note the different things Sasha does during play Simone particularly notices new developments and will often think about whether Sasha’s development is on par with her age It’s difficult finding true one-on-one time Simone’s experience of competing for one-on-one attention with her own mother has influenced her desire o dedicate one-on-one time with her kids. Simone consciously thought about letting Sasha lead the play etc during the video sessions NONE Play happens so often that Simone feels she is frequently playing with the kids and supervising their pay. It happens so often she hadn’t really thought about what play is or how she plays with Sasha before the video sessions 148 Interaction in the video sessions is different to home Discussion A key feature of Simone’s experience of interacting with Sasha is pleasure. Observing Sasha being happy during play (e.g. smiling and laughing) in turn sparks positive thoughts and feelings in Simone. Furthermore, Simone particularly enjoys the opportunity to have one-on-one time with Sasha. With the demands of caring for another child, working and maintaining a household, Simone rarely has time to spend playing with Sasha on her own. She says, “It’s also just nice getting a day with her and not being so busy (...) It’s lovely spending time with her and playing” 24 Another key feature is that Simone experiences developmental and structuring focussed thoughts during play. For example, she thinks about whether behaviours are indicative of developmental age. Simone expands on her thought processes by describing her conscious effort to scaffold child led play. She says, “I have tried to let her lead the play and pull out what she wants or pause and give her time to say things”. Interestingly, Simone says she does not put in the same conscious effort at home because she is preoccupied with work and home related responsibilities. She says, “(...) at home I’m pretty much preoccupied actually, as in, like maybe not always there in the moment, like maybe thinking, ‘gosh it’s 2 o’clock not and in a couple of hours I’ll have to go and do this’”. Importantly, Sasha scored highly in all of the parental dimensions. This suggests that her conscious efforts to follow Sasha’s lead and structure interactions according to Sasha’s responses helped to facilitate high emotional availability. 24 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Simone’s interview which took place on July, 4, 2011. 149 Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Simone thought about, and implemented child-led play. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Simone interacted with high (not quite optimal) Emotional Availability by following Sasha’s lead and positively scaffolding interactions according to Sasha’s cues and responses. The Interview findings reveal that Simone consciously tried to be emotionally available by intentionally implementing principles of child-led play. She also experienced feelings of pleasure, enjoyment and fun by seeing Sasha being happy during play. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that Simone’s conscious effort to be ‘in the moment’ and follow Sasha’s lead helped to facilitate high Emotional Availability. Also, experiencing emotionally available one-on-one interaction facilitated thoughts and feelings which contributed positively to the mother-infant relationship. MACY & SANDRA Sandra is Macy’s first child. At the first video session she was 7.5 months old, a little hungry but otherwise happy and relaxed. At the second video session she was 8 months old and appeared a little unhappy and restless. Findings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Macy's scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 28, she scored between 26.5 and 27. on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non150 Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Sandra also scored highly for Child Responsiveness (24.5) and Child Involvement (22.5). From observation, Macy’s affect was warm and animated, although slightly ‘over-the-top’ at times. She was aware of Sandra’s cues and consistently responded promptly and appropriately. Macy structured interactions positively and successfully and she followed Sandra’s lead by guiding interactions according to Sandra’s interest cues in a non-intrusive and non-hostile manner. Sandra appeared generally happy and relaxed and demonstrated a range of affect and expressiveness. She was likely to respond positively and showed only some dysregulation but was able to be regulated quickly and easily. Sandra was also quite involving for her age. She frequently looked at Macy, imitated her actions, babbled and smiled. She demonstrated some negatively involving behaviours in session 2 which lowered her overall involvement score. Table 30: Summary of Macy and Sandra’s Emotional Availability scores Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 26.5 High 26.5 High 26.5 High 27 High 24.5 High 22.5 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 27 26 27 26 27 26 27 27 26 23 24 21 Interview Findings Verification was given by Macy who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix X. 151 The overall meaning units/themes from Macy’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 31. These meaning units were related to all four attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition, as shown in the first column of Table 31. Other meaning units are also included such as how singing is naturally integrated into everyday life. Table 31: Macy’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Meaning Units/Themes Knowledge acquisition Other Interacting with Sandra is a happy and rewarding experience for Macy, especially when she sees Sandra is working something out and her expressions Macy feels happy when she sees Sandra is happy Macy can feel frustrated when she is having trouble working out why Sandra is upset. Sandra loves hearing the same songs being sung, however Macy is feeling a need to expand her repertoire. She feels a bit bored of the songs she knows and would like to learn some new songs for herself When Sandra is upset she wishes she could do something to help Sandra feel happier When Sandra is upset Macy will think of what could be causing her distress. She wants to help Sandra and will think of what she can do to help her child feel happier. Playschool have Macy ideas about the manner in which to sing songs (in a manner engaging to an infant) Interacting and caring for Sandra is all about trying to make her happy. Being a mum is doing whatever will make Sandra happy. Sandra’s reactions drive the direction of interactions. If Sandra is enjoying herself Macy will continue doing the same thing. If Sandra is not looking interested she still try something else. Sandra’s enjoyment or interest in certain things inspire interactions e.g. enjoyment of making noises inspired Macy to make a shaker Sometimes Macy will try a range of different things to see if it makes Sandra happy Sandra is having trouble sleeping so Macy is considering learning lullabies or using music to help her sleep more easily. Singing calms Sandra’s distress and makes her happy e.g. Stopping her crying the car Macy is fascinated and curious by what makes Sandra tick and how she learns things. It’s amazing to watch the development Macy found the BabyLab environment and interacting on chairs was quite restricting. (She would normally pick Sandra up more and dance around). Singing comes very naturally to Macy now. At first she used to sing along to a CD but now that she knows the songs she sings them live Singing is simply integrated into everyday life. Sometimes songs are sung randomly throughout a day and other times Macy will have a longer one-on-one time with Sandra Sandra loves music. When she hears an ad jingle she looks up. She particular loves songs with actions and movements Sandra’s facial expressions indicate she recognises songs 152 Discussion For Macy, the goal of interacting is to make Sandra happy. Consequently, her thoughts are often concerned with achieving the happiness goal. She thinks about how Sandra is feeling (e.g. happy, distressed, bored etc), interprets behaviours to work out what’s wrong and judges what to do based on Sandra’s expressions, cues and responses. For example, Macy says, “Yeah, like her reaction. Like yeah, obviously if she’s loving it then you keep going” 25 and “Yeah, you know your own child, you do usually work out what she wants”. The impression she gives is that she is able to interpret and respond to Sandra’s cues and signals and do so easily. The experience of interacting is emotionally contagious; when Sandra is happy, Macy feels happy. Also, when Macy observes Sandra’s developmental growth she experiences additional feelings of fascination and amazement. She says, “Well I’m fascinated by her, like um, just to see her work things out I just um, I’m kind of amazed that a little person is learning things for the first time”. Overall, a combination of pleasure, contagious happiness, fascination and amazement characterise the experience of interacting for Macy. Importantly, singing is not entirely differentiated from non-singing play interactions; it is simply integrated into everyday life and mother-infant interactions. Macy does not discuss if/how her own experience of singing is different from nonsinging interactions. However, when Macy talks of singing, she describes singing as having a particular purpose in keeping Sandra happy. For example, she says: For a while there the Wheels on the bus was the only song that would shut her up in the car. Yeah, ‘cause she used to hate the car so there was a lot of singing done in the car 25 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Macy’s interview which took place on July, 11, 2011. 153 and sometimes that was the only thing that would stop her from crying so you had to constantly sing From Macy’s descriptions, singing songs is distinctly more reliable (than non-singing interactions) to soothe Sandra’s distress; she does not mention other tools capable of achieving such modulation in the way singing does. Thus, Macy does differentiate singing from non-singing interactions by considering it to be a particularly effective tool for modulating Sandra’s emotions. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Macy’s intentions were to maintain Sandra’s happy state and that she was able to achieve this goal by interacting with high emotional availability. The Interview findings reveal that Macy often thought about Sandra’s cues, signals and behaviours and experienced a combination of positive feelings during interactions such as pleasure, happiness, fascination and amazement. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Macy interacted with high, almost optimal, emotional availability. She easily interpreted and responded to cues and did so non-intrusively and with nonhostility. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that both singing and non-singing interactions were required to achieve Macy’s infant happiness goal. Singing was distinctly more effective and valued than non-singing methods to modulate Sandra’s distress, yet considered a naturally integral component of everyday mother-infant interaction. This suggests that when singing is ingrained into everyday life and integrated with non-singing play interactions, it may serve a unique and important function in meeting infant needs. 154 YASMIN & OTTO Otto is Yasmin’s first child. He was 5.6 months old at his first video session and 6.1 months old at his second video session. During both sessions Otto appeared very happy and content. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Yasmin’s scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 32, she scored between 25.5 and 28.5 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Otto scored highly for Child Responsiveness (23.5) but was borderline mid and high scores for Child Involvement (19.5). From observation, Yasmin was warm, genuine and clearly enjoyed her child. She responded to Otto’s interests and cues promptly and structured interactions positively and successfully. Yasmin followed Otto’s lead and patiently provided him as much choice as possible in a highly non-hostile manner. Even when she was sick during the second video session she remained energetic, enthusiastic, warm and positive. Otto demonstrated an overall happy and relaxed demeanour and good emotional regulation. He was also likely to respond positively to Yasmin and showed frequent positive expressiveness. However, Otto was less involving than he was responsive. He frequently demonstrated behavioural initiative e.g. looking and smiling but only occasionally utilised vocal means of initiative such as babbling. 155 Table 32: Summary of Yasmin and Otto’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 26 High 25.5 High 27.5 High 28.5 High 23.5 High 19.5 Borderline high/mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 26.5 25 25 26 28 27 29 28 24 23 20 19 Interview Findings Verification was given by Yasmin who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix Y. The overall meaning units/themes from Yasmin’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 33. These meaning units were related to all four attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition, as shown in the first column of Table 33. Other meaning units are also included such as how having Otto has impacted Yasmin’s life generally. Table 33: Yasmin’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ Yasmin feels a positive satisfied feeling when she interacts with Otto, sees his smiles, giggles and development Yasmin feels positive feelings particularly when she sees he is more interactive and happy than other babies Yasmin feels happy knowing that Otto is happy Playing and interacting offers Yasmin and Otto something other than mechanical caregiving routines. It provides time to have fun together. Yasmin also likes interacting when she doesn’t have to think about what to do next e.g. swimming relieves some pressure to think while providing time to have fun together The time since Otto’s birth has gone quickly. She is used to being with him constantly to the point where she misses him a little e.g. after a long sleep. Yasmin can feel frustrate when she is having difficulty working out what Otto is 156 acceptance Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other trying to communicate Yasmin experiences a very happy positive feeling knowing that she can make Otto feel happy e.g. morning routine. Yasmin observes Otto’s behaviour to work out what he wants Otto’s growing expressions helps Yasmin feel more confident in her abilities to interpret Otto’s communications. Yasmin patiently thinks about what could be wrong when Otto cries. Yasmin wonders if she is giving Otto too little or too much stimulation Yasmin often thinks about giving Otto the right amount of stimulation. She has noticed that as Otto grows older he is seeking greater stimulation. She is conscious of providing him variety (in what she offers) and in finding ways to keep him amused. Yasmin has found that incorporating play into caregiving routines has helped her to get through the job more easily Otto’s reactions and behaviours direct the interaction. If Otto is enjoying himself Yasmin will continue what she’s doing, if not she’ll try something else. Yasmin feels satisfied and proud when she can figure out what Otto is trying to communicate Part of parenting and interacting is getting to know Otto’s personality better and working out what he likes and doesn’t like Interacting in the BabyLab is different to at home. Yasmin generally doesn’t spend 20 minutes straight interacting with Otto Having Otto has helped put things into perspective Discussion Yasmin’s experience of play-based interaction differs from need-based interaction. Playful interactions are described as the ‘fun side’ of mothering and a pleasurable means of enjoying each other’s company. Yasmin says: A lot of the time that we’re together it’s more mechanical sort of things, like having to feed him and having to change his nappy and that’s kind of like just his wellbeing I guess, but actually interacting is kind of the fun side of it 26 Playful interactions are also a means for Yasmin to get to know her son better. Knowing what Otto likes and dislikes helps Yasmin to keep Otto happy. She says, “but now I’m probably a bit more aware of things we can do together, like what I can do to amuse him”. Additionally, knowing that she can make Otto happy provides Yasmin feelings of satisfaction. In contrast, need-based interactions are not described as pleasurable. Instead, successfully meeting Otto’s needs facilitate a sense of pride and confidence in Yasmin’s perceived mothering abilities. Yasmin will patiently 26 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Yasmin’s interview which took place on July, 28, 2011. 157 interpret Otto’s behaviours and experience positive feelings when she observes her ability to make Otto happy and address his needs. Another key feature of Yasmin’s experience of playing and interacting with Otto is that she thinks a lot about structuring. For example, Yasmin describes interpreting Otto’s cues and behaviours and intentionally trying to avoid overstimulation by saying, “I sometimes wonder if I’m giving him enough or not enough or too much to do (…) If he’s a bit unsettled I don’t want to give him too much stuff to do in case he wants to go to sleep”. Otto’s enjoyment and interest cues also help Yasmin decide the direction of interactions. For example, she says, “So if I shake a little soft toy at him and he doesn’t like it, I’ll give him something else”. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Yasmin consciously tried, and was observed to be emotionally available. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Yasmin and Otto had a positive and highly emotionally available mother-infant relationship. The Interview findings reveal that Yasmin thought about structuring interactions according to Otto’s signals. The findings also reveal that fun-based and need-based interactions added contrasting elements to Yasmin’s perception of attachment. Playful interactions provided Yasmin pleasure and enjoyment of Otto, whereas successful need-based interactions provided pride in her mothering competency. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that fun-based play interactions contributed a unique element to Yasmin and Otto’s relationship. It provided a means for Yasmin to get to know and take joy in her child which was not experienced during need-based interactions. Furthermore, Yasmin 158 thought about and appropriately implemented dimensions of emotional availability, particularly structuring and sensitivity. This suggests that an awareness of, and conscious effort to be emotionally availability is an essential component to actually being emotionally available. Overall, experiencing highly emotionally available funbased play interactions contributed uniquely and positively to Yasmin’s attachment constructs and her relationship with Otto. TEGAN & LEVI Levi is Tegan’s second child. He was 5.6 months old at his first video session and 6.1 months old at his second video session. During both video sessions, Levi appeared quite sleepy and took a while to ‘wake up’, despite having recently awoken from a long sleep. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. As shown in Table 34, Tegan scored highly for Parental Structuring (21.5), NonIntrusiveness (27) and Non-Hostility (25.5), although her Structuring score was at the low end of the high category range. She was also borderline between mid and high scores for Parental Sensitivity (20). Levi was similarly borderline between mid and high scores for Child Responsiveness (20) and categorised as mid for Child Involvement (17). Tegan’s affect appeared a little in-genuine and she seemed to have to work hard to draw affect from Levi. Her actions were somewhat laboured, repetitive and inconsistent in regard to the promptness of her responses to Levi’s cues. These 159 factors indicate that Tegan was not entirely emotionally connected to Levi, according to Emotional Availability (Biringen, 2008b; Condon, 2010). Tegan’s attempts to structure interactions and engage Levi were fleeting and only sometimes successful. She tried, but sometimes ‘lost’ Levi and it took a long period of time for Tegan and Levi to engage in positive moments of sustained play. Generally, her interactions were not structuring per se but rather parallel play. Tegan was generally nonintrusive but slightly hostile (particularly in the first video session) as demonstrated by some disrespectful sighs, comments and annoyance, e.g. “What!?” Levi was not very involving. He provided few initiation cues for Tegan to follow and seemed mostly task-oriented. It also took a long period of time for him to demonstrate any elaborative involvement by smiling and sustaining eye-contact. Levi demonstrated limited affect and expressiveness. He became dysregulated throughout the sessions, had difficulty calming down and appeared to take a long time to ‘wake up’ or show some enthusiasm. Combined with Tegan’s emotional availability, this relationship did not appear entirely emotionally connected. The connection seemed to come and go and was considered to be ‘apparently’ rather than entirely, healthy (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). Table 34: Summary of Tegan and Levi’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 20 Borderline high/mid 21.5 High 27 High 25.5 High 20 Borderline high/mid 17 Mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 20 20 22 21 26 28 24 27 20 20 18 16 160 Interview Findings Verification was given by Tegan who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix Z. The overall meaning units/themes from Tegan’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 35. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection, as shown in the first column of Table 35. Other meaning units are included such as, how Tegan’s interactions are an unconscious behaviour. Table 35: Tegan’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Tolerance/ acceptance Meaning Units/Themes When Tegan sees that Levi is happy see feels happy Playing and interacting with Levi is a fun and happy experience Tegan experiences mixed feelings when she sees Levi progress developmentally. She feels proud and excited but at the same time a little sad because seeing his progression marks the end of the baby stage. Tegan can feel stressed when nothing seems to make Levi happy or calm Tegan will automatically use strategies that have previously made Levi happy e.g. hand play Tegan also experiences a sense of relief when she sees Levi’s development. Seeing Levi become more independent and less clingy sparks feelings of relief – it symbolises the possibility of more freedom for Tegan and the option of having some time to herself. Seeing Levi develop marks the beginning of a new phase: more independence for both Levi and Tegan. Tegan does not want to see Levi upset. If he is looking bored or upset Tegan will think things such as “ok, don’t cry, try something else” or “Quick! Change position, do something else” to immediately try to make him feel happy. How Tegan interacted in the video session is slightly different to how she interacts at home – the immediacy of her actions may differ due to the demands of looking after two children and simultaneously fulfilling household duties Tegan does not get much one-on-one time with Levi. However, there are opportunities to interact with Levi alone when Xavier is occupied playing on his own Playing with Levi is a way of taking care of the whole household. When Levi is happy then everyone is happy by making the day less stressful, calmer and run more smoothly. Playing keeps the peace in Tegan’s household. Levi’s happy responses determine the direction of the play e.g. if Levi is looking happy she will continue with a current toy or play interaction Interacting and playing is about getting positive reactions from Levi. Tegan will try different thing knowing that eventually Levi will give her positive responses. NONE Tegan doesn’t consciously think of what to do next, play just happens Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other 161 Discussion Eliciting positive responses from Levi is the main aim and focus of playing and interacting with him. Even if Levi is not responding to Tegan’s attempts she will patiently continue to use different play ideas with the confidence of eventually eliciting a response. She says, “You just keep trying to get a response” 27 and “Usually it doesn’t take long to get something out of him. So you know it [positive reaction] will come eventually”. In other words, Tegan is not concerned when Levi is unresponsive or uninvolving. Instead, she patiently waits for a response. Tegan does not experience many thoughts during interactions. She will think about trying something new or different if Levi is unresponsive or responds negatively, but otherwise does not consider any other specific structuring strategies during play. She gives the impression of knowing that she ought to do something with Levi, but is not entirely sure of how to interact. Indeed, her Structuring score (21 of 29) was on the bottom on the high category range and the limited amount and successful structuring observed in the videos is far from ideal. Overall, Tegan seems to be reactive, rather than proactive, saying, for example, “Like, I noticed that if he started getting upset it was like, ‘Aw! Quick, change positions, do something else’ ”. Suggestibly, her lack of awareness and intentional implementation of structuring principles contributed to her lower scores. A striking feature of Tegan’s experience is that negativity is apparent in certain thoughts, feelings and behaviours, particularly when she describes how she planned to bottle feed Levi from the beginning but frustratingly, Levi refused to take the bottle. Frustration was also coupled with fatigue due to Levi’s constant clinginess (over-dependence) for the first 5 and half months of his life which made it 27 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Tegan’s interview which took place on November, 17, 2011. 162 impossible for anyone besides Tegan to care for Levi. Tegan talks about being helplessly placed in a difficult and unwanted situation from the very beginning, saying: Yeah we had this thing. I wasn’t going to breastfeed. He was going to go on to a bottle straight away and he will not take a bottle (…) And it’s like I can’t do anything because he won’t take a bottle so I can’t leave him with anyone. So it’s sort of like I’ve had to have him the whole time A degree of annoyance and resentment becomes particularly apparent in comments such as “I’ve had to have him the whole time” (Tegan was forced into a particular interaction dynamic, freedom of choice was removed), and “I can’t do anything because he won’t take a bottle” (blame is placed on the infant). Presumably, Tegan developed hostility toward Levi as a consequence of their unplanned situation and unhealthy over-dependent history. However, Tegan also describes recently experiencing a reduction of hostility characterised by feelings of relief and excitement, as she observes a shift in her relationship with Levi. She says: It feels good. I left him the other day with his dad to go and do stuff And because he’s always been so whingy and that no-one’s ever wanted to look after him so he’s always been with me. So now it’s getting to that point where I can let go a little bit In other words, Levi’s growing independence and diminishing clinginess also symbolises Tegan’s growing independence. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that a typical dyad is not necessarily a healthy dyad. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Tegan and Levi’s relationship was ‘apparently’, rather than entirely healthy (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). The Interview findings reveal that Tegan thought 163 about interactions in a rather reactive way, did not seem to be aware of structuring as a concept or how to implement it and experienced hostility toward Levi. These negative thoughts and feelings began when he was born and continued into participation in the study. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that previously shattered mothering expectations and over-dependent relationship dynamics promoted behavioural and emotional hostility towards Levi. The findings also suggest that Tegan’s aim to elicit positive responses without apparent understanding and/or implementation of interaction principles facilitated lower and unideal emotional availability. Overall, Tegan’s case demonstrates that a dyad not considered as ‘at risk’ may be in need of guidance and support to improve the quality of interactions and health of the mother-infant relationship. MAXINE & CARA Cara is Maxine’s first child. At her first video session, she was 5.2 months old and looked very happy. At the second video session, Cara was 5.7 months old and appeared very sleepy throughout the video session. Maxine reported Cara recently sleeping a lot, perhaps due to a growth spurt. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Maxine’s scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table36, she scored between 25 and 27 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non- 164 Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Cara also scored highly for Child Responsiveness (21.5) but was borderline mid and high scores for Child Involvement (19.5). From observation, Maxine was warm and animated although sometimes appeared to have a ‘performance’ quality to her affect. She was aware of cues and responded promptly and appropriately. Her structuring led Cara in a positive way and was mostly successful. She also followed Cara’s lead and interests consistently in a very non-intrusive and non-hostile manner. Cara's affect was generally positive although she could have been more expressive. She showed some signs of distress and dysregulation but was able to be regulated. Cara was less involving than she was responsive. She used mainly nonverbal means of initiation (e.g. looking and smiling) and occasionally used verbal sounds. However, most of her vocalisations expressed distress or negatively involving behaviours. Table 36: Summary of Maxine and Cara’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 25 High 26 High 27 High 27 High 21.5 High 19.5 Borderline high/mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 25 25 25 27 27 27 27 27 22 21 19 20 Interview Findings Verification was given by Maxine who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix AA. 165 The overall meaning units/themes from Maxine’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 37. These meaning units were related to all four attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition, as shown in the first column of Table 37. Other meaning units are included, such as how singing is a naturally major part of playtime. Table 37: Maxine’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other Playing and interacting with Cara is fun and pleasurable. It feels very rewarding to see Cara smiling and having fun Singing interactions are more of a pleasurable and enjoyable experience for Maxine When feeling stressed Maxine will force herself into a happy play period to make herself feel happy. Even if it starts off a bit fake the act of focussing on Cara pushes out other thoughts and lifts her mood (includes singing) When Cara was younger interactions were focused on caregiving, whereas not she is responding more with smiles etc it’s more about being engaged and having fun together Interactions provide an opportunity for Maxine and Cara to be engaged and have fun together Maxine feels amazement when she sees Cara’s development It is during the focussed play time that Maxine feels the positive and emotional/rewarding benefits of the interaction (happy bonding feelings) Seeing Cara happy provides feelings of satisfaction and reinforcement that Maxine is a good mother Maxine feels she is bonding with Cara when they are engaged and having fun together Maxine uses singing as a calming tool when she cannot give Cara a physical cuddle e.g. driving in the car Maxine turns caregiving routines into play time. Everything becomes play There are two different types of interactions (1) fun, engaged interaction involving both Maxine and Cara and (2) distraction interactions where Maxine isn’t focussed on Cara e.g. she may try to help Cara calm and entertained with a toy in one hand while doing something else with the other. Maxine is motivated to learn more rhymes etc to use with Cara so that she has more tools available to help Cara’s development and have fun together Maxine is aware that the interactions are good food Cara’s language development as well as a means of having fun together Cara’s reactions determine the direction of the interaction. When Cara smiles and gives happy positive responses Maxine knows that Cara is having fun so will continue with the interaction. If Cara gives no response Maxine knows that she’s either not interested or not yet ready for play. There are a few reliable things that consistently make Cara giggle. If Cara does not respond to these then Maxine definitely knows Cara is not in the mood for play. Playful interactions are a way of learning more about Cara and who she is Playing and interacting with Cara involves a lot of singing rhymes and finger play. It involves less toys and more social interaction. Singing is simply integrated into everyday play time It was difficult and felt unnatural for Maxine not to sing during the video 166 sessions Playful interactions happen randomly throughout a day Discussion What is striking about Maxine’s experience of interacting with Cara, is that singing is simply integrated into play and caregiving. Maxine describes her play interactions with Cara as follows: Ah, playing with Cara generally consists of a lot of songs. We don’t do much in terms of toys (…) Play is mostly, I am her play toy. We do lots of bouncing rhymes and finger plays and those types of things 28 . Maxine also specifically mentions singing (as opposed to another non-singing tool) as a reliable method of calming Cara down, saying, for example, “I sing while we’re walking but only if she’s getting upset. I use it as a calming tool when we’re out and about”. Evidently, singing is perceived to serve specific and unique functions while also being an integral element of play. Maxine is aware of different types of play and her role in scaffolding the interaction. For example, she describes how there are some instances where Maxine and Cara are not playing together per se, rather, the attention is on an external object and Maxine is guiding and encouraging Cara’s play of the object, saying, “Yeah, that’s probably a self-guided play where I’m there to just encourage her”. Such awareness and implementation of structuring and non-intrusiveness may have helped Maxine to facilitate high emotional availability. At the very least, Maxine demonstrates purposeful intention behind her behaviours. Maxine also differentiates between fun/engaged interactions versus distraction interactions. She describes fun and engaged interaction as an opportunity 28 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Maxine’s interview which took place on November, 22, 2011. 167 to experience togetherness and bonding with Cara. Interactions that are focussed on entertaining Cara, particularly while Maxine is trying to perform another task, are felt as necessary distractions. Maxine says: We’re engaged and we’re having fun and we’re bonding (…) I can definitely see the difference between, for me, and for her, between when I actually have focussed play and when I am just trying to entertain her while I’m trying to get other things done (…) it’s not what I would consider play, it’s what, I consider it distraction for her 2 In other words, whether speech or song, it is when Maxine is focussed on Cara (not multi-tasking) that she will experience a sense of togetherness and bonding. Another striking feature of Maxine’s experience involves the observation of Cara’s developmental growth. When she watches Cara reach developmental milestones, Maxine describes experiencing a combination of positive feelings, including : (1) amazement when she observes her daughter’s development, (2) appreciation of her ability/opportunity to notice Cara’s progression, and (3) appreciation of her influential role as mother, in encouraging Cara’s development, saying, “Yeah, it’s amazing to see them and to encourage them and to be paying close enough attention I can see them happening and know I can try doing different things to encourage them”. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Maxine thought about and appropriately implemented dimensions of emotional availability. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Maxine and Cara had a positive and highly emotionally available relationship. The Interview findings reveal that Maxine considered Cara’s needs, the type of guidance required during particular play interactions and intentionally structured play by providing positive guidance. 168 Also, when addressing Cara’s distress, Maxine specifically chose to sing rather than employ other non-singing methods. Furthermore, Maxine only experienced feelings of togetherness and bonding during focussed play time with Cara; it was interacting for engagement rather than distraction/entertainment purposes which promoted connectedness. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate two things: (1) that singing may serve a unique and important function in modulating infant emotions in a way that non-singing interactions cannot, and (2) it is by experiencing focussed, engaged and successful interactions that a mother may feel a sense of togetherness and bonding with her infant. Overall, Maxine’s case demonstrated that by using both singing and non-singing interactions with high emotional availability and ingraining them into everyday life a mother may experience multiple positive impacts to the maternal attachment constructs. RAYNA & ELLIE Rayna is the mother of two daughters, Abigail and Ellie. Second born, Ellie was 7.3 months old at the first video session and 7.8 months old at her second video session. During both sessions she appeared happy and relaxed. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Rayna’s scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 38, she scored between 24 and 27 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non- 169 Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Ellie also scored highly for Child Responsiveness (24) and Child Involvement (26.4). From observation, Rayna's affect was a little bland but her voice was warm, animated and calm. She was aware of Ellie’s cues and consistently responded to them. She also structured well by leading Ellie positively and successfully and employing preventative measures in a non-intrusive manner. However, Rayna was quite hostile as demonstrated by an overall fatigued demeanour and occasional disrespectful/irritated comments such as “say it, not spray it” and “raspberry girl”. Such hostility gives an impression of a complicated history or at least adds an ‘off’ quality to the relationship. Therefore, despite her high scores, the relationship could not be given a clean bill of health and seemed ‘apparently’ rather than entirely healthy, according to Emotional Availability (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). Ellie generally looked happy and relaxed, was likely to respond to Rayna positively and demonstrated good emotional regulation. She was also very involving for her age. She imitated Rayna’s actions, sustained eye contact, blew raspberries and babbled frequently. Table 38: Summary of Rayna and Ellie’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 26.5 High 26.5 High 27 High 24 High 26.5 High 24 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 27 26 26 27 28 26 24 24 27 26 24 24 170 Interview Findings Verification was given by Rayna who agreed that the revised transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix BB. The overall meaning units/themes from Rayna’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 39. These meaning units were related to all four attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition. Table 39: Rayna’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Rayna sometimes finds playing with Ellie boring and repetitive. These aspects make it difficult for Rayna to sustain interactions for long periods of time Rayna feels tired often, so when Rayna sits down to play with Ellie she finds that her body relaxes and it is difficult to focus and be energetic Rayna will also experience affectionate feelings when Ellie comes up to Rayna for a cuddle. When Rayna sees Ellie do things and development she experiences feelings of pride and amazement. Rayna experiences a happy, rewarding and contented feeling when she sees that Ellie is happy (whether during interactions or when she is playing on her own) Rayna does not play with Ellie a lot. She feels it’s not really her parenting style to sit and play with her children a lot. She will tend to give Ellie a toy but not sit and play with Ellie. Also Rayna is always busy with housework so it takes a conscious effort to dedicate play time with her two children. As a parenting course suggested she tries to aim for 10 minutes of child-lead play a day but it is difficult to find the time each day During interactions and play with Ellie Rayna may feel guilty that she doesn’t play with Ellie more often and that she is always so busy thinking about what else she needs to be doing. The constant demands Ellie made also created a strong feeling that Rayna is Ellie’s mum Ellie often felt frustrated by Ellie’s early demands and the constant self-sacrificing element of mothering her. Now that Rayna can see Ellie be happy and play happily (whether on her own or with Rayna) Rayna experiences a sense of peace of contentment Seeing Ellie able to be separate from Rayna also provides feelings of relief that Ellie does not need Rayna so constantly as in the past and that Rayna. She also feels relieved that she is able to have more personal space and freedom. Additionally, because Ellie was so whingy for such a long time Rayna developed negative thoughts about Ellie. Seeing Ellie be happy with separation minimises these negative thoughts Interacting and playing with Ellie provides a bonding opportunity for Rayna. Having positive fun interacting makes Rayna feel closer to Ellie Interacting and playing with Ellie provides a new dimension to Rayna and Ellie’s relationship. In the first 7 months of her life Ellie would either be feeding, sleeping 171 Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other or whinging. Rayna still loved her but looking after Ellie was difficult. Rayna previously thought negatively of Ellie but now Rayna is able to think more positive thoughts as well. Seeing Ellie be more independent and less clingy calms Rayna’s parental worries by providing reassurance that Ellie is alright and normal. Rayna will often watch out for developmental milestones and think about how Ellie is progressing. Rayna will think about what things Ellie like, what will keep her happy and what will be the winning distraction song/toy/strategy. Rayna is often distracted by the housework she needs to do. She is always so busy thinking about what else she needs to be doing. Even with interacting with Ellie she needs to multi-task and keep an eye on Abigail She will sing spontaneously throughout the day and during routine activities such as washing hands to make the activity fun to do. Rayna has noticed that both her children love singing and it’s a great distraction when they are crying. At the moment Open Shut Them is the winning distraction. Ellie almost always stops crying and listens to the song. Interactions are shaped by Ellie’s reactions. Rayna will think about what Ellie has enjoyed before and do/use that. If Ellie looks disinterested in a toy then she’ll they something else. She is guided by Ellie’s reactions Interacting and playing with Ellie is a way of getting to know Ellie. Rayna will often think about what Ellie will be interested in when she’s older and what kind of child she will be Rayna always tries to figure out what makes Ellie tick to get to know her. She thinks things such as “Why are you doing that?” Playing with her now and seeing the positive reactions helps Rayna to get to know Ellie as more than just a whingy child. It provides a means of appreciated Ellie beyond what her needs demand. Rayna finds that singing bouncy action songs (e.g. Row row row your boat and Humpty dumpty) with Ellie is more how we plays with Ellie than with toys. Discussion Rayna’s experience of interacting involves many features. For example, observing Ellie’s progressing development during play promotes feelings of amazement, wonder and awe. Also, observing Ellie during play also sparks curiosity in Rayna mind. She says, “I think I’m always analysing. What are you doing? Why are you doing that? (…) trying to figure out what makes her tick” 29 However, what is striking is that Rayna’s current experience of interaction is defined by the past. Before participating in the study, Rayna’s interactions with Ellie were extremely self-sacrificing and based on whinging or clinginess. She says: Yeah it’s hard to have a whingy baby and not be able to do much (…) It was frustrating because she was so whingy so I couldn’t do much else with her but um, but I always felt 29 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Rayna’s interview which took place on November, 29, 2011 172 like her mum, her mother (…) I always felt like yep, I’m your mum. Like, I think that was partly because she seemed to know it too, to demand it Despite being draining and frustrating, Ellie’s constant clinginess became the foundation of attachment. Judging from her comments, Rayna's emotional bond to Ellie was based on responding to constant separation anxiety which facilitated an unhealthy insecure over-dependent connection. Rayna is aware of the negative consequences of Ellie’s over-dependence. She describes how Ellie’s constant demands promoted negativity by saying: I think it’s, because it’s um, Ellie was so difficult I guess, so um, I mean you still love them, I still loved her, but it was hard because she was either feeding sleeping or whinging (…) I just thought it really affected how I viewed her. And I would always think of her negatively in my head. Currently, Ellie is more physically independent, less clingy and less demanding. As a result, Rayna’s experience of interacting with Ellie has changed. Instead of experiencing predominantly negative thoughts and feelings she now feels reassurance that nothing is wrong with Ellie as well as a sense of peace that knowing that she is indeed a healthy happy baby: So um, through just playing with her now, I go ‘it’s ok’. It reassures me that she’s alright because she’s more normal and quieter and calmer (…) I’m ‘oh, thank goodness there is a happy content child in there somewhere’ so when I play with her and more now, it just, in terms of calmness, it just like it reassures, it calms the worry (...) Yeah and just the content, like just nice to see, especially with Ellie and how whingy she was, it’s so nice to see her happy so you just feel a bit of peace Seeing a change in Ellie (i.e. being able to cope with separation) has minimised negative thoughts and allowed Rayna to view Ellie in a different light or perspective. Now, Rayna is able to appreciate Ellie beyond her demanding needs. She says, 173 “Playing with her now, it’s just, it’s starting to help me, you know, get to know her better and um, yeah I guess appreciate her more than I did because she was just so whingy”. The new physical independence and relationship dynamic between Rayna and Ellie creates a different sense of closeness during play interaction. Rayna describes feeling affectionate thoughts when Ellie plays independently then initiates a desire for cuddle time: It does, it makes you feel closer and it’s nice when they, like she plays away from me and then she’ll want the cuddles now. Like, so before it was always about being near me so it’s nice now when she can play away from me but then she’ll want me and that’s like really, what’s the word for it? You know, the warm fuzzies, it’s like ‘oh you just want a cuddle, you want mummy’s cuddles’ yeah (…) Yeah I call her a mummy’s girl and she really is, but that’s alright, like, it’s alright now because it’s not always In her explanation, Rayna reinforces that it is the lack of constant physical proximity that differentiates her current and previous experience of interaction. Ironically, it is after a period of physical separation that Rayna experiences affectionate thoughts and a positive sense of closeness to Ellie. It is because of the previous over-dependency that physical separation, personal space and occasional desire for cuddles amongst independent play, impacts positively on Rayna’s perception of attachment. Amongst the positivity of reassurance, peace and closeness, Rayna also experiences negative feelings of guilt during play. This guilt is partly generated from her difficulty in finding 10 minutes a day to experience dedicated one-on-one time with Ellie. Rayna also feels guilty because she is aware of her unfocussed attention while playing with Ellie. She says, “I’m always thinking about what else I need to be doing.” and “Yeah I’m always thinking of the ‘to do’ list, that’s part of the guilt but … I play, but I know I have to do this and this afterwards, yeah”. Furthermore, when 174 Rayna does find the time to sit down and play with Ellie, she becomes very tired and consequently has difficulty maintaining her concentration and sustaining the play. Overall, Rayna is aware of her struggles to (1) find a small amount of time for one-on-one play each day, (2) focus her attention on Ellie, and (3) sustain her attention during play. She also gives the impression of being motivated to address these issues. However, she also appears to lack the appropriate strategies to fulfil her aim of 10 minutes of daily focussed quality time with Ellie. Perhaps Rayna could benefit from more parental guidance and support to better fulfil her mothering aims, sustain focused attention on Ellie and minimise feelings of guilt. Another striking feature is the complexity of Rayna and Ellie’s relationship. Despite currently experiencing less negativity towards Ellie, Rayna demonstrates both overt and covert hostility during the video sessions. She verbalises some hostile comments with an irritated tone and demonstrates an overall fatigued demeanour. Such hostility is not ideal and suggests that Rayna and Ellie’s over-dependent relationship history has residual or lingering adverse affects on maternal constructs and the quality of mother-infant interactions. Furthermore, Rayna’s conscious efforts to facilitate positive play almost clouds the concerning health of the relationship. She describes taking note of what Ellie has liked in the past and determining the direction of interactions according to Ellie’s reactions. These thoughts convey a conscious effort to follow Ellie’s lead and structure interactions positively according to behaviours and cues. As reflected in her high sensitivity, structuring and non-intrusiveness scores Rayna’s intentions were implemented appropriately and successfully. On ‘paper’ therefore, Rayna and Ellie appear to have a healthy emotional connection. However, despite the high numerical ratings, Rayna and Ellie have an ‘apparently’, rather than entirely healthy emotional 175 connection (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). Thus, the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate the complexity of Rayna and Ellie’s relationship. What is particularly concerning about Rayna’s case is that it took seven months to experience positive changes to the relationship dynamic and maternal constructs. Rayna did not describe trying to change Ellie’s clinginess, only surviving it then gratefully welcoming the independence that came with Ellie’s growing physical development. As demonstrated by the hostility scores, the consequences of an over-dependent history involve adverse affects to the quality of mother-infant interactions. As demonstrated by the interview, the consequences of an overdependent history involve adverse affects to maternal well-being and negative attachment perception. What is difficult about Rayna’s situation is that caring for Ellie was so draining and difficult she did not have the energy or time to even consider seeking help. In other words, those in need may not be able to seek the help they require at the time they need it the most. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Rayna and Ellie’s relationship was complex. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Rayna generally interacted with high emotional availability although with some hostility. Despite the high scores, the relationship could not be given a clean bill of health and appeared ‘apparently’ rather than entirely healthy (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). The Interview findings reveal that Rayna consciously tried to facilitate childled play and was aware of her various perceptions, thoughts and feelings. The findings also reveal that an increase in Ellie’s physical independence changed the 176 nature of the mother-infant relationship and consequently provided distinctly positive changes to Rayna’s maternal constructs and well-being. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that experiencing a previous over-dependent attachment has residual effects on the quality of interactions and perception of current attachment, particularly in regards to negativity and hostility (tolerance/acceptance construct). The findings also suggest that an awareness of self and a conscious effort to be emotionally available may promote high emotionally availability. Despite her fatigue, negativity and guilt, Rayna continually tried to be, and evidently was, highly emotionally available. However, Rayna’s case also highlights that a typical dyad is not necessarily a healthy dyad. Rayna tried hard, was starkly aware of her situation and set herself mothering goals, but she still has difficulty finding strategies to fulfil her goals. Thus, despite her high scores, Rayna’s case illustrates that a mother not ‘at risk’ may want and benefit from guidance and support to intervene and improve the health of the motherinfant relationship and quality of mother-infant interactions. MARIAN & OWEN Owen is Marian’s second child. He was 5.4 months old at the first video session and 5.8 months old at the second video session. During both sessions he appeared happy and relaxed. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Marian’s scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 40, she scored 177 between 24 and 28 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Owen scored highly for Child Responsiveness (22) but was borderline between mid and high scores for Child Involvement (20). From observation, Marian's affect was warm and animated and she generally responded promptly and appropriately to Owen’s cues and signals. She was a little repetitive and could have been more flexible/creative in her play but otherwise she was highly sensitive and appeared to have a generally positive and healthy connection with Owen. Marian also structured quite well by leading Owen positively and successfully in a non-intrusive and non-hostile manner. However, she could have structured more throughout each session. Owen appeared happy and relaxed, was likely to respond to Marian positively and also demonstrated good emotional regulation. However, he could have been more expressive (e.g. babble more). Owen was also less involving than he was responsive. He occasionally looked and smiled to initiate interactions and seemed a bit task oriented at times. Table 40: Summary of Marian and Owen’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 25 High 24 High 28 High 27 High 22 High 20 Borderline high/mid Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 25 25 24 24 28 28 27 27 22 22 20 20 178 Interview Findings Verification was given by Marian who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix CC. The overall meaning units/themes from Marian’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 41. These meaning units were related to three attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance and (3) need gratification and protection, as shown in the first column of Table 41. Other meaning units are also included, such as, how Marian consciously attends various social functions to provide herself opportunities to talk to other adults. Table 41: Marian’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Tolerance/ acceptance Meaning Units/Themes Need gratification/ protection Marian will feel warm affectionate feelings when she looks at Owen and often just looking at him will have a calming effect Interacting with Owen is a happy and fun experience. It is also funny at times to watch him play Owen’s easy going nature has a huge impact on Marian and her perception of their relationship. With Amina Marian felt so on edge. With Owen, Marian feels so much more relaxed. Having direct yet contact and seeing positive responses from Owen help Marian to feel close to Owen Only sometimes will Marian feel frustrated when Owen is not getting to sleep as quickly as she’d like Marian has noticed that Owen responds to her in a different way to other adults e.g. he will not settle as quickly without her and he will find Marian amongst a room full of people. These responses reinforce the feeling that she is ‘mum’; a significant person to Owen. At times Marian will feel a sense of protectiveness (particularly when safety is a concern) Marian will think of a variety of thoughts while interacting with Owen e.g. making him smile, encouraging his language, making sure he is clean and what other things she needs to do. When playing Marian tries to limit Owen to one toy at a time so that Owen can better concentrate and explore properly Because Owen is such an easy going baby he does not demand much interaction with Marian Marian does not get a lot of time to just sit and interact with Owen one-on-one. Interactions with Owen usually occur with Amina or when Amina is around. Generally these interactions involve giving Owen a toy to make sure that he’s happy so that Marian to tend to Amina rather than interacting with him. Marian is conscious of how much time she does or does not spend with Owen. She consciously tries to distribute ‘touch time’ equally between her two children. 179 Knowledge acquisition Other Marian is conscious of switching moods/mind sets quickly to make sure Owen and Amina do not feel her frustrations or stress. Although they feel fake they help her children to feel that everything is alright One-on-one interactions with Owen feels different to when Amina is around because it is more intent and focussed. It is also when Marian tends to receive direct eye contact and positive responses from Owen (not exclusively though) Owen’s reactions help Marian to determine what to do next e.g. if he is smiling and enjoying himself Marian will continue what she’s doing or if he is making his ‘tired sound’ Marian knows Owen will need to rest Marian has noticed that Amina’s presence will influence how she interacts with Owen. because Marian doesn’t want Amina to interrupt the interaction Marian will interact more quietly with Owen when she is around NONE Marian consciously plans for her children to have social interactions with other people so that they are used to different people Having regular social outings (e.g. playgroup etc) provides Marian an opportunity to talk with friends Discussion The striking feature of Marian’s interactions with Owen is that it is ‘stressfree’. Throughout the interview Marian described how easy Owen is to care for, especially in comparison to the difficulty and stress experienced with her eldest daughter, Amina. Instead of feeling constantly ‘on edge’ Marian feels relaxed and stress-free. Indeed, Marian’s lack of stress and fatigue is apparent in her high degree of non-hostility. Owen’s carefree temperament also promotes affectionate thoughts in Marian. She says, “Yeah, I think because he’s so easy and easy going I think, he’s just gorgeous” 30 . In other words, thinking about Owen’s carefree temperament facilitates affectionate thoughts and feelings which appear to promote behavioural non-hostility and an overall calm mothering approach. Marian experiences multiple thoughts during interactions. Firstly, she will think about identifying and meeting Owen’s physical needs. Secondly, she will think about encouraging Owen’s development. Thirdly, she will think about following Owen’s responses and cues. Lastly, she will also think about structuring interactions 30 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Marian’s interview which took place on December, 1, 2011. 180 with simplicity to promote concentration. For example, she says, “Oh I normally try to do one thing at a time ‘cause I don’t think they would be able to concentrate unless it’s one thing at a time”. Interestingly, Marian’s structuring score is high (24 of 29), but not ideal. Although she thought about structuring and generally structured well, she was also repetitive and could have used a greater amount of structuring. Despite her conscious intention to structure positively according to Owen’s reactions, the quality of her structuring could still be improved. Suggestibly, best intentions do not necessarily manifest in optimal interaction. Another important feature of Marian’s experience is that one-on-one interactions with Owen are distinctly different to all other interactions. She describes having a focus of attention which facilitates more purposeful and intentional behavioural contributions to the interaction and more eye-contact which promotes a sense of closeness and togetherness with Owen, saying: Yeah, ‘cause it’s more focussed. Um, yeah, I think that when there’s other stuff going on you’re not focussed and you’re not um … it’s just a quick let’s get that out of the way so we can get on to the next thing. But um, yeah, … um it’s more intent when it’s that oneon-one time. You get the eye contact and all that sort of stuff Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Marian thought about, and tried to implement dimensions of emotional availability. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Marian interacted with high emotional availability but her structuring unideal. The Interview findings reveal that Owen’s carefree temperament promoted a stress-free and non-hostile approach to mothering and interactions. Also, Marian thought about addressing Owen’s needs and scaffolding interactions positively according to Owen’s reactions and 181 behaviours. Furthermore, it was only during focused one-on-one interactions with Owen that Marian experienced a sense of closeness and togetherness. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that a mother’s perception of her infant’s temperament may greatly impact a mother’s wellbeing and in turn, her behaviour. As reflected in her high sensitivity and non-hostility scores, Marian appeared ‘stress free’, calm and positive which she attributes to Owen’s carefree nature. The findings also illustrate that a typical mother may intuitively interact in a positive manner but not necessarily with optimal emotional availability. Although she consciously tried to implement positive structuring techniques Marian’s structuring score was less than ideal. No-one is perfect and it is indeed unrealistic to expect all typical mothers to interact optimally in all of the dimensions. MAY & JACINTA May is the mother of two children, Violet and second born, Jacinta. At the first video session Jacinta was 7 months old and at the second video session she was 7.2 months old. During both sessions she appeared alert and happy but became quite tired as the session progressed. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, May’s scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 42, she scored between 25.5 and 28 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non- 182 Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Jacinta also scored highly for Child Responsiveness (25) and Child Involvement (24). From observation, May's affect was generally positive and animated and she clearly enjoyed her daughter. She structured successfully by leading Jacinta positively and employing preventative structuring. She followed Jacinta’s lead throughout both sessions in a respectful, non-hostile and non-intrusive manner. Jacinta looked happy and relaxed and was likely to respond positively by smiling and giggling. She also involved May frequently by seeking eye-contact, smiling, babbling and imitating May’s actions. Overall, May and Jacinta appeared to have a positive and healthy emotional connection. Table 42: Summary of May and Jacinta’s Emotional Availability scores Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 25.5 High 27 High 27.5 High 28 High 25 High 24 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 26 25 27 27 28 27 28 28 25 25 24 24 Interview Findings Verification was given by May who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix DD. The overall meaning units/themes from May’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 43. These meaning units were related to all four attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) 183 tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition, as shown in the first column of Table 43. Most of the meaning units relate to the pleasure in proximity and need gratification/protection constructs. Table 43: May’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes May feels amazement when she sees how much Jacinta learns. May feels joy and love while playing and interacting, particularly when she sees delight, concentration, frustrations and happiness on Jacinta’s face. It is during the day time interactions that May tends to think about how much Jacinta has grown and how much she is able to do It is during the one-on-one time with Jacinta that May will notice how much Jacinta has grown and learnt. Noticing these changes is the most important aspect of interacting for May. May also finds interactions an interesting and surprising experience in that she is able to compare her two daughters and discover just how different they are from each other May feels satisfaction and gratification when she sees how much Jacinta has grown Interactions with Jacinta are fun May will feel the most love for Jacinta at night when she is all relaxed and asleep. This is possibly due to May feeling emotions more intensely during the night when she’s tired. This feeling of satisfaction and gratification is one of the best feelings May experiences and it helps her to forget her frustrations and cope with the challenging moments of parenthood. Jacinta wakes up a lot at night. Sometimes May will feel frustrated when there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Jacinta At night May might think frustrated thoughts such as “why can’t you sleep”. “I’ve got to get up in 2 hours, maybe I should just get up now” and “you’re much more difficult than Violet was” and “oh no, not again” May thinks about Jacinta’s physical needs during interactions e.g. I need to cut your nails. Sometimes May will think about the reason behind Jacinta’s crying e.g. wondering if her tummy is sore May will consciously try not to engage Jacinta (i.e. focus is on soothing Jacinta) at night to prevent Jacinta from thinking she can have fun play time with mum at night During the day Jacinta does not get a lot of one-on-one time with May due to the demands of her older sister Violet e.g. sometimes Med just needs Jacinta to entertain herself while May is getting Violet dressed. Usually this involves giving Jacinta a toy to play with rather than sitting down and playing with Jacinta During the day breastfeeding is the longest one-on-one interaction May and Jacinta have together. Jacinta is quite active during feeding so they have quite a lot of fun together Other opportunities for one-on-one arise e.g. when Violet is playing by herself for a long time. When there is an opportunity for one-on-one May will sometimes do structured play e.g. taking out toys to act out a story. Other times it’s just making sure Jacinta is happy. Jacinta’s expressions and behaviours help May to determine what to do next e.g. Jacinta has certain signals to indicate she has had enough of a certain activity and if she wants a certain toy. Sometimes her expressions will indicate what type of play she is in the mood for e.g. more exciting play versus chilling on her gm mat. If Jacinta is looking happy then May will continue with the current activity Interactions are a way of getting to know Jacinta NONE Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other 184 Discussion Feeling a combination of amazement, joy, gratification and affection is the most striking aspect of May’s experience of playing and interacting with Jacinta. These feelings are experienced when May observes Jacinta’s expressiveness and developmental progressions during play. For example, May says: I still feel amazement when I play, you know, when I think how much she learns and how many things she can do and you know, the joy of seeing delight on her face when she’s playing with toys or she realises she can do something, or finds something funny (...) if you get to spend any time with them one-on-one you think, ‘Oh my God, she can do that now. Isn’t that amazing!’ 31 Importantly, experiencing one-on-one play interactions with Jacinta acts as the catalyst to May’s positive feelings. Dedicating time and attention to Jacinta on her own provides the opportunity for May to notice Jacinta’s growth and development which, in turn, sparks the feelings of amazement, joy and affection. However, oneon-one play interactions are also a means of getting to know Jacinta, learning her likes and dislikes and how she differs from her older sister. Overall, one-on-one play time provides an opportunity for May to learn Jacinta’s personality and unique individuality as well as take joy in Jacinta’s growth and development which in turn, facilitates feelings of amazement, joy and affection. The positive feelings of amazement, joy and affection have a personal emotional importance to May as a mother and individual. Taking joy in her child is described as a very pleasurable and precious experience: I guess it’s when you get to see all the changes more than anything. So often when you don’t spend the one-on-one time, so say you’ve had a really busy day or really busy week, 31 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from May’s interview which took place on November, 25, 2011. 185 and you haven’t spent a lot of time, all of a sudden, when you haven’t spent time, it’s like ‘Gosh, you’ve really grown up. Oh my God she can do that’ or ‘look at what she’s doing’ (...) so I guess that’s the most important thing – seeing her grow up and learn (...) It’s the best thing. There’s nothing better than seeing them learn or enjoying something or smile or laugh and I know it sounds like a real cliché, but honestly, it’s true When May does not have one-on-one time with Jacinta, she misses out on taking joy in Jacinta’s developmental progression. Experiencing frequent one-on-one time with Jacinta therefore, provides pleasurable feelings that are unique to motherhood and considered to be the best part of May’s life. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that experiencing positive and successful one-on-one play interactions with Jacinta provided prominent feelings unique to motherhood. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that May and Jacinta had a generally positive relationship and that May interacted with high emotional availability. The Interview findings reveal that oneon-one interaction facilitated a means of getting to know Jacinta and observing her developmental growth. Noticing Jacinta’s development sparked positive feelings of amazement, joy and affection which were considered a precious part of May’s life. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that experiencing highly emotionally available one-on-one play interactions provides an opportunity for a mother to know, appreciate and take joy in the unique individuality of her child. As May demonstrates, experiencing highly emotionally available interactions may positively impact a mother’s attachment constructs. 186 DIANA AND EDMUND Edmund is Diana’s first child. He was 6.2 months at first video session and appeared quiet but settled. At the second video session Edmund was 6.4 months old and appeared to be less energetic than during his first session. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Diana’s scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 44, she scored between 24.5 and 27.5 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Edmund also scored highly for Child Responsiveness (25) and Child Involvement (22.5). From observation, Diana's vocal tone was warm and animated. Her facial affect was mostly bland/neutral but appeared genuine and relaxed. She was a little repetitive in her play but generally responded promptly and appropriately to Edmund’s cues. She also structured interactions positively and successfully in a nonhostile and non-intrusive manner. Edmund looked relaxed and generally positive. Even when he was tired during the second video session, he demonstrated a range of expression and was likely to respond to Diana positively. He was also quite involving by frequently looking at Diana, reaching out to her and elaborating interaction through imitation, sustained eye-contact and babbling. Overall, Diana and Edmund had a generally positive and emotionally available relationship. 187 Table 44: Summary of Diana and Edmund’s Emotional Availability scores. Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 24.5 High 26.5 High 27.5 High 27 High 25 High 22.5 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 25 24 27 26 28 27 27 27 26 24 24 21 Interview Findings Verification was given by Diana who agreed that the revised transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix EE. The overall meaning units/themes from Diana’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 45. These meaning units were related to all four attachments (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition, as shown in the first column of Table 45. Other meaning units are included such as how Diana feels awkward in situations where she is being watched interacting with Edmund. Table 45: Diana’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Interacting with Edmund is a fun and enjoyable experience Interacting and playing with Edmund has become more interesting now that he is developing more The best parts of interactions of observing Edmund do new thing and getting positive reactions from him e.g. laughs and smiles Playing and interacting is more fulfilling when Edmund is in a good mood and responds positively to her. When she sees his responses she often feels an overwhelming sense of love Sometimes playing can be a bit boring She can also feel frustrated about not having as much time as she’d like with Edmund Diana is enjoying all the time she has with Edmund. He is an ongoing source of entertainment and happiness for Diana 188 Tolerance/ acceptance Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other Sometimes Diana doesn’t think much when she’s interacting. She just entertains and enjoys Edmund Playing and interacting strengthens Diana’s and Edmund’s bond Diana feels that play helps her to get to know Edmund better than other adults. As a result Edmund has a stronger preference for Diana Diana can feel a bit frustrated when Edmund is in a bad mood and nothing seems to make him happier. Sometimes Diana wishes she could make Edmund laugh as much as others do but she eases her jealousy by reminding herself how her relationship with Edmund is different to other adults. Diana will think about how to entertain Edmund and make him happy. Diana thinks of providing Edmund with what he’s currently interested in e.g. different textures and sounds Sometimes Diana thinks of how to entertain Edmund so she can do chores and household tasks Diana often focuses play activities on developmental milestones and encourages Edmund to achieve it on time. Diana will sing to calm Edmund down, help him to sleep, to entertain him in the car and when a toy simply won’t do e.g. when he wants attention from someone There are certain songs that will coax a smile out of Edmund Edmund is quite good at being left to his own devices. There are times when Diana will watch and supervise Edmund rather than play with him Diana worries about whether she is doing the right thing to stimulate Edmund Diana finds she has forgotten a lot of little games she can play with Edmund. Sometimes Diana feels she should be talking or singing to Edmund all the time. She feels if she doesn’t sing or talk she is ignoring him. Diana will think about giving Edmund a variety of activities everyday day e.g. reading and singing to stimulate him in different ways. Other times she is more spontaneous. Edmund usually makes a particular noise when he has had enough of something or becomes bored. When he makes this Diana will stop what she’s doing. Other times Edmund is more interested in doing something else and Diana will stop interacting to let him do what he wants. Sometimes Edmund loses interest in certain toys so Diana puts them away for a while and reintroduces them to Edmund later Diana feels that spending more time with Edmund has helped her to get to know Edmund better. Diana can feel a bit awkward and self-conscious when she is being watched playing with Edmund, such as the video sessions. Sometimes Diana will structure singing into the day like book reading. Other times it’s more spontaneous Diana considers singing and playing the same thing. Everything is play Discussion One key feature of Diana’s experience of play with Edmund is that she has two contrasting thought processes. The first thought process involves encouraging Edmund to reach developmental milestones, providing the ‘right’ developmental stimulation and providing play according to Edmund’s current emotional needs and interests. For example, Diana describes facilitating play activities according to Edmund’s interest in sounds and textures by saying: \ 189 I think about when I’m trying to engage him in play, yeah, things like textures as well and he also likes different sounds so I’m trying to find things that make different sounds. I’ve sort of started him on the saucepans and things to bang on 32 As the high structuring and non-intrusiveness scores demonstrate, Diana implemented her interaction intentions appropriately and successfully. The second thought process involves little thought and a simple enjoyment of her child. Diana says, “Um, sometimes you just don’t really think about much at all. You’re just sort of sitting there and entertaining them and enjoying them”. In other words, Diana may either have a thought-focussed experience or an emotion-focussed experience during playful interactions with Edmund. Playing and interacting with Edmund provides an opportunity for Diana to learn more about her son which in turn, strengthens the mother-infant bond. As a result of spending the most time with Edmund, Diana believes she is better able to recognise and respond to his cues and signals and that Edmund has developed a stronger preference for Diana over other adults which adds a distinctive element to their emotional connection. She says: I obviously pick up on more of the cues as a result of spending so much time with him [Interviewer: so you get to know him ...] better, yeah. And as a result he probably has a bit more of a preference” It is also interesting to note that Diana considers singing to be an integral part of play. Yet, singing is also distinguished from non-singing interactions by being described as a particularly useful tool in certain situations. She says I find that he recognises certain songs and he’ll smile or there’s certain songs that he prefers and that’s a way of coaxing a smile out of him when he’s starting to get a bit 32 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Danielle’s interview which took place on December, 6, 2011. 190 sooky or someone wants to take a photo (...) You know when they get to the point when another toy won’t do, so yeah. And especially when those times when he wants attention from someone In other words, singing songs is a reliable tool for making Edmund happy and eliciting a positive response (i.e. smile) from him. It is also less developmentally focussed and more interpersonal by engaging Edmund in a way that toy-based play cannot. Thus, singing serves distinctive functions and is an integral part of everyday mothering and interactions. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Diana consciously thought about and appropriately implemented high emotional availability. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Diana was a little repetitive during play but generally interacted with high emotional availability. The Interview findings reveal that Diana experienced either prominent thoughts focussed on providing developmental stimulation and positive structuring, or prominent emotions focussed on enjoying her son during play. Diana also believed she knew her son better and developed a close distinct bond with Edmund as a result of playing and interacting with him more than other adults. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings suggest that an awareness of, and conscious effort to be emotionally availability is an essential component to actually being emotionally available. The findings also illustrate that experiencing emotionally available playful interactions contributed uniquely to Diana’s perception of attachment by providing a means for Diana to get to know and take joy in her son. 191 JODIE AND TILLY Tilly is Jodie’s third child. She was 6.3 months at the first video session and appeared relaxed and interested in her new surroundings. At the second video session Tilly was 7.4 months old, appeared relaxed but became a little fussy and tired near the end of the session. Ratings of Emotional Availability The ratings of Emotional Availability were averaged across the two sessions. Overall, Jodie’s scores are categorised as high. As shown in Table 46, she scored between 26.5 and 28 on the dimensions of Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness and Non-Hostility. Tilly also scored highly for Child Responsiveness (23) and Child Involvement (21.5). From observation, Jodie's facial and vocal affect was genuine, positive, calm and warm. She responded promptly and appropriately to Tilly’s cues, and although her play was a little repetitive at times, her structuring attempts were positive and highly successful. Jodie also scaffolded interactions according to Tilly’s lead in a highly non-hostile and non-intrusive manner. Tilly generally appeared happy and relaxed and was likely to respond to Jodie positively. During the first video session she demonstrated more dysregulation than in the second session. However, she was able to be soothed and enjoy herself during both sessions. Also, Tilly was quite involving by frequently using both non-verbal verbal and nonverbal means of imitating and sustaining interactions. Overall, Jodie and Tilly appeared to have a positive and generally highly emotionally available relationship. 192 Table 46: Summary of Jodie and Tilly’s Emotional Availability scores Emotional Availability Scale Total score ( / 29) Mean total score Category of EA Sensitivity Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 Video 1 Video 2 27.5 High 26.5 High 27.5 High 28 High 23 High 21.5 High Structuring Non-intrusiveness Non-hostility Child responsiveness Child involvement 27 28 26 27 27 28 27 29 22 24 21 22 Interview Findings Verification was given by Jodie who agreed that the transcript and summary was an accurate reflection of her interview. Both the transcript and summary are found in Appendix FF. The overall meaning units/themes from Jodie’s interview are shown in the second column of Table 47. These meaning units were related to all four attachments (Condon & Corkindale, 1998): (1) pleasure in proximity, (2) tolerance/acceptance, (3) need gratification and protection and (4) knowledge acquisition, as shown in the first column of Table 47. Other meaning units are also included, such as, how playing tends to be focussed on talking and toys. Table 47: Jodie’s meaning units as they relate to Condon and Corkindale’s (1998) attachment constructs Attachment Constructs Pleasure in proximity Meaning Units/Themes Tolerance/ acceptance Playing and interacting is a fun and enjoyable experience Playing and interacting is particularly enjoyable when Jodie sees Tilly’s positive responses, growth and development Jodie feels love, joy and amazement at how Tilly is her own little person Jodie often feels amused when she thinks about how the littlest things can occupy Tilly for longer than toys Playing is a way of showing love to Tilly in that Jodie is showing Tilly that there is fun amongst all the other caregiving interactions Jodie cherishes the time she gets with Tilly because there are only small pockets of opportunities with 2 other children to care for Sometimes Jodie feels frustrated when she cannot work out what’s wrong or what Tilly wants – she just wants to help Tilly Interacting helps Tilly to become more familiar and comfortable with Jodie as 193 opposed to another adult Jodie feels happy seeing Tilly being happy to interact with her as opposed to another adult. It shows Tilly has a preference for her over others. Jodie’s interactions with Tilly differ to interactions with her first child. She has the same worries about whether she is healthy and developing well but she is more relaxed about letting Tilly do things e.g. as long as Tilly isn’t hurt it’s ok for her to roll off the play mat Seeing Tilly being happy during interactions indicates to Jodie that Tilly is well, happy and healthy. This then makes Jodie feel happy and less stressed because she is reassured that everything is alright During interactions Jodie thinks about whether Tilly is safe During interactions Jodie thinks about whether Tilly is doing the right things for her age (milestones) During interactions Jodie thinks about whether Tilly is happy with what they’re doing and what else Tilly would like to do Jodie sometimes randomly thinks about things she needs to do e.g. grocery list while playing and interacting Sometimes Jodie will sing to Tilly. She sings to calm or excite her children and more specifically, while doing something with Tilly such as changing nappies. Tilly will become less fidgety and focus on the song rather than what Jodie is doing (i.e. changing the nappy) The shape and direction of interactions are determined by what Tilly is doing at the time and her responses e.g. looking at a toy will indicate interest in an activity whereas fussiness indicates her disinterest in an activity. If Tilly looks interested and happy with the current activity Jodie will continue repeated it, otherwise she will do something else. Jodie will try things that have worked in the past as well as different things to see what Tilly likes and wants to do. There are only small pockets of opportunities with 2 other children to care for Playing and interacting is a way of getting to know Tilly and what she’s like Playing tends to be focussed on chatting and playing with toys Need gratification/ protection Knowledge acquisition Other Discussion What is striking about Jodie’s experience of interacting with Tilly, is that play facilitates three key features simultaneously. Firstly, Jodie experiences a combination of affection, joy, amazement and curiosity. Secondly, observing Tilly during play provides a clear indication of Tilly’s health and happiness. Seeing her happy reassures Jodie that Tilly is well which minimises her worries and stress. Jodie explains: She had a couple of weeks right when she was 3 months old when she was not putting on a lot of weight and you could really tell that she was not happy, like when you played with her. So when I play with her now I know that she’s relaxed and happy (...) now I can really tell the way she is with everyone and with me she’s really happy and satisfied and 194 doing well, so I guess that’s how it helps too, like the playing and interacting helps you know that they’re happy33 Thirdly, play interactions impact the mother-infant relationship by strengthening Tilly’s preference for Jodie and association of Jodie to comfort and providing opportunities to express affection and get to know Tilly in a fun context. Overall, Jodie believes that playful interactions help to strengthen her emotional connection with Tilly while also promoting positive feelings of joy, amazement and reassurance. In combination with the above features, Jodie also thinks about following Tilly’s lead during play. She describes observing and interpreting Tilly’s reactions while playing with the chain of links by saying: Um, just because she stayed, like focussed on it so she sort of followed it and like she sort of gave a bit of a smile when she pulled it back down so I tried it again. (...) Yeah, so however she responds it usually how, like when I find that she likes something we just try it again As the Emotional Availability scores demonstrate, Jodie successfully interpreted and responded to Tilly’s reactions to structure interactions positively and non-intrusively. This suggests that Jodie’s awareness and conscious efforts to facilitate positive and non-intrusive interactions contributed to her high emotional availability. It is also interesting to note that Jodie describes singing as having a clear unique mothering function that is distinct from other play interactions. She says I tend to sing when I’m doing other things so um changing her nappy or getting dressed not so much when we’re sitting like this (...) it’s different because you’re either trying to get them calm or get them excited about something. I use it that way instead Jodie also describes how singing captures and sustains Tilly’s attention saying: she sort of gets less fidgety, like in the shower I sing so she’s not grabbing everything or she’s looking at you while you’re trying to change her nappy (...) yeah she focuses, like 33 All quotes in the discussion are extracted from Jodie’s interview which took place on January, 9, 2012 195 yeah, she focuses on what you’re singing and listening to you, she’s not as interested in what else you’re doing Clearly, singing serves a unique function to modulate Tilly’s emotions as well as distract her from unpleasant caregiving routines by capturing and focussing her attention in a way that other non-singing tools do not. Conclusion Comparing the Interview and Emotional Availability findings demonstrate that Jodie thought about and appropriately implemented child-led play interactions. The Emotional Availability scores reveal that Jodie and Tilly had a positive relationship and that Jodie interacted with high emotional availability. The Interview findings reveal that the experience of fun playful interactions impacted the motherinfant relationship in multiple ways. Firstly, play promoted multiple positive emotional and mental states (e.g. affection, joy, amazement and curiosity). Secondly, it minimised negative states such as worry and stress by providing reassurance. Simultaneously, it provided a means of getting to know Tilly and strengthening Tilly’s preference of Jodie as her primary caregiver. Together, the Emotional Availability and Interview findings illustrate that experiencing highly emotionally available playful interactions provide an opportunity to experience a variety of positive emotional and mental states that impact positively on maternal well-being and maternal attachment constructs. 196 CHAPTER SUMMARY The purpose of this chapter was to analyse (1) each mother’s subjective experience of non-singing interactions, and (2) the quality of each dyad’s nonsinging interactions. The findings illustrate that each mother had a unique subjective experience and that each dyad scored differently on the Emotional Availability scales. For some mothers the opportunity to get to know her child characterised the experience of play. For others the positive feelings of amazement, joy and affection were more prominent. Also, despite being a typical or ‘healthy’ sample, there was quite a range of emotional availability reflecting a variety of emotional connections. In other words, the analyses and discussions highlight the individuality and complexity of each mother-infant dyad. Despite the individuality of the dyads, all mothers experienced some sort of positive contribution to the mother's perception of attachment. Also, considering findings of the previous chapter, it is apparent that the experience of singing is distinctly different to non-singing interactions. In the next chapter, several group findings will be presented and discussed, including: the overall group ratings of Emotional Availability for the singing and non-singing conditions, the group experience of singing and non-singing interactions as well as the commonalities and differences between the experience of singing and nonsinging interaction. 197 CHAPTER 6 - GROUP EXPERIENCE OF SINGING AND NON-SINGING INTERACTION 'She smiles at me, so then I smile at her which means she smiles at me and it keeps going ... a spiral of happiness (...) it helps turn a bored baby into a happy baby. It turns a screaming baby into a quieter baby (...) the bit I like the best is that, well you saw, she gets all crying and upset and you sing to her and it might take, ah, you know, a second time through but she'll calm down and listen. And it makes me happy and makes her happier" Alice, mother of two, 20th June, 2011 The previous two chapters presented the Interview and Emotional Availability findings of each participating mother. The summaries highlighted the individuality of each mother’s subjective experience of interaction in the singing and non-singing conditions, and indeed, the complexity of mother-infant relationships. In this chapter, the overall group experience of singing and non-singing interactions is explored. More specifically, the findings of the group analysis of the Interview and Emotional Availability data will be presented and discussed. 198 EMOTIONAL AVAILABILITY RATINGS One of the aims of this study is to examine the quality of dyadic motherinfant interaction during the use of singing play songs and lullabies. To further explore the quality of song-based interactions a group analysis of the Emotional Availability ratings was completed. The group data was also compared to the Emotional Availability ratings of the non-singing condition to examine if/how the mothers' singing interactions differed to non-singing interactions. The mean scores for the singing and non-singing condition on each of the Emotional Availability scales are shown in Figures 5-7. Two-tailed t-tests were conducted on each of the parental dimensions (Sensitivity, Structuring, NonIntrusiveness, Non-Hostility) and each child dimension (Child Responsiveness and Child Involvement). The results are summarised in Table 48 for each of the Emotional Availability dimensions. The results showed there were no significant differences between the two groups on any scale except for the Non-intrusiveness dimension. A significant result n (<0.05) was found for the Non-Intrusiveness dimension. In other words, mothers in the singing condition were found to be consistency more intrusive (albeit only slightly) than mothers in the non-singing condition (t (1,21) = -2.863, p >.05). Table 48: Mean score of each sample group and summary of t-test results. Sensitivity Mean Score NonSinging singing 24.4 24.9 p values (t-tests) Video Video session 1 session 2 0.457 0.786 t values -0.514 Structuring 25.8 25.5 0.315 0.868 0.663 Non-intrusiveness* 25.2 26.9 0.007 0.033 -2.863 Non-hostility 26.8 26.6 0.377 0.701 0.361 23 23.5 0.495 0.831 -0.499 20.5 21.1 0.956 0.741 -0.077 Child responsiveness Child involvement 199 Group Results 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 Singing Non-singing Figure 5 - Comparison of the Emotional Availability results (means and standard deviations) for the singing and non-singing condition. Discussion Non-Intrusiveness is defined in relation to following the child's lead. A parent may be intrusive by (1) setting the pace of an interaction, (2) providing so many directions and suggestions that the infant has no room for experimentation, (3) frequently changing the direction of an interaction, (4) overstimulating the child, and (5) doing things for the child rather than allowing the child to do things for themselves. It seems that the difference in non-intrusiveness between singing and non-singing interaction might lie in the nature of the study. Mothers in the singing group were asked to 'sing songs as you do at home' whereas mothers in the nonsinging group were asked to 'play and interact as you do at home'. However, mothers in the singing group also spent a considerable time learning songs and therefore, may have felt pressure to sing a range of songs for a sustained length of time in a way that would not normally occur at home. Mothers in the non-singing group did not have such a pressure. This difference may have influenced the singing mothers' behaviour 200 to include more direction and adult leadership than if they were free to interact any way they chose for the video sessions. Ideally, all mothers should be free to talk or sing or play how they please. However, to examine the unique aspects of singing interactions it was necessary to instruct mothers specifically in this study. Ultimately, both groups scored similarly highly in Emotional Availability. This suggests that singing was just as good as non-singing interactions to facilitate high levels of emotional availability. In other words, the type of interaction that mothers and infants engage in does not equate to optimal emotional availability. INTERVIEW FINDINGS - SINGING CONDITION One of the aims of this study is to examine the mother’s subjective experience of using play songs and lullabies with her infant. Mothers were interviewed and the transcripts were analysed using an adapted phenomenological process (Grocke, 1999; Moustakas, 1994) which grouped mothers' interview data into meaning units/themes. These themes were then related to the maternal attachment constructs: pleasure in proximity, tolerance/acceptance, need gratification, knowledge acquisition (Condon & Corkindale, 1998). To analyse the interview data at a group level, common meaning units/themes that were shared by the sample group were identified and renamed, composite themes. These composite themes were distilled into four composite essences whereby there is one essence for each attachment construct (Condon & Corkindale, 1998). Composite themes that were shared by at least 50% of the sample group were then transformed into a final global description of the sample's experience of mother-infant singing interactions. In this chapter the composite themes and final global descriptions for the experience 201 of singing and non-singing interactions are presented. The composite essences for each attachment constructs for both groups are found in Appendix GG and HH. Composite Themes The composite themes for the singing sample are grouped according to the attachment construct they relate to in Table 49. As shown in Table 49, six composite themes related to the Pleasure in Proximity attachment construct. Three themes were shared by more than 83% of the sample, the others by 17% of the sample. Eight composite themes related to the Tolerance/Acceptance attachment construct. Two themes were shared by 73% of the sample, another two by 50% and four other themes by 17%-42% of the sample. Twelve composite themes related to the Needgratification/Protection attachment construct. Four themes were shared by 100% of the sample, three themes by 75-92% of the sample and six themes by 17%-58%. No composite themes related to the Knowledge Acquisition construct. The four composite essences for the singing condition are found in Appendix GG. Table 49: Singing condition's composite themes as they relate to Condon & Corkindale's (1998) attachment constructs PLEASURE IN PROXIMITY Singing is a fun, enjoyable, happy and affectionate experience, particularly when I see my baby’s positive responses (e.g. smiles) Singing is quality one-on-one time together i.e. it involves each other – it creates a sense of connection/communication/bonding and/or togetherness Singing play songs creates a spiral of happiness. It makes me and my baby feel happy and seeing my baby happy (positive responses) makes me feel happier No. of participants 12 11 10 I feel I share my baby’s happiness/excitement when singing play songs 2 There is something special about singing because it’s something only I do with my baby 2 I feel a sense of peacefulness when I sing 2 TOLERANCE/ACCEPTANCE No. of participants Singing calms and settle me down 8 Singing makes a connection/bond with my baby 8 202 Being able to change songs (having a larger range of songs to choose from) and/or creating variations of songs minimises feelings of boredom from singing the same thing over and over again I feel satisfied, pleased, happy and proud that I can help my baby to relax, get to sleep and feel happier (as opposed to another adult). This validates and strengthens my sense of being ‘mum’ and a significant person to my baby Singing calms my baby down, stops his/her screaming and lulls my baby to sleep which provides me feelings of relief Singing makes me feel less helpless – I feel I am doing something to help my baby feel better Singing breaks up the monotony of baby routines and housework – it provides something else to do during the day Having quality one-on-one time via singing prevents/minimises feelings of guilt that I’m not spending enough time with my baby NEED GRATIFICATION/PROTECTION I sing to my baby spontaneously during the day – there is no set ‘singing time’; it just depends on what we’re doing at the time – it is integrated into day-to-day life The choice of song and direction of the singing interaction is based on my baby’s reactions and current behaviour (e.g. levels of enjoyment, degree of interest/attention and mood) as well as what has worked well in the past 6 6 5 3 2 2 No. of participants 12 12 Singing songs is an effective tool to help my baby relax, settle and calm down 12 Singing songs captures my baby’s attention, engages him/her and makes him happy/calm 12 Singing keeps my baby calm and happy even when I am physically separated from him/her (e.g. in the car or in different rooms) I am focussed on my baby when I sing. Singing pushes other thoughts out of my head (for 1 mum this is more so during play songs, for another mum, this is more so during lullabies) 11 10 Songs are portable – they can be used anywhere, anytime 9 I believe/hope that singing teaches my baby something and encourages his/her development 7 Singing will help to calm me down which then helps my baby to calm down 4 I sing particular songs during particular activities to create a sense of routine for my baby 3 Singing turns a disliked routine into a happy fun activity for my baby 2 Singing works faster than anything else to settle my baby and put him/her to sleep 2 KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION No. of participants NONE Final global description of the sample’s experience of singing songs with their infant Singing songs is a fun, enjoyable and affectionate experience. It facilitates emotional modulation by creating a spiral of happiness shared between mother and infant - singing makes a mother and infant feel happy and this happiness is enhanced 203 when mother and infant reflect and share in each other’s happiness. Singing also has the potential to reverse a spiral of grumpiness/distress or modulate negative emotional states by facilitating happy emotional states. Singing interactions capture the infant’s attention as well as focus the mother’s attention. Singing involves mother and infant in a shared activity or focussed quality one-on-one time. Consequently the mother feels a pleasurable sense of connection and togetherness while singing to her infant. The sense of togetherness or bond impacts the tolerance/acceptance construct by reinforcing a mother’s perception of the infant as her own baby. Concurrently, the focus of attention experienced by both mother and infant facilitates a more receptive state or context for recognising the infant’s cues and signals. The focus of attention creates an opportunity to shape the interaction according to the infant’s behaviours. In other words, the infant is focussed on her mother and the song while the mother is focussed on singing and on responding to her infant’s behaviours and cues to sustain the pleasurable flow of interaction. In this way, the pleasure in proximity and need gratification/protection constructs influence each other. By providing a positive emotional context that involves and focuses the attention of both parties, the mother feels connected to her infant and facilitates a potentially emotionally available interaction. In turn, by seeing the infant’s continual positive responses, the mother sustains her pleasure and joy in the interaction with her child. Additionally, the portable nature of singing allows songs to be sung spontaneously at any location and any time of day. Thus, mothers are able to experience pleasurable focussed one-on-one time and meet the infant’s physical and emotional needs quickly anytime and anywhere. 204 The experience of fun focussed quality mother-infant time has a consequential influence on the tolerance/acceptance construct. Mothers described feeling very satisfied, pleased and proud when singing effectively makes her baby happy, calm, relaxed and/or fall asleep. The achievement of settling her baby reinforces the perception of being ‘mum’ or ‘good mother’ and validates the sense of being significant to her infant. This validation in turn, helps the mothers to feel that the baby she cares for is indeed, her own baby. The experience of singing does not simply impact on individual attachment constructs, it facilitates interconnections between the pleasure in proximity, need gratification and tolerance/acceptance constructs. The pleasure and modulation of emotions leads to a happy baby. As a result of the emotional modulation the mother is able to observe her baby’s happiness and her own happiness is enhanced. The focus of attention that a mother experiences also helps her to feel connected to her baby. This pleasurable companionship of togetherness reinforces the sense of the baby being her own baby. Simultaneously the focus of attention provides an opportunity for a mother to be more receptive to her baby’s needs, signals and cues and effectively calm and settle her baby. The achievement of settling her baby then validates the sense of being ‘mum’ and ‘good mother’ which also enhances that sense of baby being her own baby. Thus, the experience of singing songs contributes to the mother-infant relationship by creating a flow of influence between the attachment constructs, as shown in Figure 6. 205 PLEASURE IN PROXIMITY Pleasure, fun & happiness experienced Pleasure is enhanced Sense of connection/togetherness Observation of Facilitation of positive responses emotional to singing modulation NEED GRATIFICATION/PROTECTION Focus of attention on infant Effective tool to make baby calm/happy Pleasurable companionship Achievement of calm/happy baby TOLERANCE/ACCEPTANCE Validation of being ‘mum’/‘good mother’ Sense of baby as own Figure 6 - Diagram outlining the interconnections between the pleasure in proximity, need gratification and tolerance/acceptance constructs experienced by mothers during singing interactions. The tolerance/acceptance and need gratification constructs also inter-relate when singing calms the mother down. This is particularly important when the infant is becoming distressed/hysterical and having trouble falling asleep. By singing, a mother is able to reduce her feelings of helplessness and calm herself down. Once a mother is calm she is better able to calm her infant. Subsequently, a mother feels satisfied and pleased when she sees the success of her calming efforts and her sense of being significant to the infant and ‘good mother’ is validated. Similarly, a mother may also feel relief and a reduction of stress once the crying and screaming has stopped. By reducing negative feelings a mother’s sense of burdensome in caring for 206 her infant is minimised. Figure 7 below shows the interrelations between the tolerance/acceptance and need gratification/protection constructs. NEED GRATIFICATION/PROTECTION Effective tool to make baby calm/happy Better able to calm baby Facilitation of emotional Achievement of modulation calm/happy baby TOLERANCE/ACCEPTANCE Mother is calmed by singing Reduction of negative feelings/relief Validation of being ‘mum’/‘good mother’ Figure 7 - Diagram outlining additional interconnections between the need gratification and tolerance/acceptance constructs experienced by mothers during singing interactions. Discussion Essentially the mothers' experience of singing play songs and lullabies contributes to attachment by creating a variety of positive emotional and mental states that relate to the pleasure in proximity, need gratification/protection and tolerance/acceptance constructs. Interestingly, these states interconnect. The mother's experience of singing therefore, is better understood as a flow of consequential and concurrent thoughts and feelings or ‘flow of influence’. One may also postulate that the potential therapeutic value of singing play songs and lullabies lies within the positivity of these interconnections. Hypothetically, the 'flow of influence' illustrates that the more a mother experiences singing interactions which successfully modulate the infant's emotions, the more she 207 will observe her infant's positive response to her singing which would create greater feelings of pleasure, a stronger sense of connection and validation of being ‘mum’. In other words, a preventative attachment therapy seems to be intrinsically embedded into the positivity of the 'flow of influence'. Continuing to experience the positive states facilitated by singing would repeatedly contribute to the maternal attachment constructs and presumably, maintain a positive perception of attachment. Importantly, the need-gratification construct acts as a catalyst which extends the ‘flow of influence’ to the pleasure in proximity and tolerance/acceptance constructs. The subsequent benefits (e.g. of validation, reduction of stress etc) are contingent on effectively meeting the infant’s needs and maintaining the baby’s happiness and calm. Therefore, any intervention (prevention or treatment) aiming to impact maternal attachment constructs by promoting the 'flow of influence' would logically target the need-gratification construct. Conveniently, the focus of attention that mothers described to experience during singing appears to provide a potential platform for singing-based therapeutic intervention. If a mother were to learn about facilitating successful emotional modulation, presumably, the focus of attention that singing was described to demand would create a good opportunity to consciously practice new skills. The mothers' self-reports of successful emotional modulation act as a catalyst to the 'flow'. Therefore, it is logical to assume that mothers currently experiencing unsuccessful singing interactions would be experiencing an entirely different variety of emotional and mental states or an 'impeded flow' of positivity. However, it is also interesting to consider how a therapist may promote the 'flow of influence' in mothers currently not experiencing the 'flow'. Since the 'flow of influence' represents the experience of a particular group of mothers it is impossible to know what the 208 subjective experience of singing would be like for mothers currently not experiencing successful singing interactions such as those with disability or mental illness. However, the catalytic nature of the 'flow of influence experienced by the present sample, suggests that optimising mother-infant singing interactions could establish the 'flow of influence' in other mothers, at least in similarly healthy mothers. Potentially, an intervention which optimises singing interactions would increase the success of emotional modulation and enable the mother to feel reassurance, a sense of achievement and validation of 'good mother'. These emotional and mental states, in turn, may help to prevent a spiral of negative feelings potentially leading to post-natal depression and mother-infant detachment. Previous studies have identified low sense of self-esteem, self-worth and parenting competence as risk factors of maternal postnatal depression (Beck, 2001; Denis, Ponsin, & Callahan, 2012). Therefore, promoting positive emotional and mental states related to these factors through the 'flow of influence' may help to minimise the risk of postnatal depression. Furthermore, when mothers experience stress, anxiety or mood disturbances the mother may be less able to respond to their infant in a sensitive, supportive and non-intrusive manner. Also, the likelihood of insecure mother-child attachment increases. (see Pasiali, 2013 for examples). Singing may serve as a protective factor by alleviating stress, improving mood and reducing distress and negative thoughts. Instead of building up negative emotions and hostile thoughts toward herself and/or her infant for being so demanding or 'difficult', by singing successfully, a mother may experience positive thoughts and feelings to help balance out the negativity and stress that comes with caring for an infant, thus protecting herself from potential disturbances in emotional availability and security 209 of attachment. In this way, the 'flow of influence' illustrates a type of ideal experience of singing that therapists may aim to promote. Further research is required to support this idea and to determine whether mothers in other clinical populations have the capacity to experience a similar 'flow of influence'. However, the findings suggest that experiencing the positivity of the 'flow of influence' necessitates a mother's facilitation and recognition of successful modulation of infant emotions. Thus, optimising interactions may promote the 'flow of influence' in other mothers. PLEASURE IN PROXIMITY Pleasure, fun & happiness experienced Pleasure is enhanced & sustained/extended Sense of connection/togetherness Observation of Facilitation of positive responses emotional to singing modulation NEED GRATIFICATION/PROTECTION Focus of attention on infant Effective tool to make baby calm/happy Better able to calm baby Pleasurable companionship Facilitation of emotional Achievement of modulation calm/happy baby TOLERANCE/ACCEPTANCE Validation of being ‘mum’/‘good mother’ Sense of baby as own Mother is calmed by singing Reduction of negative feelings/relief outlining the full idealistic ‘flow of influence’ experienced by the mothers during singing interactions. Figure 8 - Diagram 210 INTERVIEW FINDINGS - NON-SINGING CONDITION Composite Themes The composite themes for the singing sample are grouped according to the attachment construct they relate to in Table 50. As shown in Table 50, six composite themes related to the Pleasure in Proximity attachment construct. Two themes were shared by 91% of the sample, one by 36% and three by 18%. Seven composite themes related to the Tolerance/Acceptance attachment construct. One theme was shared by 36% of the sample, two by 27% and four by only 18%. None were shared for 50% or more of the sample. Thirteen composite themes related to the Need gratification/Protection attachment construct. One theme was shared by 100% of the sample, one by 91%, five by 36-45% and six by 18-27% of the sample. Two composite themes related to the Knowledge Acquisition attachment construct. One was shared by 55% of the sample and the other by only 18%. The composite essences for the non-singing condition are found in Appendix HH. Table 50: Non-singing condition's composite themes as they relate to Condon & Corkindale's (1998) attachment constructs PLEASURE IN PROXIMITY Interacting with my baby is a fun happy, positive and affectionate experience, particularly when I see my baby’s reactions, smiles and giggles (for 2 mums this includes singing) I feel pride, happiness, excitement, amazement and/or satisfaction when I think how my baby is his/her own little person and I see my baby learn, do something new or different and reach developmental milestones No. of participants 10 10 I feel happy when I see my baby is happy 4 Playing and interacting offers something other than mechanical caregiving routines. It’s time to have fun together 2 Play can sometimes be boring and repetitive 2 Interacting with my baby is an interesting experience (especially when comparing children and thinking about development) 2 TOLERANCE/ACCEPTANCE I feel frustrated when I have difficulty working out why my baby is upset (what he/she is communicating) or nothing seems to make my baby happy or nothing seems to be wrong I feel close to my baby during interactions (e.g. when he/she gives me direct eye contact and responds positively to me) 211 No. of participants 4 3 I feel my baby prefers me over other adults (because I spend more time with my baby than other adults) I feel relief when I see when baby progress developmentally and become less clingy – it marks greater independence, personal space and freedom Seeing my baby being happy during interactions provides reassurance that he/she is healthy and everything is alright. Because my baby is easy going I don’t feel as exhausted or stressed as when my eldest was a baby Getting positive reactions from my baby and the feelings of satisfaction and gratification (from seeing my baby grow and development) help me cope with the challenging moments of parenthood NEED GRATIFICATION/PROTECTION 3 2 2 2 2 No. of participants The direction of the interaction is shaped by my baby’s reactions and behaviours. 11 I try to make my baby happy when interacting with him/her 10 I do not have many opportunities for one-on-one time with my baby (e.g. due to the demands of caring for older child/ren as well) 5 I often think about why my baby is upset and what I can do to keep my baby happy/amused 4 Incorporating play into caregiving routines makes it fun and helps to get through a job more easily e.g. baby is less fidgety (for 1 mum this involves singing) I sometimes think about the things that need to be done or am multi-tasking when interacting with my baby 4 4 I sing to keep my baby calm and happy and when toys won’t do 4 I am conscious of dividing my attention between my two children and planning one-on-one time with each child 3 I particularly notice new developments and think about whether my baby is on par for her age 3 I think about whether I am giving my baby a good variety of activities, the right amount of stimulation and if I’m doing the right thing 3 I am motivated to learn more rhymes and songs etc to help my baby be happy and calm 2 Interacting with my baby is focussed on and good for my baby’s development (for 1 mum this includes singing) 2 Keeping my baby happy helps the day to run smoothly and keeps the peace in my household 2 KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION Interacting is a way of getting to know my baby’s personality and working out what he/she likes or doesn’t like (includes a curiosity about what the infant will be like when older) I am curious and fascinated by what goes on in my child’s mind. I like to think about what makes him/her tick No. of participants 6 2 Final global description of the sample’s experience of interacting with their infant (non-singing) Non-singing interactions are a fun, enjoyable and affectionate experience. It is also an activity that tends to be focussed on a baby’s development and observation. A mother tends to observe her baby and think about how her baby is learning and 212 progressing through developmental milestones during playful non-singing interactions. These thoughts are accompanied by feelings of amazement and pride in addition to fun and joy. Non-singing interactions are also focused on meeting the baby’s needs. A mother endeavours to make her baby happy in any way possible. This desire motivates her to interact with her baby to learn more about her baby’s likes and dislikes. As a result of getting to know her baby better, a mother (1) has an expanded reference of play ideas or repertoire to help keep her baby happy and (2) is better able to recognise and respond to her baby’s cues and signals. As a result of successfully making her baby happy by what she has learnt about her infant, a mother experiences feelings of pleasure, fun, happiness and affection toward her infant. Simultaneously, it is by getting to know her infant, that a mother is better able to notice changes in her baby’s development and experience the accompanying feelings of pride, happiness, excitement and amazement. Thus, the pleasure in proximity, need gratification/protection and knowledge acquisition constructs interrelate, as shown in Figure 9. 213 PLEASURE IN PROXIMITY Pleasure, fun, happiness & affection experienced Pride, happiness, excitement, amazement experienced Observes positive reactions Observes NEED GRATIFICATION/PROTECTION changes in Endeavour to make baby happy baby’s Think about responding to baby’s cues developments Reference of ideas Motivation to learn Better able to available to make likes/dislikes recognise baby baby happy cues/signals KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITON Mother knows her baby better (likes and dislikes) via interaction Figure 9 - Diagram outlining the interconnections between the pleasure in proximity, need gratification and knowledge acquisition constructs experienced by the mothers during non-singing interactions. Discussion The mothers' experience of non-singing play interaction contributes to attachment by creating positive emotional and mental states that relate to the pleasure in proximity, need gratification/protection and knowledge acquisition constructs. The experience is focused on getting to know the baby and tracking the baby's development which spark particular thoughts and feelings. Noticeably, the experience of non-singing play interactions is distinctly different to singing interactions. 214 It is also concerning that no common meaning unit was found for the tolerance/acceptance construct34. This finding leads to questions such as: what is a mother missing by not singing to her infant? What does singing offer that nonsinging interactions don’t? And what are the attachment implications of not experiencing these singing-only related thoughts and feelings? In order to address these questions it is necessary to compare the results of the singing and non-singing condition. The findings of the comparison are presented in the following discussion. INTERVIEW FINDINGS – GROUP COMPARISON The purpose of comparing the findings of the singing and non-singing condition is to increase an understanding of how the singing interactions uniquely impact upon attachment constructs. It involved comparing the composite themes of the final global descriptions (that is, the composite themes shared by at least 50% of the sample) of both groups of mothers and identifying commonalities and differences between the mothers' experience of singing and non-singing interaction. In the following section, the findings of the group comparison, implications of experiencing only singing or non-singing interactions and the clinical relevance of the findings are presented. Commonalities Three commonalities between the mothers' experience of singing and nonsinging interactions were identified. The first commonality is that the mother’s goal 34 Although common themes were identified none were shared by < 50% of the participants and therefore not included in the final global description 215 during both singing and non-singing interaction is to make her baby happy. During both types of interactions the mothers described thinking about meeting the emotional and physical needs of the infant. In this way both types of interactions share a common impact on the need gratification construct. The second commonality identified is that the mothers were conscious of responding to the infant’s cues and signals during both singing and non-singing interactions. This finding is not surprising considering that her aim is to make her baby happy. Since infants cannot verbally articulate needs, it is necessary for mothers to recognise and respond appropriately to her infant’s cues to achieve the goal of baby happiness. The fact that all mothers commented on using her baby’s reactions and cues to guide the interaction demonstrates that the mothers were aware of the importance of parental sensitivity. However, it is unclear from the interview data if, and to what extent, mothers were aware of the other dimensions of Emotional Availability that facilitate optimal dyadic interaction. The third commonality identified is that both singing and non-singing interactions were experienced as fun and enjoyable. In this way both types of interaction share a positive impact on the pleasure in proximity attachment construct. However, it is possible that both types of interactions also provided a means of positive projective identification (Escandón, 2008; Likierman, 1998). Positive projective identification is an emotional transmission of a mother’s own feelings of love and caring toward her infant. It stems from a mother’s need to have her feelings received by another and to be appreciated as more than just a functional care-giver but also a nice loving person. In other words, the mother desires to be wanted by the infant on the personal level as well as the functional caretaking level. Desire for 216 personal appreciation therefore, motivates a mother to engage in frequent fun-based, rather than need-based playful interactions. The mothers' experience of singing interactions was described as more emotional and interpersonal than non-singing interactions. Themes that emerged for the experience of singing included a sense of togetherness/connection and a spiral of happiness. Singing was described by mothers as quality time with the infant and an activity that demanded interpersonal involvement from, and a focus of attention of, both parties. However, these themes did not emerge for the experience of nonsinging interactions. It appears the intensity of the emotional and social elements of mother-infant interaction may have differed when experiencing singing versus nonsinging interactions. Considering this, it is possible that play songs and lullabies better enable positive projective identification. Play songs and lullabies therefore, may more strongly reinforce a mother’s perception of being appreciated beyond her functional care-giving than other non-singing play interactions. However, further research is required to support this idea. Positive projective identification also has benefits for the infant. When a mother transmits her loving and caring parts of herself to her infant, she is offering her infant pleasure and emotional goodness like a gift. This provides the infant with the experience of receiving instead of demanding pleasure. The infant’s sense of self therefore extends beyond ‘needy’ and ‘catered to’ to include a sense of being wanted (Likierman, 1998). Likierman (1985) believes that the pleasureable penetration of the mother’s projective identification is internalised as reassurance and containment. The mother’s projections are a means for the infant to feel connected to the mother. If play songs and lullabies are a means of positive projective identification, they too can be internalised as a symbol of the loving, comforting and reassuring mother-child 217 bond (Cozolino, 2010). Hypothetically, regular singing interactions between mother and infant may contribute to mother-infant attachment by (1) positively impacting the pleasure in proximity, tolerance/acceptance and need gratification attachment constructs, as well as (2) reinforcing the infant’s internalisation of the positive mother-infant bond via the projection experienced during play songs and lullabies. Importantly, projective identification allows the infant to feel containment and connection even during physical separation. This internaliation therefore, may be used by the infant as a strategy to cope with the stress of separation anxiety (Cozolino, 2010). During her interview, Holly described her use of play songs to manage Ophelia’s inability to cope with physical separation. Directly before participating in the study Ophelia would become distressed if Holly was not holding her. It was only by singing a series of play songs that Ophelia could cope with separation (see p. 123). Holly would begin by singing softer play songs such as Twinkle Twinkle and build up to more exciting songs. As Holly sang, Ophelia would become happier and happier. As Ophelia became happier Holly would increase the physical separation between them (e.g. instead of holding Ophelia, Holly would lay her on the ground to move Ophelia’s legs). Once Ophelia happily coped with physical separation during a song she could play independently with a toy for a little while. One could argue that Holly devised her own intervention based on positive projective identification. Considering Holly's descriptions and the theory of positive projective identification, Holly may have been projecting her feelings of love and joy to Ophelia while singing. These emotions could have penetrated Ophelia and become internalised as a sense of containment and a symbol of the mother-child union. If so, 218 then Ophelia could have held on to the internalised sense of connection to cope with physical separation. Holly’s case demonstrates the therapeutic potential of singing to impact the mother-infant relationship by meeting the infant’s emotional needs while simultaneously impacting the mother’s tolerance/acceptance construct. It is concerning to imagine what Ophelia and Holly’s relationship would have been like without singing songs. Holly’s feelings of being drained, fatigued and lacking personal space would have only intensified potentially leading her down a negative spiral of depression. Instead, singing enabled her to turn the spiral around by providing her increasing amounts of personal space and energy. Holly's case also raises questions, such as: why would singing be a good intervention? And what does singing offer that other interactions don’t? These questions will be addressed in the following discussion that focuses on the differences between singing and non-singing interactions. Differences Overall, the mothers' experience of singing play songs and lullabies contributes primarily to three attachment constructs: pleasure in proximity, need gratification/protection and tolerance/acceptance. In contrast, the mothers' experience of non-singing play interactions contribute primarily to the pleasure in proximity, need gratification and knowledge acquisition constructs. The types of thoughts and feelings that were characteristically experienced during singing interactions differ to non-singing interactions. More specifically, there were eight differences identified between the mothers’ experience of singing and non-singing interactions. 219 First, during singing interactions the mothers described experiencing emotional modulation, for example, feeling a spiral of happiness and being calmed and settled by singing. There was an absence of such comments for non-singing interactions. This suggests, the experience of becoming happier or calmer during mother-infant interaction is unique to the mothers' experience of singing play songs and lullabies. In other words, mothers did not experience modulation during nonsinging play interactions in the same way as singing. Second, the mothers expressed an expectation of play songs and lullabies to effectively modulate infant emotions. During the interviews mothers communicated feeling confident that singing would make the baby happy and relax. However, no similar theme emerged for the experience of non-singing interaction. Furthermore, some of the mothers in the singing condition described the use of singing when toys simply would not suffice. For example Diana says, “You sing to try to get him to sleep or calm down … You know when they [babies] get to the point when another toy won’t do, so yeah … And especially those times when he wants attention from someone [I sing]” (Interviewed December, 6, 2011). In other words, there was no specific non-singing tool that Diana, and presumably, the other mothers expected to effectively modulate her infant emotions in the way that singing can. Third, the portability of songs was expressed to enhance the perceived value of singing as a parenting tool. The ability to sing spontaneously anytime and anywhere was described to add convenience and usefulness to songs that does not emerge for other non-singing interactions. Thus, the modulation of both the mother’s and infant’s emotions as well as the expectation to successfully and spontaneously modulate the infant’s emotions is a unique characteristic of the mothers' experience of singing. 220 Fourth, when the mothers observed their infant to be happier or calmer as a result of singing, the perception of being significant to the infant, that is, sense of ‘mum’ was reinforced. This validation strengthens the perception of the baby she cares for as being her own baby. However, mothers in the control group did not describe experiencing this validation. Perhaps this is because there is no specific nonsinging tool that mothers expected to effectively modulate the infant’s emotions with a reliable degree of consistency. Without a consistent tool, there would be no consistent or prominent experience of validation to report during the interview. The findings suggest, therefore, that the consistent reinforcement of the perception of self as ‘mum’ was unique to the experience of singing play songs and lullabies. Fifth, mothers reported that singing songs would capture the infant’s attention and engage him/her. However, there was an absence of similar comments for nonsinging interactions. In other words, play songs and lullabies were perceived to be a particularly effective tool for engaging the infant whereas there was no particular non-singing tool that was perceived to consistently capture an infant’s attention in the same way that singing does. Sixth, the mother’s focus of attention was found to differ when singing or not singing to her infant. Mothers described their mind being cleared of previous thoughts and their attention focussed during the act of singing. Mothers also believed that the focus of attention was reciprocal. In contrast, mothers did not mention a focus of attention during non-singing interactions but rather multi-tasking or being distracted by chores. Singing appears to demand the mothers focus of attention and capture the infant's attention in a way that non-singing interactions do not. Seventh, the non-singing mothers described play interactions as a way of getting to know the infant (e.g. learning likes and dislikes). However, no similar 221 theme emerged for the experience of singing. Instead, singing was described to encapsulate a feeling of togetherness. Eighth, mothers expressed observing and considering the developmental progress of the infant to characterise non-singing play interactions. These observations were accompanied by feelings of amazement and pride. During the description of singing interaction there was an absence of such developmental observations and accompanying feelings or amazement of pride. This finding suggests that the experience of non-singing play interactions encourage a focus of attention on the infant's development in a way that singing does not. To clarify, it is not being suggested that a mother never feels proud of her infant while singing or that a mother never feels a sense of togetherness during toybased play. The findings reveal that certain thoughts and feelings are more prominent during singing and non-singing interactions35. In other words, the feelings of togetherness are more prominently experienced during singing interactions whereas the feelings of amazement and pride are more prominently experienced during nonsinging interactions. What is unique about the mothers' experience of singing is that it is characterised by feelings of togetherness, focus of attention, validation and emotional modulation. What is unique about the mothers' experience of non-singing play interaction is that is characterised by the observation of the infant's developmental progress and getting to know the infant. 35 It is logical to assume that mothers do not mention every single thought or feeling they experience during the interview. Instead they would discuss what ‘stands out’ or characterises the experience of singing/non-singing interactions. Considering this, the findings demonstrate what is prominently (as opposed to only) experienced during singing and non-singing interactions. 222 Discussion Clinical relevance of singing No intervention or music therapy program was examined in this study. The effect of an applied music therapy singing intervention on maternal attachment constructs has yet to be examined. The present study examined the natural experience of singing and non-singing interactions of a small group of healthy mothers as reported by the mothers. More specifically, the study examined what the intrinsic experience of singing, that is, uninfluenced by intervention, may contribute to the attachment constructs. The findings reveal that within the mothers' subjective experience lies a flow of positive emotional and mental states that relate to the attachment constructs. What is interesting for therapists to consider is the therapeutic potential embedded in the positivity of the 'flow of influence'. First, the way that the emotional and mental states interconnect suggest that negativity may be 'balanced out' or possibly replaced by the positivity of the 'flow of influence'. If this is true there is potential for singing to treat mothers experiencing stress, mood disturbances, hostility and negativity toward the infant. Second, the flow of positivity is contingent on a catalyst, that is, the successful modulation of infant emotions. The existence of a catalyst suggests there is a possibility of establishing a similar experience of positivity in other mothers. In other words, there is a possibility that incorporating the catalyst into a mother's experience (i.e. by educating/empowering her to implement and recognise successful singing interactions) will establish or 'set off' the 'flow of influence' in other mothers. It is important to remember that the findings are based on healthy mothers and infants not impacted by disability or mental illness. It is unknown whether other 223 mothers in different circumstance are capable of experiencing the 'flow of influence' or facilitating successful singing interactions in the same way as the mothers in this sample. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that it is possible to establish the 'flow of influence' in mothers of all clinical populations or circumstances. However, the findings offer insight into the possible potential of singing to facilitate positive contributions to attachment constructs. A matter of balance The findings suggest that experiencing only singing or non-singing interactions would provide an imbalanced impact on the attachment constructs. If a mother in the present sample were to only experience positive singing interactions with her infant, she may experience prominent feelings of happiness, fun, consistent validation of being ‘mum’, emotional modulation, a strong focus of attention on her infant and a sense of connection and togetherness. However, she may not experience prominent feelings of amazement and pride, or opportunities to explore what sorts of things her infant likes/dislikes to the same extent as during non-singing interactions. Similarly, if a mother were to only experience positive non-singing interactions she may experience prominent happiness, fun, pride, amazement and curiosity about her infant’s mind and personality but not emotional modulation, focused quality time with her infant, sense of togetherness and consistent validation of being ‘mum’ to the same extent as during singing interactions. In other words, it would be unbalanced to only experience the positive emotional and mental states characterising singing or non-singing interactions. The findings suggest that the ideal way for the mothers in this sample to experience the full variety of impacts to all four attachment constructs would be to frequently practice both types of interactions. All of the emotional and mental states 224 outlined in the global descriptions of both groups were positive in nature and between the two experiences, mothers experienced contributions to all four attachment constructs. Both types of interaction appear to have distinct contributions to attachment constructs. In other words, singing appears to be intrinsically better at facilitating particular emotional and mental states in the same way that non-singing play interactions appear to be intrinsically better at facilitating particular emotional and mental states. By experiencing both types of interaction the mothers could hypothetically experience a large range of positive emotional and mental states that contribute to all four attachment constructs. Implications to mother-infant attachment As discussed earlier, the emotional and mental states experienced during nonsinging play interactions primarily impact the pleasure in proximity, need gratification and knowledge acquisition constructs. However, no composite theme relating to the tolerance/acceptance construct was identified (no theme was shared by 50% or more of the control sample). It is logical to assume therefore, that it is the tolerance/acceptance construct which would be more adversely affected if a mother were not to sing to her infant. For example, without experiencing a focus of attention on the infant as well as the observation of the infant’s positive responses to singing, a mother may not feel a prominent sense of pleasurable companionship, connection and togetherness with the infant. Consequently, the perception of baby being her own baby is not reinforced to the same degree as mothers who are singing. Likewise, without being able to effectively and quickly modulate the infant’s emotions by singing, a mother may not feel a sense of achievement to the same prominence as singing interaction. Consequently, the validation of being ‘mum’ and the reduction of negative feelings 225 are not experienced to the same extent as mothers who are singing. Additionally, mothers in the experimental group reported singing frequently throughout each day. Thus, mothers who do not sing to their infant may potentially be missing out on daily positive impacts to the tolerance/acceptance construct which may lead to adverse effects on maternal health and well-being. The potential implications of the absence of singing are concerning, particularly considering mothers who are struggling to cope with the demands of motherhood. Rayna’s case, for example, reveals how a dyad not classified as ‘at risk’ can experience difficulties and be at risk of depression and insecure attachment (see p. 169). As a result of Ellie’s continual clinginess, Rayna felt constantly drained and found herself thinking negatively of Ellie. At the same time, the continual responses to Ellie’s clinginess reinforced Rayna’s sense of being ‘mum’. The same interactions that were responding to Ellie’s separation anxiety also formed the basis of motherinfant attachment. In other words, responding to Ellie’s negatively involving behaviours became the foundation of their bond. The mother-infant relationship therefore, was based on dependency rather than security. As attachment developed from Ellie’s insecure over-dependence, Rayna’s wellbeing worsened, as did her perception of Ellie. Play songs and lullabies could potentially offer a means of breaking the pattern of over-dependent interactions. As described by the mothers in this study, songs offer an interaction that is enjoyable for both parties while simultaneously modulating emotions. The emotional needs of the infant and mother may be addressed while both parties share in happiness or calm. Hypothetically, as the mother becomes more skilled and frequent in her use of songs to modulate emotions, she would see more positive responses from her infant. Consequently, she may feel a 226 greater sense of connection and togetherness with her infant and a reduction of negative feelings/thoughts. These emotional and mental states would in turn, provide positive reinforcement of the sense of baby being her own baby, which may help to balance out the previous negative reinforcements. The ‘flow of influence’ may alter the mother’s perception of her infant and her relationship with the infant by positively impacting the mother’s tolerance/acceptance, pleasure in proximity and need-gratification constructs. Similarly, a mother may prevent a negative perception developing further by regularly experiencing the positivity of the ‘flow of influence’. Implications to mother and infant resilience Considering the wide variety of emotional and mental states experienced by the mothers during singing interaction, it is possible that the 'flow of influence' has potential implications/applications beyond attachment. Further reflections upon the mothers' experience of singing reveals that singing may promote key mechanisms that help adults and children successfully cope during life transitions, stress or adversity, known as resilience (Amatea, Smith-Adcock, & Villares, 2006; Black & Lobo, 2008; Cuthbert & Stanley, 2011; Patterson, 2002; Walsh, 2002, 2003; Werner, 1990, 1995). Resilience comprises of many mechanisms or competencies that serves to protect from the adverse affects of short-term crises (e.g. serious illness) and persistent crises (e.g. ‘at risk’ populations involving economic hardship, mental illness, abuse, single/teenage parenting). By maximising resilience, risk is minimised and a child is given the best start at life (Werner, 1990). Two mechanisms that are applicable to the mothers' experience of singing include: emotional connectedness and a positive outlook and self-concept (Amatea, et al., 2006; Black & Lobo, 2008; Cuthbert & Stanley, 2011; Walsh, 2002, 2003; Werner, 1990, 1995). 227 Emotional connectedness. Emotional connectedness involves demonstrating emotional warmth and belonging, sharing emotions and providing responsive and positive parenting. Within the context of early mother-infant attachment, the qualities of emotional connectedness encourage the infant to develop social and emotional competencies such as trust in others (sense of security), autonomy and initiative (Walsh, 2002, 2003; Werner, 1990, 1995). These competencies may then be drawn upon as the infant grows older to better cope with adversity. The 'flow of influence' experienced by the mothers in this study demonstrate how singing may promote emotional connectedness by (1) facilitating a reciprocal focus of attention that sparks feelings of togetherness, and (2) validating the sense of baby being her own baby (baby belonging to the mother as opposed to another adult) by successfully modulating the infant's emotions. Positive outlook and self-concept. A positive outlook and self-concept involves having optimism, hope, encouragement, confidence and a focus on strengths and potentials (as opposed to a sense of burden, negativity and resistance) (Amatea, et al., 2006; Black & Lobo, 2008; Walsh, 2002, 2003). Being weighed down by the negativity of a crisis may adversely affect a mother’s capacity to provide the care and security that young babies need which leads to adverse affects on the infant’s physical, emotional and social development. Encouraging positivity therefore, may reduce the risk of experiencing disruptions to parenting and consequently protect the child from potential adverse effects to the infant's health, well-being and development. The mothers' experience of singing involved positive emotional and mental states that strengthen/maintain a mother’s positive outlook: (1) modulation of mother’s emotions i.e. turning a negative mood into a happy/relaxed one, (2) 228 reduction of hostility toward, and negative perceptions of, the infant e.g. experiencing a sense of achievement from effectively soothing the infant’s distress, and (3) facilitation of positive (rather than negative) feelings e.g. pleasure, sense of togetherness and validation of ‘good mother’. The 'flow of influence' hypothetically demonstrates how a build up of negativity may be minimised by, for example, reducing the sense of ‘burdensome’ in caring for the infant and feeling a sense of achievement from successfully modulating the infant's emotions. In other words, the positive emotional and mental states experienced by the ‘flow of influence’ may strengthen the mother’s positive outlook and sense of self as ‘good mother’ which in turn promotes a key mechanism of resilience. Demonstrably, some of the experienced thoughts and feelings that relate to attachment constructs also relate to mechanisms of resilience. This suggests that the positivity of the 'flow of influence' may contribute to maternal attachment constructs while simultaneously strengthening resilience resources within the mother and infant (Pasiali, 2012). It is important to remember, as discussed earlier, these positive emotional and mental states are contingent on implementing and recognising successful modulation of infant emotions. Again, any benefits hoped to achieve by utilising singing as a therapeutic tool relies on the mother's facilitation of successful emotional modulation. Assuming that an intervention may promote and encourage positive, successful and emotionally available interactions, mother and baby would strengthen each other's resilience competencies while the mother experienced positive contributions to attachment constructs. Firstly, the mother’s effort to sing songs in an optimal manner would develop and maintain emotional connectedness and sense of 229 security in the attachment relationship. Secondly, the baby’s positive responses to singing would feed the mother’s positive outlook and positive self-concept. The positive feedback from the baby would strengthen the mother’s resilience and attachment constructs and in turn, enhance the mother’s capacity to be emotionally available, further strengthening emotional connectedness and security with the infant. In other words, experiencing successful singing interactions may hypothetically involve mother and infant in an emotional connectedness feedback loop. The relationship may be enhanced as well as drawn upon to strengthen attachment and resilience. Considering this hypothetical, there appears to be therapeutic potential intrinsically embedded into the mothers' experience of positive and emotionally available singing interactions, as shown in Figure 10. MOTHER Positive outlook & selfconcept INFANT Needs are met & emotional connectedness (develop trust, security) Figure 10 – Diagram illustrating the hypothetical emotional connectedness feedback loop of the mothers' experience of singing. 230 Conclusion Both the singing and non-singing condition scored highly on the Emotional Availability Scales, which suggests that engaging in a certain type of interaction does not automatically equate to optimal emotional availability. Yet, despite the similar scores, the Interview findings reveal that the mothers' experience of singing interactions is distinctly different to non-singing interaction and each type of interaction experience contributed positively to attachment constructs in a unique way. The mothers' experience of singing was characterised by a flow of interconnections between prominent positive emotional and mental states that relate to the pleasure in proximity, need gratification/protection and tolerance/acceptance constructs, described as the 'flow of influence'. The experience of non-singing play interactions was characterised by a variety of prominent positive emotional and mental states that relate to pleasure in proximity, need gratification/protection and knowledge acquisition. Between singing and non-singing play interactions positive contributions to all four attachment constructs were experienced. Suggestibly, both singing and non-interactions have distinct roles in impacting maternal attachment constructs. The potential of singing as a therapeutic tool was found to be embedded in the experienced 'flow of influence'. First, the 'flow of influence' relates positively to three of the attachment constructs in a way that non-singing play interactions did not which suggests singing provided unique benefits to the mothers' perception of attachment. Also, considering that it was experienced by healthy mothers, the 'flow of influence' illustrates a possible ideal of positivity for mothers to experience. Second, commonalities between the mothers' emotional and mental states and mechanisms of resilience were found. This suggests that singing may have been 231 beneficial to both the mother's perception of attachment and resilience competencies. Third, the focus of attention that mothers described singing to demand may provide a good platform to consciously practise new skills and understanding of modulating infant emotions. Fourth, the 'flow of influence' was contingent on a particular catalyst, that is, successful modulation of infant emotions. The existence of a catalyst suggests the possibility of other mothers also being able to experience the 'flow of influence'. In other words, if a therapist were to optimise mother-infant interactions to achieve successful modulation of infant emotions, it may be possible to establish/promote the positivity of the 'flow of influence' in other mothers. This possibility opens new directions for research examining singing and attachment as well as the development and evaluation of attachment-focussed singing programs within various contexts of health and circumstance. Also, similarities were discovered between the experienced emotional and mental states of the 'flow of influence' and particular mechanisms of resilience. The positivity of the 'flow of influence' may therefore have potential applications to attachment and resilience simultaneously. However, further research is required to explore and support this idea. Overall, the ‘flow of influence’ provides a new perspective on the experience of singing and offers a means of conceptualising how the intrinsic experience of singing may contribute positively to a mother's perception of attachment to her infant. 232 CHAPTER SUMMARY The purpose of this chapter was to examine (1) the group subjective experience of singing interactions, (2) the groups subjective experience of singing interactions, (3) the commonalities and differences between the experience of singing and non-singing play interactions, and (4) the overall quality of interaction demonstrated by both the singing and non-singing condition, including if/how the interactions differ in regard to Emotional Availability. Despite both singing and nonsinging interactions being similarly rated on the Emotional Availability Scales, the subjective experience of singing was found to be distinctly different to non-singing interactions and contribute to mother-infant attachment by facilitating a positive 'flow of influence' between prominent emotional states related to three attachment constructs. In the next chapter the behavioural and musical features of singing interaction will be examined in further detail. 233 CHAPTER 7 –MUSICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL FEATURES OF SINGING INTERACTIONS "It [ singing] does actually stop him from going all frantic (...) that's the calmest I ever see him, when I'm holding him and just singing to him (...) It calms me ... which I think helps the whole circle of everything anyway because you need to be calm to get them calm ... he tends to look straight at you, like, he really watches ... especially when he's going to sleep (...) I find if I hold him and like, look at his face with the slower songs he tends to stare straight back and then goes [off to sleep]. So that's kind of nice. And I feel all 'mumsy' when I do it. I'm like, 'ah, I'm supermum'" Karen, mother of three, interview conducted on 8th December, 2011 One of the aims of this study is to examine the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal singing interactions with the purpose of gaining a better understanding of how play songs and lullabies are vehicles of emotional communication. In the previous chapter, the group comparison of Emotional Availability ratings revealed that both the singing and non-singing conditions scored similarly high scores on each of the Emotional Availability Scales, albeit NonIntrusiveness showed slight differences. This finding suggests that it is the manner in which mothers interact, rather than the type of interaction, which determines optimal emotional availability. Furthermore, the individual findings of the singing condition in Chapter 4 revealed that mothers scored a range of ratings on the Emotional Availability Scales (between 18 and 28). Not all mothers scored near-perfect scores 234 on every dimension and some mothers scored in the mid category range (e.g. 18-20). Therefore, the question remains, in what ways did the mothers sing songs to facilitate varying degrees and qualities of emotional availability? Or, how did a mother sing to achieve optimal or less optimal interactions? To better understand how the mothers facilitated emotional communication through singing, a detailed musical analysis of singing interaction was conducted. This chapter contains two main sections. The first section presents a summary of the transcriptional music analyses. The music notation is presented in tabular form followed by a discussion that summarises the key musical features of the mothers' singing interaction. The second section explores the inner processes of song-based interaction by presenting an explication of musical principles underlying dyadic mother-infant singing interactions. SECTION 1 - TRANSCRIPTIONAL MUSIC ANALYSIS There were six dyads chosen for the transcriptional musical analysis (see 'Procedure' in Chapter 3 for details). These dyads scored a range of Emotional Availability ratings and demonstrated both optimal and less-optimal interaction. For each dyad three or four excerpts of singing interactions were transcribed using descriptive text and musical notation. The excerpts were then analysed according to the relevant structural musical elements, including: structure, pitch, rhythm (including meter), timbre, tempo, dynamic and expressive techniques. The transcriptions and analyses may be found in Appendix II to NN. The musical and behavioural features identified for each dyad were then grouped within the framework of the Emotional Availability Scales, i.e., grouped according to the 235 dimension of Emotional Availability they related to, including: Parental Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility, Child Responsiveness and Child Involvement (Biringen, 2008a, 2008b). To provide further clarity, the musical and behavioural features were divided again into more specific attributes or subscales of Emotional Availability. For example, as shown in the first column of Table 51, the dimension of Parental Sensitivity was divided into the subscales of affect and response to cues and signals. Ultimately, the musical and behavioural features of each dyad were grouped within the framework of Emotional Availability and are summarised in Tables 51-54 below. Alice and Cindy Alice scored high, near optimal ratings in each of the parental dimensions (25-27). Cindy scored high scores (22.5 and 25.5) on the child dimensions. Overall, Alice and Cindy were described to have a positive, healthy and emotionally available relationship (see Chapter 4 for further details). Transcript 1 and 2 examine Alice and Cindy's high Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness, Non-Hostility, Child Responsive and Child Involvement during two play song interactions. Transcript 3 examines Alice's optimal parental dimensions during Cindy's distress, Cindy's high Responsiveness (ability to be regulated) but less-optimal Involvement (frequent negatively involving behaviours) during a lullaby interaction. See Appendix II for the full descriptions, transcriptions and music analyses. See Table 51 below for a summary of Alice and Cindy's features of singing interaction. 236 Table 51: Summary of Alice and Cindy's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability Parental Sensitivity (High 27) EA subscale Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Behaviours Musical elements Smiling while singing play songs A smiley tone of voice is created by smiling while singing (Going to the moon and Jig Jog.) In Going to the moon Alice uses large ascending glissando to demonstrate animation (anticipate and dramatise the lifting action “blast off!”) Consistently, uses expressive vocal techniques In response to infant’s positive responses to the song Jig Jog, Alice vocalises a breathy “kee” sound on a low “C#” pitch. 237 Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Alice vocalises gigglelike sounds Affect demonstration of appropriate animation Alice demonstrates her own (and infant’s) enjoyment of the interaction via infantdirected speech Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Demonstrates intentional behavioural and musical congruence Alice’s phrase “that was fun” reflects her own and infant’s enjoyment of the interaction by emphasising the words “that was fun”. Emphasis is created by lengthening the duration of these words and by ascending a third for the word “fun”. Rising in pitch draws attention to the word and thus, “fun” is emphasised more than the others. Alice’s intention behind Stroke your feet, is to calm and comfort infant. She demonstrates this intention by an appropriate lack of animation e.g. (1) maintenance of neutral facial expression while singing, (2) addition of affectionate touch via foot rubbing, (3) singing with a calm, steady, round and sweet vocal tone, (4) maintains consistent tempo and dynamic. Alice says, “Aw sweetheart” to convey her sympathy and compassion. This phrase comprises of one long half-note followed by a descending 4th interval in Alice’s low speech register Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Acknowledges infant distress by responding sympathetically via infant-directed speech Sympathy Alice apologetically responds to infant’s distressed vocalisations by saying, “Oh did I stop, I’m sorry” This phrase reflects her belief that infant is upset that the singing stopped and therefore wants it to continue. This phrase contains a series of ascending and descending 3rd or 4th intervals. 238 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Alice interprets infant’s communications via infant-directed speech Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Responds to distress and discomfort by singing a lullaby Suggests repeating Jig Jog to maintain infant happiness Interpretation Characteristics of Stroke your feet include: major modality, 4/4 meter, consistent slow tempo, smooth (legato) style, consistent moderately loud dynamic, ascending and descending triadic melody and repetitive short-short-long phrasing structure. Characteristics of Jig Jog include: (1) major modality, (2) 4/4 meter, (3) contrasting A-B sections, (4) phrases are distinguished by quarternote versus dotted eighth-notes, leaning versus bouncing movement and sharp melodic oscillations versus smooth wave-like contour. Alice changes the tempo and vocal style within phrases throughout the song Going to the moon. She also stops after the first phrase of Jig Jog, to ask, “what cha looking at?” Response to cues and signals – flexibility Alice sings with flexibility Parental Structuring (High 26-27) EA subscale Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Behaviours Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by phonetic symmetry “oo” vowel Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by melodic symmetry and rhythmic rest Musical elements In Going to the moon, the first two phrases begin and end with an “oo” vowel sound such as “zoom”, “moon” and “soon. By beginning and ending with the same vowel sound a sense of symmetry is created while also marking the phrasing Melody rises from the tonic to the dominant via an arpeggio over three quarter-note beats then steps downward back to the tonic over three quarter beats. The symmetry of rising and falling o the tonic (and phonetic symmetry) mark the lyrical phrasing. Also, each phrase is followed by a quarter-note rest. The audible gap clearly marks the end of the phrase. In Jig Jog, Phrase ‘a’ and ‘b’ are clearly distinguished by the melodic contour. Phrase ‘a’ comprises of an oscillating minor third which creates a sharp ‘up-down-up-down’ shape. Phrase ‘b’ also contains minor thirds but it does not oscillate. In bar one the minor third rises then falls. In bar 2 the minor third falls and then rises. In the third bar the melody steps downward from the sub-mediant to the supertonic and then ascends a perfect fourth. Thus, a ‘wave-like’, rather than an a sharp ‘up-down’ contour is created. 239 Phrase ‘a’ Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is clearly distinguished by contrasting melodic contour Phrase ‘b’ Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Sub-phrasing of the play song is clearly distinguished by contrasting rhythm and movement Sub-phrasing in Jig Jog is distinguished by alternating between a quarter note and long-short dotted rhythm. Each rhythm also has an associated movement. The quarter note melody is associated with leaning from side to side and the long-short dotted rhythm ‘Jig-a-jog-a” lyric is associated to bouncing up and down. Sub-phrase ‘1’ Sub-phrase ‘2’ In Jig Jog, long-short dotted rhythms and the lyrics “Jig-a-jog-a” are associated with bouncing. Quarter notes (and no “Jig-a-jog-a”) are associated with leaning from side to side. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is distinguished by associating a movement with rhythm and lyrics The structure consists of a repeated phrasing pattern (short-short-long) Short Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Short Long Predictability is created within the lullaby Loud inhalation on the beat preceeding each phrase of Going to the moon anticipates each phrase. 240 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates each phrase of the play song In Going to the moon “one” is sung with an ascending glissando (approximately 8ve) to anticipate the lifting action “Blast off” Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates ending of the play song creating predictability for the infant. Alice loudly inhales on the beat preceding the first phrase of Jig Jog. This signals that the song is about to start. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates the beginning of the song Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Develops musical expectancy by consistent musical structuring Disrupts musical expectancy to end the play song cheekily During the start/stop game in Jig Jog (Section B) Alice consistently sings “jig-jog stop!” in a particular way. “Jig jog” is sung be ascending up the tonic triad (from the median to the dominant) on short eighth notes. This is followed by a large intervallic leap to a high-pitched staccato tone for “stop!” The ascending triadic melody creates a sense of direction and movement which creates anticipation. Thus the melody acts as a cue to prepare for the upcoming “stop!” By repeating the cue consistently the listener expects to hear the high-pitched staccato “stop!” after the median-dominant triadic melody. During the last phrase of Jig Jog, Alice plays on the expectation (see above) she has created. Instead of ascending triadically on “jig jog” she sings descends stepwise from the median to the super-tonic. The expectation of the high-pitched “stop!” is disrupted by the change in melodic contour. During this phrase the listener expects the super-tonic to be resolved by stepping down the tonic, However, Alice does not resolve the melody in the expected manner. Instead he jumps two octaves higher to sing another high-pitched staccato “stop!” 241 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Indicates the last phrase of the play song by change in pitch, melodic contour and tempo Multiple changes occur at the beginning of the last phrase of Going to the moon: (1) instead of beginning on the tonic the melody begins on the dominant, (2) instead of ascending in an arpeggiato manner, the melody steps downward, and (3) the tempo is slower than the previous tempo. Extends the lifting action of Going to the moon to conclude interaction. Alice sings a short A4 while lifting infant into the air followed by a descending 5th glissando in a lower register. The downward glissando and perfect interval (often associated with dominant – tonic resolution) provide a sense of completion and finality. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Concludes the interaction by extending the ending of the song In Going to the moon the song ends with a large ascending glissando (approximately 12 th or 14th interval) while simultaneously lifting infant into the air. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently indicates the ending of song creating predictability for the infant The lullaby Stroke your feet consistently ends by resolving the leading-note to the tonic at the end of the last phrase. Phrase ‘b’ delays the sense of finality by resolving the supertonic at the beginning of the next phrase, thus the resolution is also the continuation of the lullaby. The final resolution is the only instance where the resolution occurs at the end of the phrase and thus provides a strong sense of finality. Leaning occurs on beat 1 and 3 of the meter over a half-note duration. 242 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements are in time with the meter Alice bounces Cindy by lifting her knee up and down to the same dotted rhythm of the melody. She consistently moves downward on metric pulse. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements match the rhythm of the melody) Leaning, swaying and boucning coincides with the rhythm of the melody (Going to the moon & Jig Jog). Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements match the rhythm of the melody) 243 Slower tempo and legato style better dramatise the ‘zooming’ action (leaning and swaying action) and the faster staccto style better match the bouncing movement of “we’re going to the moon” Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements match the tempo and singing style) In Jig Jog, Alice consistently disrupts the up-down dotted rhythm pattern of her knee jogging to move upwards on “stop!” The combination of abrupt movement and melodic changes reinforce the playful start/stop game. Intentional stop/start movement to reinforce start/stop game. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Creates an enveloping environment conducive to relaxation while singing lullabies Appropriate guidance – preventative scaffolding Alice alternates between two contrasting movements during a long play song to prevent boredom (and to reinforce the association of bouncing movement to Jig jog lyrics EA subscale Behaviours 244 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding During Sroke your feet Alice maintains a slow tempo of approximately = 45 and sings the full duration of note values to maintain the legato flow of the lullaby. She also maintains a moderately loud dynamic throughout the lullaby. Alice avoids sudden changes in tempo or dynamic to encourage infant to calm and relax. In Jig jog, alternating between leaning and bouncing movement may help to sustain infant attention. Parental Non-intrusiveness (High 25-27) Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Alice’s eyes follow infant’s interest. Responds to interest via infant-directed speech Musical elements Alice follows infant’s interest (gaze) then talks about what she is looking at by saying “You’re obsessed with the high chair”. This phrase is characterised by the repetition of D3 pitch and two large ascending intervals (8 ve & 6th) sung with an ascending appoggiatura. She also accents the keywords “obsessed” and “high chair” Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire 245 Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire After the first phrase Alice responds to infant’s looking via infant-directed speech “What cha looking at?” This phrase is characterised by a downward melodic contour descending by two second intervals then one 5 th interval. Alice disrupts the flow of the song to respond to infant’s interest immediately Alice attempts to structure further conversation about infant’s interest Alice continues the play song in response to infant’s eye-contact and smiles Alice seeks infant’s lead as expressed via infantdirected speech Alice extends her acknowledgement by structuring further conversation about infant’s interest. One phrase, “there’s bears on it” is similar to the original acknowledgment phrase. It contains repetition of D3 pitch and a large ascending 8ve which is accented and spoken with an appoggiatura. “Yeah”, “Lots of bears” and, ‘and bees” comprise of ascending and descending 3 rd intervals. Alice continues the Jig jog song when infant turns to make eye-contact. Alice also verbalises her interpretation of infant’s involving behaviours (eye-contact and smiles) via question, “Do it again?” This phrase comprises of the repetition of low B3 pitch followed by a large ascending 6th interval to indicate the upward inflection of a question (Jig Jog). Alice conveys her desire for infant feedback by asking questions. For example, “Yeah? Yeah?” is characterised by two slurred ascending minor thirds. “Is that better? Are we feeling a bit better?” is characterised by the repetition of mid-pitch F4 followed by two ascending 4th or 5th intervals on “better”. The rising intervals draw attention to the key word “better” as well s convey the upper inflection of a question. Parental Non-hostility (High 27) EA subscale Lacking Negativity – lack of overt or covert hostility Behaviours Musical elements Only a few sighs observed. n/a Lack of mocking – lack of ridiculing or disrespect No ridiculing or disrespect observed n/a EA subscale Affect demonstration of genuine and appropriate emotion Affect demonstration of genuine and appropriate emotion Behaviours Musical elements General positive and relaxed affect Usually accompanied by silence Demonstrates a range of vocal expressiveness Cindy vocalises happy ‘giggling’ sounds within a 2 octave range and with a combination of single tones, appoggiaturas and ascending glissandos. Affect – infant is able to use resources to regulate emotions Becomes still and silent during lullaby singing Stroke your feet Accompanied by silence Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Smiling Usually accompanied by silence Child Responsiveness (High 25.5) 246 During Going to the moon, Cindy smiles while vocalising a short-long-short giggle rhythm containing a small ascending major 2 nd. Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Giggling and/or happy giggling type sounds EA subscale Simple initiative Behaviours Looking and smiling In Jig Jog, Cindy smiles while vocalising a range of sounds e.g. single tone around C4 and in a high register B5 and ascending glissandos ranging from a 3rd to 6th interval. Child Involvement (High 22.5) Musical elements Mostly accompanied by silence Characteristics of Cindy’s negatively involving vocalisations include: (1) imitative triadic melody in the same modality as mother, (2) ascending appoggiaturas preceding a single tone or small descending glissando, (3) large and quick ascending octave (4) slurred descending small intervals. Simple initiative Negatively involving whining vocalisations Elaborative initiative Mainly looking, sustained eye contact and smiling Mostly accompanied by silence 247 Skye and Marley Skye scored very high ratings in each of the parental dimensions (27-28). Marley also scored high scores (24 and 27) on the child dimensions. Overall, Skye and Marley were described to have a positive, healthy and emotionally available relationship (see Chapter 4 for further details). Transcript 1 and 2 examine Skye and Marley's high Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness, Non-Hostility, Child Responsive and Child Involvement during two play song interactions. Each example particularly demonstrates Skye's ability to provide preventative structuring by regulating Marley's emotions while avoiding over-stimulation or over-excitement. Transcript 3 and 4 examine Skye and Marley's high emotional availability during two lullaby interactions and particularly show Marley's high Responsiveness (ability to 248 be regulated) and Involvement (positively involving behaviours) as well as Skye's Sensitivity, Non-Intrusiveness and Non-Hostility. See Appendix JJ for the full descriptions, transcriptions and music analyses. See Table 52 below for a summary of Skye and Marley's features of singing interaction. 248 Table 52: Summary of Skye and Marley's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability Parental Sensitivity (High 27-28) EA subscale Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Behaviours Musical elements Singing while smiling A smiley tone of voice is created by smiling while singing (Acka backa). In Going to the moon Skye uses ascending glissandos and vibrato affect to demonstrate animation. 249 Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Consistently uses expressive vocal techniques Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Demonstrates intentional, behavioural and musical congruence during lullabies Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Skye acknowledges infant’s communications by responding sympathetically via infant-directed speech Skye’s intention behind Hush-a-bye and Sleep baby sleep is to calm infant down. Skye demonstrates this intention by an appropriate lack of animation. She (1) maintains a neutral facial expression (as opposed to excited), (2) sings in a legato vocal style, and (3) sings with a calm and warm vocal tone, (4) the rhythmic structure of the melodies helps to facilitate the legato style by providing opportunities (rests) to breathe without disrupting the flow of the melody, (5) maintains consistent dynamic and tempo. After infant grizzles, Skye acknowledges his communications by saying “I know, darling, I know”. These phrases are characterised by a gentle descending 4th/5th glissando intervals in Skye’s lower speech register. Acknowledgement Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Skye acknowledges infant’s communications by responding sympathetically via infant-directed speech Skye acknowledges infant’s communications via infant-directed speech 250 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Skye interprets and verbalises intended response to infant’s communications via infant-directed speech The first phrase consists of a descending glissando (approx. 3rd interval) “Oh, Marly”. When infant’s vocalisations sound more urgent and cry-like, Skye’s verbalisations also change. She increases the overall pitch of the “Marly, Marly” phrase by about an octave to match infant’s intensity. Phrase is characterised by slurred descending 2 nd/3rd interval. The smoothness, descending contour and warm tone of these phrases conveys sympathy rather than irritation. Skye acknowledges infant by saying “what have you seen?” This phrase is characterised by a triplet rhythm containing a large descending interval of approximately a 5th followed by a short descending glissando on “seen?” Skye also rests after the phrase to leave time for infant to respond. Acknowledgement Skye verbalises her interpretation of infant’s communications by saying “you’re a bit tired I think aren’t you?” This phrase stays in the lower register of Skye’s voice and is comprised of ascending and descending third (approximately) intervals. Skye then responds to infant’s tiredness by verbalising her suggested activity, “should we do the rocket song?” This question is a little higher in pitch and continues to use ascending/descending third (approximately) intervals. The question ends with a descending glissando of approximately a 5 th interval on “song”. After this flow of infant-directed speech Skye starts the song. Interpretation Response Skye says “do you wanna go look at the chair?”. This phrase is characterised by small third intervals rising and falling is Skye’s low speech register. The emphases the words “wanna”, “look” and “chair”. Emphasis is created by (1) adding an accent to the word “look”, (2) rising in pitch on “wanna” and “chair”, and (3) elongating the duration of the word “chair” by adding a slurred minor third interval. Words that warrant emphasis convey the keywords of Skye’s interpretation (that infant wants to look at the chair). Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Skye verbalises her interpretation of infant’s communications. Interpretation After acknowledging infant’s communications, Skye verbalises her suggested response. She says “Let’s do some nice quiet ones”. This phrase comprises of small ascending and descending second intervals in Skye’s lower speech register. The next phrase conveys the intention behind Skye’s response in the form of a question, “calm you down a little bit? Hey?” This phrase is characterised by the repetition of one pitch, followed by a large 6 th interval to indicate the upward inflection of a question mark. The question inflection is then extended with the addition of “hey?” in the same higher pitch area. 251 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Skye verbalises her response to infant’s communications. Finally Skye asks, “What should we sing?” before choosing a lullaby and singing Hush-a-bye. Although this phrase is a question it does not end with an ascending interval. It ends instead with a descending 4th interval Maj 6th Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Responds to infant’s communications promptly by singing a play song in a calm playful manner Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Responds to infant’s communications by promptly singing a lullaby After interpreting infant’s tiredness cues Skye responds to his need for modulation by singing Going to the moon at a moderately soft dynamic and a moderately slow tempo (to prevent over-stimulation). Skye chooses to sing the lullaby Hush-a-bye to calm infant down. She repeats the song (continues to sing until infant shows signs of being calmed i.e. being still). Characteristics of this lullaby include (1) ternary form, (2) sigh-like descending third melodic motif, (3) melodic wave contour that reflects the rise and fall of breathing, (4) consistent tempo, (4) consistent dynamic, (5) consistent neutral, warm, breathy vocal tone, (6) major modality, (7) consistent tempo and dynamic, (8) legato vocal style, (9) mostly quarter-note rhythms and (10) rests occur at the end of each phrase to provide time to breathe and maintain temporal flow. Sigh-like motifs Sigh-like motifs Sigh-like motifs 252 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Chooses to sing the play song Acka Backa to maintain infant’s happiness Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Skye chooses to continue singing lullaby to calm infant. Response to cues and signals – flexibility Response to cues and signals – flexibility Skye demonstrates flexibility by altering the tempo of play song Skye stops in the middle of a phrase to respond to infant’s laughter. General characteristics include: (1) oscillating submediant-dominant (6th – 5th) motif long-short dotted rhythm to portray playfulness, (2) 4/4 meter and accents on beats 1 and 3, (3) phrasing is clearly marked by “oo” rhyme, (4) alternating rhythmic structure, (5) major modality, and (6) sung with a smiley tone of voice. Maj 6th Oscillating melody Cyclical structure of Sleep Baby Sleep the song encourages repetition. Repetition allows Skye to sing continuously until infant’s emotions are modulated. Other general characteristics of the lullaby include: (1) 6/8 metre, (2) use of melisma, (3) major modality, and (4) ABA1 ternary structure. The last phrase of Going to the moon is sung at a slower tempo and with rubato. The flow of Acka Backa is interrupted by infant-directed speech (this is in response to infant’s laughter). After the speech she restarts the song instead of continuing where she left off Parental Structuring (High 27-28) EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by an ‘oo’ rhyme and rhythmic rest In Acka Backa, each phrase ends with either “boo” or “you”. This vowel sound is made more obvious to the listener by being surrounded by sharper sounds such as “acka” and “cracka”. In Going to the moon, the first two phrases begin and end with an “oo” vowel sound such as “zoom”, “moon” and “soon”. By beginning and ending with the same vowel sound a sense of symmetry is created while also marking the phrasing. Also, each phrase is followed by a rest. The audible gap clearly indicates the end of the phrase. 253 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by melodic contour. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The phrasing of the lullaby is clearly shaped by an ‘ee’ rhyme Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The ternary structure of the lullaby is clearly distinguished by changes in the musical elements In Going to the moon, the first two phrases end with stepping downward from the dominant to tonic. The stability of the tonic creates a sense of completion which clearly marks the end of the phrase. Each phrase of the lullaby Sleep baby sleep ends with an “ee” sound e.g. “sheep”, “tree”, “thee”, “sleep”. Hush-a-bye contains two sections: Section A and Section B. Instead of repeating the sigh-like minor third motif in Section A, Section B comprises of a 2-bar ascending melodic sequence that is repeated a tone higher. Instead of continuing the short-short, long, short-short, long phrasing pattern of Section A, Section B contains a long, long phrasing structure. These changes clearly distinguish the two sections and therefore created the ‘home-away-home’ juxtaposition of ternary form. Section A: Repeat of minor 3rd motif (short-short) Section B: Sequence is repeated a tone higher Sleep Baby Sleep contains two sections in a ternary form: A-B-A1. Section A is characterised by an embelillsed step down from the mediant to the tonic. Section B is characterised by a phrases ending on the dominant. The tension of leaving the dominant unresolved in Section B is resolved with the return of Section A. Thus the tension and resolution that is created by the two sections emphaises the ‘home-away-home’ juxtaposition of ternary form Section A: Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding 254 The ternary structure of the lullaby is clearly distinguished by the melodic resolution of the dominant to the tonic Section B: Both phrases end with a fall to the dominant Predictability is created in Acka Backa by each phrase being 7 beats long and alternating between 2 rhythmic phases. Phrase 1 (rhythm A): Dotted rhythm for 6 beats followed by a quarter-note Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the play song Phrase 2 (rhythm B): Dotted rhythm for 4 beats followed by three quarter-notes Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the lullaby Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates the first phrase (beginning) of the play song Each phrase of the lullaby Hush-a-bye is 7 quarter-beats (2 bars) in length Loud inhalation on the beat preceding the first phrase of Acka Backa signals that the song is about to start Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding 255 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates the last phrase of the play song creating predictability for the infant Enhances the anticipation of the last phrase of adding behavioural gestures and expressive techniques Loud inhalation on the beat preceding the last phrase of Acka Backa signals that the end (as well as the accompanying lifting action) is occurring soon. The final phrase of Acka Backa (during the final repeat of the song) is extended by the use of a pause, accompanied by a loud inhalation and freezing facial and bodily expression. First time: Second time: In Acka Backa, “Goes” is sung with a slight ritardando and an ascending major third glissando to anticipate “you” (lifting motion) Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates ending of the play song creating predictability for the infant In Going to the moon, “Oh” is sung with a pause and an ascending glissando with a vibrato effect to anticipate the “blast off!” Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Anticipation of the ending is extended by repetitive use of expressive techniques In Going to the Moon, the end of the song is anticipated by the glissando on “oh!” However, the anticipation is extended by also singing the preceding countdown with an ascending glissando ending on the dominant note. The listener is left waiting for a resolution to the tonic and/or downward contour. Repetition of ascending glissandos extend During Acka Backa, she pauses on last word “you” and adds a descending glissando as she lowers baby’s legs back to the ground. Descending contour provides a sense of finality to indicate the conclusion of the song 256 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently indicates the end of the play song creating predictability for the infant Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently indicates the end of the lullaby creating predictability for the infant Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Indicates the last phrase of the play song by a During Going to the moon, she also uses a descending glissando to indicate the conclusion of the song Hush-a-bye ends with a tonic-dominant-tonic melody. This tension-resolution melody creates a strong sense of completion and therefore clearly indicates the end of the song. In the song Acka Backa, the last phrase does not begin with an ascending major 6 th interval as the previous phrases did. Instead it begins with a descending major third. change in melodic contour Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Indicates the last phrase of the play song by a change in pitch, melodic contour, tempo and expressive techniques Maj 3rd Mulitple changes occur at the begining of the last phrase of Going to the moon. Instead of beginning on the dominant the melody begins on the tonic. Instead of a downward contour, the phrase comprises of multiple ascending glissandos. The tempo also sudden becomes slower. Tapping occurs on the quarter-note beat of the play song meter. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding 257 Congruence of movements and singing (movements and touching match the meter of the play song) Rocking motion matches the rhythm of the melodic line Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements and touching match melody of the play song) Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements and touching match the meter of the lullaby Patting occurs on the 1st and 3rd quarter note beat of the lullaby meter Patting occurs on the main beats of the lullaby meter Congruence of movements and singing (movements and touching match the meter of the lullaby Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Creates an enveloping environment conducive to relaxation while singing lullabies During Sleep Baby Sleep Skye sings at a consistently slow tempo of ∙ = 45, maintains the same moderately soft dynamic, maintains a neutral tone of voice and maintains legato flow throughout the interaction. Skye avoids sudden changes in tempo or dynamic to encourage infant to calm and relax. Appropriate guidance – preventative scaffolding Moderate or moderately slow tempo is chosen to prevent overstimulation Approximate tempo of Acka Backa is Appropriate guidance – preventative scaffolding Animation is expressed within boundaries to prevent overstimulation In Going to the moon, Skye uses a neutral tone of voice rather than an open ‘smiley’ tone and she adds glissandos and a vibrato effects but within the same moderately soft dynamic level and moderately slow tempo to prevent over-excitement. EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements 258 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding =100 and Going to the moon is Parental Non-intrusiveness (High 27-28) =76 Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire 259 Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Skye immediately responds to infant interest via infantdirected speech Skye’s eyes follow infant’s interest. Responds to interest via infant-directed speech Skye attempts to structure an interaction around infant’s interest Skye immediately follows infant’s interest by discontinuing the lullaby and asking a question about his interest “what have you seen?” As mentioned above this phrase is characterised by a triplet rhythm containing a large descending interval of approximately a 5 th followed by a short descending glissando on “seen?” After observing infant Skye verbalises her desire to understand infant’s interest in the floor with the phrase “what’s down there?” The speech contains repetition of a lower pitch on “what’s down” followed by an ascending 2 nd or 4th (approximate) on “there”. “What’s” and “there” are emphasised by the use of an accent. An anacrusis feel is created. The eighth-notes act as an upbeat to the word “there” (such emphasis conveys Skye’s desire to understand infant’s interest). She also rests after the phrase to allow infant time to respond. She repeats the phrase “what’s down there?” twice and with variation. The first repeat contains the same rhythmic structure as the original phrase but with an extension of the ascending interval; instead of a 2nd interval there is a 4th interval. The second repeat contains another variation. Instead of even eighth-notes, there is a long-short dotted rhythm on “what’s down”. The dotted rhythm increases the playfulness of the phrase (this conveys Skye’s intention to extend the interaction based on infant’s interest) Skye asks questions then rests before continuing to speak to provide infant an opportunity to respond. Infant is treated as an interactive partner Skye leaves gaps for infant to respond to her speech. EA subscale Behaviours Parental Non-hostility (High 27) Musical elements Lacking Negativity – lack of overt or covert hostility Only a few yawns (no other signs) observed. n/a Lack of mocking – lack of ridiculing or disrespect No ridiculing or disrespect observed n/a EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements General positive and relaxed affect` Usually accompanied by silence Child Responsiveness (High 27) Affect demonstration of genuine and appropriate emotion 260 Affect – infant is able to use resources to regulate emotions Infant becomes still and silent during lullaby singing Hush-a-bye and Sleep baby Sleep Stillness is accompanied by silence Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Smiling Usually accompanied by silence Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Giggling n/a EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Simple initiative Looking and smiling Mostly accompanied by silence Simple initiative Marley looks at his interest and vocalises to Marley vocalises a short open mouthed descending glissando “ger’ which begins at approximately the dominant note of the lullaby. Child Involvement (High 24) mother Elaborative initiative Mainly looking, smiling and some giggles Looking and smiling is mostly accompanied by silence 261 Beth and Rita Beth scored high ratings in each of the parental dimensions (26.5-28). Rita also scored high scores (22.5 and 25.5) on the child dimensions. Overall, Beth and Rita were described to have a positive, healthy and emotionally available relationship (see Chapter 4 for further details). Transcript 1 examines Beth and Rita's high Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness, Non-Hostility, Child Responsive and Child Involvement during a play song interaction. This excerpt particularly demonstrates that high emotional availability may be achieved amongst tonal ambiguity. Transcript 2 examines Beth's Non-Intrusiveness, Non-Hostility and positive Structuring as well as Rita's positive Involvement during a play song interaction. Transcript 3 and 4 particularly examine Beth's Sensitivity, Structuring 262 and Non-Hostility and Rita's Responsiveness during two lullaby interactions. See Appendix KK for the full descriptions, transcriptions and music analyses. See Table 53 below for a summary of Beth and Rita's features of singing interaction. 262 Table 53: Summary of Beth and Rita's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability Parental Sensitivity (High 27) EA subscale Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Behaviours Musical elements Smiling while singing play songs A smiley tone of voice is created by smiling while singing (Going to the moon & Acka Backa). Consistently uses expressive vocal techniques to demonstrate animation In Going to the moon and Acka Backa Beth uses large ascending and descending glissandos with a vibrato/pulsating effect to demonstrate animation (and dramatise the lifting and lowering actions). From Going to the moon: From Acka Backa: 263 Emphasis is created by (1) singing each word with an accent, (2) singing each word as separated eighth-notes (rests create an audible gap between words) and (3) singing ascending appoggiaturas. The comparison of emphasised versus un-emphasised enhances the effect of the accent. Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Demonstrates affection vocally by emphasising “I love you” via rhythm and expressive techniques. Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Demonstrates intentional behavioural and musical congruence Beth’s intention behind Hush-a-bye is to calm infant down. She demonstrates this intention by an appropriate lack of animation e.g. (1) maintenance of neutral facial expression while singing, (2) singing with a calm vocal tone, (3) singing in a smooth legato vocal style, (4) breathing during rests to maintain smooth temporal flow, (5) maintaining moderate tempo and dynamic, and (6) singing in rubato and prioritising phrasing over strict duration values. Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Beth acknowledges infant’s grunt-like communications via imitative infant-directed speech After infant’s communications, Beth vocalises a similar descending melodic motif. First she vocalises a slurred descending 5 th, “Awe” and then a descending 4th (not slurred). 264 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Interprets infant’s grunt-like vocalisations as desire for lullaby singing. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Interprets infant’s eyecontact as desire for further singing. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Acknowledges infant by responding imitatively via infant-directed speech Beth verbalises her interpretation and intended response to infant’s grunt-like vocalisations by saying, “Oh, you want some soft-singing?” The phrase begins with a descending 5 th glissando, followed by an ascending major 3rd and repetition of B3 pitch as even eighth notes. The phrase ends with a descending major 3 rd and repetition of G3 pitch. Beth responds to infant’s eye-contact by repeating the Acka Backa song. General characteristics of the song include: (1) 4/4 meter, (2) moderate tempo of approximately rhythm, (6) major modality. = 98, (3) recurring melodic oscillation, (4) ascending major 6 th motif, (5) consistent long-short dotted Beth responds to infant’s vocalisations imitatively. She vocalises a similar descending 4 th interval but as detached sixteenth notes instead of a smooth glissando. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response 265 Response to cues and signals – flexibility Responds to infant vocalisations by singing Suogan Chooses to sing Husha-bye during a series of lullaby singing to further calm and/or maintain infant’s calm Beth sings with flexibility EA subscale Behaviours Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by phonetic symmetry “oo” vowel and rhythmic rest In Going to the moon, the first two phrases begin and end with an “oo” vowel sound such as “zoom”, “moon” and “soon. By beginning and ending with the same vowel sound a sense of symmetry is created while also marking the phrasing. In Acka Backa, each phrase ends with either “boo” or “you”. This vowel sound is made more obvious to the listener by being surrounded by sharper sounds such as “acka” and “cracka”. Also, phrses are followed by a rest. The audible gap clealry marks the ending of each p hrase. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by phonetic symmetry “oo” vowel sound In Suogan, each phrse in verse 1 ends with an “ear” rhyme (“fear” and “near”) and each phrase in verse 2 ends with an “ee” rhyhme (“weep” and “sleep”). Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Characteristics of Suogan include: major modality, 4/4 meter, repetitive 3-quarter-note rhythmic phrasing structure, moderately slow tempo, rubato (pausing on the last note of each sub-phrase), smooth (legato) style, consistent moderately soft dynamic and calm neutral tone of voice. Hush-a-bye is characterised by: (1) A-B-A1 ternary structure, (2) 4/4 meter, (3) repetitive 7-beat phrasing, (4) slurred descending interval motif, (generally a 5th interval) mimicking a sigh and therefore encouraging release of tension, (5) smooth legato vocal style, (5) moderate and rubato tempo, (6) wave-like melodic contour in Section A of lullaby and (7) calm and neutral vocal tone. Beth sings at a slower tempo and with temporal flexibility (rubato) during phrase ‘b’ of Going to the moon. She also uses pauses at the end of phrase ‘a1’ and ‘a2’ of Acka Backa. Parental Structuring (High 26-27) Musical elements In Going to the moon, Phrase ‘a’ rises up in an arpeggiato style over three quarter-note beats then steps downward over three quarter beats (as eighth-notes). The symmetry of rising and falling (plus the phonetic symmetry) mark the lyrical phrasing. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by melodic symmetry Phrasing of the play song is clearly distinguished by contrasting melodic contour In Going to the moon, Phrase ‘a’ and ‘b’ are clearly distinguished by a change in melodic contour and tempo. Phrase ‘a’ begins by rising up in an arpeggiato style then falling in a stepwise manner in a steady 4/4 meter. Phrase ‘b’ begins by stepping downward in a slower rubato tempo. Phrase ‘a’ Phrase ‘b’ 266 Each sub-phrase and phrase of Suogan ends with a quarter-note rest. The audible gap clearly marks the end of each phrase. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Sub-phrasing of the lullaby is clearly distinguished by rests The verse structure of the lullaby is clearly distinguished by melodic resolution In Suogan the first phrase ends with an unresolved super-tonic which is completely resolved to the tonic to the end of the last phrase. The melodic resolution creates a strong sense of completion or finality to mark the end of each verse. Hush-a-bye contains two sections: Section A and Section B. Section comprises of a 2-bar ascending melodic sequence that is repeated a perfect 4th higher rather than the descending sigh-like motifs. It is also disrupts the short-short-long phrasing structure by containing longlong phrasing. Section A: Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Sigh-like motif The ternary structure of the lullaby is clearly distinguished by changes in the musical elements Section B: Predictability is created in Acka Backa by each phrase being 7 beats long and alternating between 2 rhythmic phases. 267 Phrase 1 (rhythm A): Dotted rhythm for 6 beats followed by a quarter-note Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the play song Phrase 2 (rhythm B): Dotted rhythm for 4 beats followed by three quarter-notes Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the play song Predictability is created in Hush-a-bye by each phase being 7 beats long. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the lullaby Suogan comprises of the repetition of the same rhythmic pattern: 3 quarter-notes followed by a quarter-note rest. The constant rhythmic repetition provides a sense of predictability which contributes to the safe feeling of the lullaby. In Going to the moon the same rhythmic pattern is repeated creating predictability (phrase ‘a’ and ‘a1 Phrase ‘a’ Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrase ‘a1’ Predictability is created within the lullaby Beth inhales with animation (wide open mouth and raised eyebrows) on the beat preceeding each phrase of Acaka Backa to anticipate each phrase. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates each phrase of the play song 268 In Acka Backa the bouning movements match the dotted rhythm of the melody. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements match the rhythm of the melody) Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements match the meter of the lullaby) Beth swings her chair to the pulse of the 4/4 meter (either on beat 1 and 3 or 2 and 4). 269 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Creates an enveloping environment conducive to relaxation while singing lullabies During Suogan Beth maintains a moderately loud dynamic and legato style throughout the lullaby. She avoids sudden changes in tempo or dynamic to encourage the infant to calm and relax. EA subscale Behaviours Parental Non-intrusiveness (High 25-27) Musical elements Beth follows infant’s interest and gaze in silence. Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Beth follows infant’s interest. She responds by joining infant in her looking with silence Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Beth follows infant’s positive vocal involvement by singing a play song. Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Beth seeks infant’s lead as expressed via infantdirected speech Beth responds to infant’s interpersonal communication by choosing to sing Going to the moon. General characteristics of the play song include: (1) 4/4 meter, (2) symmetrical rising and falling melodic contour motif, (3) first 2 phrases sung at moderately fast tempo of approximately = 116, the last phrase sung rubato, (4) ending with a large ascending and descending glissando, and (5) sung at a moderately loud dynamic throughout the song. Beth conveys her desire for infant feedback by asking the question “again?” This is characterised by an emphasis on “gain’ syllable and a slurred ascending 2nd to convey the upper inflection of a question. Parental Non-hostility (High 27) EA subscale Lacking Negativity – lack of overt or covert hostility Lacking Negativity – lack of overt or covert hostility Behaviours Musical elements Only a few sighs observed. n/a Responds to potentially irritating behaviour with playful infant-directed speech Responds to infant dropping toy with playful “uh oh”. This phrase is characterised by descending 6 th interval, even eighth-note rhythm, and the first syllable verbalised with a staccato. When infant drops toy for the second time Beth verbalises her dislike of the situation without hostility (neutral tone of voice). Beth calmly says, “Oh-oh” as a slurred ascending major 3nd interval. 270 Lacking Negativity – lack of overt or covert hostility States dislike of situation without hostility Lacking Negativity – lack of overt or covert hostility Comments on potentially irritating situation without hostility Lack of mocking – lack of ridiculing or disrespect No ridiculing or disrespect observed Beth uses a positive and calm tone of voice to verbalise, “Are you doing that on purpose? Hey? Are you doing that on purpose, cheeky chops?” The phrase “hey?” comprise of a higher pitched slurred ascending major 3 rd interval. The first long question comprises of fast sixteenth notes, begins with an ascending 2 nd interval, drops a major 6th and repeats a lower pitch Bb3. The second and final long question is a variation of the first question. It also begins with an ascending 2 nd interval but starting a 4th higher than the first question. It also contains the repetition of the low Bb3 pitch but ends with an ascending 2 nd interval with an additional appoggiatura to reinforce the upper inflection of a question. n/a Child responsiveness (High 25.5) EA subscale Affect demonstration of genuine and appropriate emotion Behaviours Musical elements General positive and relaxed affect Usually accompanied by silence Rita vocalises descending glissandos over a range of pitch intervals (minor 2 nd to perfect 5th) and durations (sixteenth note to quarter-note). Also uses “ah, “Heh’ or “eh” lyrical sounds during each vocalisation. 271 Affect – infant is able to use resources to regulate emotions Infant demonstrates emotional modulation via relaxing vocal exhalations Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Smiling Usually accompanied by silence EA subscale Simple initiative Behaviours Looking and smiling Child involvement (High 22.5) Musical elements Mostly accompanied by silence Happy babbling consists of an ascending 4 th and descending 5th glissando. Simple initiative Positive involving vocalisations Vocalisation 1: Vocalisation 2: Vocalisation 3: Vocalisation 4: Rita vocalises two grunt-like sounds. The first comprises of a descending glissando and a forceful tight vocal tone. The second comprises of a long descending minor 3rd glissando. The tone begins with a forceful grunt-like attack. Instead of sustain the forceful tight sound, the tone merges into a loud exhalation. Simple initiative Involves via grunt-like vocalisations Elaborative initiative Mainly looking, sustained eye contact and smiling Mostly accompanied by silence Holly and Ophelia Holly scored a range of high and borderline category scores in the Emotional Availability Scales. She scored a borderline mid/high score for Sensitivity (19); a high score for Structuring (25), although more successful structuring would be ideal; a high score for Non-Hostility (25.5), although she demonstrated some obvious negativity which is not ideal; and a low score within the high category range for Non-Intrusiveness (23.5). Although Holly generally followed Ophelia's lead she also demonstrated instances of intrusiveness. Ophelia scored a low score within the high category range for Responsiveness (21.5) and a borderline score for Involvement (20.5) which is far from ideal. Despite the majority of high category scores, their emotional connection was t considered to be 'apparently', rather than entirely, healthy 272 (see Chapter 4 for further details). Transcript 1 examines Holly and Ophelia's less-optimal Sensitivity, NonIntrusiveness, Child Responsive and Child Involvement but also Holly's mostly successful Structuring during a play song interaction. Transcript 2 particularly examines Holly's less-optimal Sensitivity, Structuring and Non-Hostility and Ophelia's less-optimal Responsiveness and Involvement during a play song interaction. Transcript 3 contains a sequence of lullabies and particularly examines Holly's high Non-Hostility and Ophelia's less optimal Responsiveness and Involvement. See Appendix LL for the full descriptions, transcriptions and music analyses. See Table 54 below for a summary of Holly and Ophelia's features of singing interaction. 272 Table 54: Summary of Holly and Ophelia's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability Parental Sensitivity (High 18-20) EA subscale Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Behaviours Musical elements Smiling while singing Open, positive smiley tone is created by smiling while singing (e.g. Row, row, row your boat and If you’re happy and you know it) Screechy tone occurs at the end of Row, row, row your boat. Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Inappropriate animation as demonstrated by over-the-top affect via screechy vocal tone Holly increases her animation by merging into infant-directed speech, rising in pitch. Accenting each beat of the bar and increasing her tempo (accelerando) 273 Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Increases animation by merging into infantdirected speech and adding expressive techniques Increases animation by merging into infantdirected speech and rising in pitch Holly becomes more animated at the end of Row, row, row your boat. She merges into infant directed speech and rises in pitch during the phrase “if you see a crocodile” Her speech maintains the long-short dotted rhythm of the song and jumps an octave higher. The last syllable “dile” is also sung with an ascending appoggiatura. She also ends the song with a high-pitched descending glissando “scream!” Affect – demonstration of genuine and relaxed affect Holly’s pacing is very fast and manic (demonstrating over-the top affect) Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Demonstrates intentional, behavioural and musical congruence during lullaby Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Demonstrates intentional, behavioural and musical congruence during play song 274 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Holly/s verbal responses change according to infant’s reactions During Row, row, row your boat, Holly speaks very quickly (e.g. sixteenth notes in a moderate tempo of approximately ∙ = 80). She rushes from her introductory speech to the beginning of the song (no anticipation of the beginning and merges straight from the ending of the song to infant-directed speech (no sense of closure). She does not break between speech and song interactions. Holly’s intention behind Suogan is to calm infant down. She demonstrates this intention by an appropriate lack of animation. She (1) maintains a neutral facial expression (as opposed to smiley & excited), (2) sings in a legato vocal style, (3) sings with a calm neutral vocal tone, (4) maintains same dynamic and tempo. Also, the rhythmic structure of the melody helps to facilitate the legato style by providing opportunities (rests) to breathe without disrupting the flow of the melody. Holly’s intention behind verse 2 of Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick, is to merge infant from her calm state to a happy aroused state She does this by (1) increasing her tempo from approximately ∙ = 98 to approximately ∙ = 120, (2) changing from a smooth legato style of singing to a detached mezzo-staccato style, (3) changing from a calm neutral tone to an open ‘smiley’ tone of voice, (4) changing from primarily straight eighth-notes to dotted eighth-notes, and (5) increasing her dynamic from moderately soft to moderately loud. When Holly’s attempt to structure a playful conversation is unsuccessful her verbal responses become more sympathetic. She changes her tone from smiley to sympathetic and gradually lower’s her pitch. The first phrase comprises of an alternation between B4 and D5. The second phrase comprises of the same words but alternates between lower pitches (G4 and A4). Both phrase contains an ascending interval at the end of the phrase to convey the upper inflection of a question. When infant continues to cry Holly becomes more sympathetic verbalising a descending 2nd glissando and a single low tone on “Awe” When infant’s whines continue Holly verbalises sympathetic phrases. The characteristics of these phrases include: “sh” sound, descending 3rd with an upper appoggiatura, an ascending 2nds. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Acknowledges infant whines by responding sympathetically via infant-directed speech Holly considers the reason behind infant’s vocalisations by saying, “Why you not happy chappy?” This phrase occurs in Holly’s low speech register and comprises of: (1) an accent on “why”, (2) descending 5 th glissando, (3) repetition of low E3 pitch and (4) quick sixteenth notes. Holly verbalises her attempts to interpret infant’s communications via infant-directed speech Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Holly verbalises her interpretation and intended response to infant’s communications via self-directed speech 275 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response In the same interaction Holly resumes her attempted interpretation by asking “Yeah, what’s up?” The phrase contains two pitches, begins on a low A3 then descending a minor third from C4 to A3. This phrase occurs in Holly’s lower speech register. She seems to be talking to herself, rather than to infant. The phrase comprises of the repetition of low F3 and fast sixteenth notes. The phrase ends with two descending 2nds from G3 to F3. First Holly acknowledges infant’s distress by verbalising a single low pitched G3. Then she says, “You’re not in the mood”. This phrase comprises of a descending 4th followed by the repetition of a low F3 pitch. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Holly verbalises final interpretation of infant’s communications via infant-directed speech This rhyme is too overstimulating for infant. Characteristics include: staccato style of chanting, 2/4 meter, moderately fast tempo of approximately = 85, leaning infant forwards and backwards to the quarter-note pulse of the meter, bouncing infant to the quarter-note pulse of the meter and mimicking the pitch of the original melody. 276 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Responds inappropriately to infant’s need to be settled. She chooses to chant the rhyme One, two, three, four, five. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Responds appropriately & promptly to infant’s distress by choosing Suogan lullaby. EA subscale Behaviours Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by an “ee” rhyme In Row, row, row your boat each phrase ends with either “stream”, “dream” or “scream”. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The phrasing of the lullaby is clearly shaped by repetitive lyrics, “ee” or “ear” vowel sound and rhythmic rest In Suogan each phrase begins with the word “suogan” and ends with either an “ee” or “ear” rhyme. In verse 1, the phrases end with “weep” and “sleep”. In verse 2 the phrases ends with “fear” and “near”. Also each phrase is followed by a quarter-note rest. The audible gap clearly marks the end of each phrase. General characteristics of Suogan include: (1) major modality, (2) 4/4 meter, (3) moderate tempo of approximately = 96, (3) structure comprises of strict repetition of ‘a’ & ‘b’ phrases, (4) slurred 2-bar phrases, (5) short-short-long, short-short-long rhythmic structure, (6) ascending tonic triad melodic motif, (7) lack of melodic resolution of dominant and super-tonic at end of lullaby, (8) smooth, legato style of singing, (9) neutral tone of voice, and (10) paired phrasing indicated by lyrical rhyme. Parental Structuring (High 25) Musical elements Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Changes in pitch & melodic contour distinguish structure of play song. In the song Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick, the last phrase (phrase ‘b’) begins on the sub-dominant instead of tonic and contains a dramatically different intervallic melodic contour. These changes clearly distinguish this phrase from the previous phrases and indicate that the end of the song is approaching. Phrase ‘a’: Phrase ‘b’: Each phrase in the lullaby Suogan is 7 quarter-beats in length and repeats the same short-short-long, short-short-long rhythmic structure. The structure also comprises of the strict repetition of phrase ‘a’ and ‘b’. Such repetition creates expectancy and predictability Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the lullaby 277 During Row, row, row your boat, Holly anticipates the beginning of phrases with a loud inhalation. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Anticipates the beginning of phrases during play song Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Lack of anticipation scaffolding – following speech introduction Holly merges straight into the song Instead of anticipating the beginning of the song Holly merges straight into it. The beginning of the Row, row, row your boat comes as surprise. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Well-intentioned guidance - attempts to re-engage infant at the end of Row Row Row your boat via infantdirected speech. Consistently indicates ending of each verse with melodic resolution Holly interrupts the song by repeating the question “What do we do?” The first question comprises of small ascending 2 nd intervals. The second question is very similar to the first; it is almost repeated sequential a 7 th higher. However, Holly adds a long-short dotted rhythm at the beginning of the phrase instead of maintain even sixteenth notes. Each verse of Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick ends with a leading note rising to the tonic. This melodic resolution creates a strong sense of compeltion and finality to mark the end of each verse and the song. In Row, row, row your boat, Holly leans infant backward and forward to the quarter-note pulse of the meter 278 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing During Suogan, Holly pats infant’s hip to the quarter-beat pulse of the meter. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing During Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick, Holly sways from side to side over the duration of 2 beats (half-note), and bounces infant up and down to the rhythm of the last three words of the song. 279 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Creates an enveloping environment conducive to relaxation while singing lullabies Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Well-intentioned guidance - attempts to recapture infant attention and introduce song via infant-directed speech Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Well-intentioned guidance - attempts to engage infant by continuing Row Row Row your boat General characteristics include: (1) 4/4 meter, (2) melody based on ascending and descending the tonic triad in various ways, (3) two 2-bar phasing structure, (4) phrases comprise mainly of quarter notes or long-short dotted rhythm except for one contrasting triplet phrase, (5) variety of rhythms, and (6) moderately fast tempo and moderately loud dynamic EA subscale Behaviours Parental Non-intrusiveness (High 23-24) Musical elements Holly waits until the end of the song to acknowledge infant’s interest in the curtain (picture of boat) Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Delays response to infant interest During Suogan Holly maintains a moderate tempo of ∙ = 96, moderately soft dynamic and calm neutral tone of voice throughout the song. The constancy of these elements encourages infant to relax. Questions 1 is characterised by: overall ascending melodc contour rising over an octave via 2 nd and 3rd intervals. Quesiton 2 is characterised by three ascendign 2nd or 3rd intervals followed by an octave drop and final ascending 3 rd interval. Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Delayed acknowledgment of infant’s previous interest via infantdirected speech Initial animated response is a low-pitched throaty sound “hor”. The following infant-directed speech is spoken as a theme and 2 variations. Main characteristics of the theme include: longer single tone followed by a lower pitched slurred ascending 2nd interval to convey upper inflection. Variation 1 includes the following differences: dotted rhythm instead of longer single tone and ending with a slurred descending 2nd and ascending 3rd instead of only an ascending 2nd. Last variation is almost a sequential repetition of the variation 1 a 7 th higher. The ending consists of a descending and ascending 2 nd. Theme Sequential variation Variation Phrase is characterised by a descending 4 th to the accented word “like”, followed by an alternation between a low F3 and E3. Holly then jumps an octave to speak a slurred descending 2 nd for “yeah’ Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Follows infant interest in high chair via infantdirected speech 280 Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Holly seeks infant’s lead & feedback cues via infant-directed speech Seeks infant signals and verbalises intent to use infant attention to determine whether infant is ready for a song During Suogan and Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick Holly verbalises her desire to judge whether infant’s emotions have been modulated by asking, “Alright?” and “You alright?” These phrases comprise of two pitches. The first phrase includes an ascending minor 3 rd and the second phrase includes an ascending 2 nd glissando. Holly asks two questions in infant-directed speech. Characteristics of question 1 include: series of ascending 3 rd and 4th intervals in mid-low speech register and final word is spoken as ascending glissandos to convey upper inflection of a quesiton. Characteristics of question 2 include: accenting “you”, rising and falling a 4 th and 5th followed by the reptiion of a low A3 pitch and quickened pace for “ready to dance?”, ending with a small ascending glissando to convey upper inflection of a question. Infant cries and whines. Parent is made to feel intrusive Infant cries whines in response to chant 281 Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Holly recognises her intrusiveness in chanting One, two, three, four, five via infant-directed speech EA subscale Behaviours Lacking Negativity – lack of overt or covert hostility Irritation and stress/anxiety in tone of voice Lack of mocking – lack of ridiculing or disrespect No ridiculing or disrespect observed Holly realises that infant does not want exciting play songs or nursery rhymes, saying “You’re not in the mood”. This phrase comprises of a descending 4th followed by the repetition of a low F3 pitch. Parental Non-hostility (High 25-26) Musical elements Speaks with a close/clenched jaw. Characteristics of phrase 1 include: (1) ascending semi-tone glissando, (2) accent on child’s name, (3) repetition of low pitch. Characteristics of phrase 2 include: (1) descending 4 th glissando, (2) repetition of low pitch and (3) accent on “whose” and “princess”. n/a Child responsiveness (High 21-22) EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Affect demonstration of genuine and appropriate emotion General positive and relaxed affect` Usually accompanied by silence Affect demonstration of genuine and appropriate emotion Ophelia’s happy sound during If you’re happy and you know it comprises of three pitches. It begins with an single E3 pitch followed by an alternation between G4 and C4. Ophelia descends from G4 via a glissando and then leaps back up to G4 with a mezzo-staccato. Infant vocalises happy sounds 282 Cries and negatively involving whines continue. Characteristics include: (1) short single low tone, (2) short single tone followed by a large & quick descending glissando, (3) long quarter-note descending glissando in lower register, (4) short ascending 3 rd glissando, (5) short descending semi-tone glissando, (6) 3-note motif comprising of a lower neighbour-note (B4-A4-B4), (7) 3-note motif comprising of a dotted rhythm, descending 4th followed by ascending major 2nd glissando. Affect – infant is able to use resources to regulate emotions Has difficulty regulating emotions and expresses unhappy sounds Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Smiling Usually accompanied by silence EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Simple initiative Looking and smiling Mostly accompanied by silence Example 1: Example 2: Example 3: Child involvement (High 20-21) Example 4: Simple initiative Frequent negatively involving vocalisations(e.g. whines and cries) Elaborative initiative Mainly looking, smiling Characteristics of Ophelia’s whining vocalisations include: (1) open and closed moth sounds (“ah” versus “erm”), (2) short single low tone, (3) short single tone followed by a large & quick descending glissando, (4) long quarter-note descending glissando in lower register, (5) short ascending 3rd glissando, (6) short descending semi-tone glissando, (7) 3-note motif comprising of a lower neighbour-note (B4-A4-B4), (8) 3-note motif comprising of a short-long-short dotted rhythm, descending 4th followed by ascending major 2nd glissando. Example 1: Example 2: Looking and smiling is mostly accompanied by silence Example 3: Example 4: 283 Jane and Juliet Jane scored highly in all of the parental dimensions of Emotional Availability (22-26). She tended to score in the middle of the high category range. In other words, she scored highly but not ideally. Jane's Sensitivity and Non-Intrusiveness scores were particularly unideal. Juliet scored borderline mid/high category scores for both Child Responsiveness (20) and Child Involvement (20). Overall, Jane and Juliet experienced 'good times' together and appeared to have an emotional connection, but there was something 'off' about the relationship. Jane and Juliet were considered to have an 'apparently' healthy emotional connection. (see Chapter 4 for further details). Transcript 1 examines Jane and Juliet's unideal Sensitivity, Responsiveness and Involvement together with Jane's high Structuring and Non-Hostility during a play song interaction. Transcript 2 examines Jane and Juliet's positive Sensitivity, 284 Structuring, Non-Hostility, Responsiveness and Involvement followed by Jane's starkly unideal Non-Intrusiveness during an extended and repetitive play song interaction. Transcript 3 and 4 particularly examines Juliet's unideal Responsiveness and Involvement (confused affect, frequent negatively involving behaviours and difficulty with emotional regulation) and Jane's less-optimal Sensitivity (difficulty in interpreting and responding to Juliet's cues) during two lullaby interactions. See Appendix MM for the full descriptions, transcriptions and music analyses. See Table 55 below for a summary of Jane and Juliet's features of singing interaction. 284 Table 55: Summary of Jane and Juliet's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability Parental Sensitivity (High 21-23) EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Smiley/positive vocal tone is created by smiling while singing. Jane uses this tone sometimes during Going to the moon and fades in and out of this voice during Belly Button Affect – some demonstration of positive emotion and animation Instances of singing while smiling Vocal tone becomes more open and smiley Jane increases sense of excitement and animation in Going to the moon by: (1) smiling while singing creating a smiley tone of voice, (2) raising her pitch exponentially (last glissandos being and end on increasingly higher pitches) (3) increasing her dynamic singing a crescendo into the “blast off!”and (4) using exaggerated head movements while inhaling loudly. 285 Affect – some demonstration of positive emotion and animation Instances of increasing animation in response to infant’s excitement Sings a similarly short note approximately one tone lower (and one octave) than the infant Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Acknowledges infant vocalisation by responding imitatively Acknowledges infant’s confusing affect with a contrasting melodic contour i.e. descending 4 th glissando but with similar lyrical sounds “Ahha” Acknowledgement Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response 286 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Acknowledges infant distress by responding with infant-directed speech Verbalises difficulty in interpreting communications via infant-directed speech The phrase “I don’t know whether you’re laughing or crying” contains the following features: (1) repetition of B3 pitch, (2) melismas on the keywords of the phrase “laughing” and “crying” i.e. ascending 6th interval and oscillating minor third, (3) Oscillating motif in “crying” creates an upper inflection at the end of the phrase to represent the questioning nature of Jane’s thoughts, (4) accents emphasise the keywords “laughing” and “crying” Emphasising the keywords via pitch variation and accents reflect Jane’s observation of infant’s mixed affect and her difficulty in interpreting the affect Interpretation The phrase “you haven’t done a poo poo have you?” contains a repetition of a low G3, a major 3 rd rise on “poo” and “you”. The pitch rise at the end of the phrase creates an upper inflection to indicate the question mark. The question mark also indicates that Jane is unsure of whether her interpretation is accurate. Attempted interpretation Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Verbalises an attempt at interpreting infant’s communication via infant-directed speech Jane repeats the phrase “you wanna cuddle?” It contains the repetition of low F3, and ascending major 3rd and accent on “cuddle”. The emphasis on the word “cuddle” conveys Jane’s acknowledgement of infant’s desire for comfort. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Verbalises suggested response to infant’s communications via infant-directed speech Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Responds to infant’s desire for comfort by singing lullaby, Sleep Baby Sleep General characteristics of this lullaby include: (1) lower neighbour-note motif, (2) 4/4 metre, (3) clarity of phrasing created by consistent length of phrasing (each phrase is 1 bar long), (4) clarity of phrasing is created by ending each phrase with an “ee” sound, (5) major modality, (6) moderately soft dynamic sung throughout, (7) less nasal and breathier tone of voice and (8) occasional melisma EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by an “oo” and “oh” rhyme and rhythmic rest In Going to the moon, the first two phrases begin and end with an “oo” vowel sound such as “zoom”, “moon” and “soon”. By beginning and ending with the same vowel sound a sense of symmetry is created while also marking the phrasing. In Belly Button each phrase ends with an “oh” vowel sound such as “toes”, “goes”, “nose”, and “blows”. The rest of the lyrics avoid this vowel sound (e.g. “These are”) making the rhymes more noticeable and more effectively marking the end of each phrase. Also, each phrase is followed by a rest. The audible gap clearly marks the end of each phrase. Response Parental Structuring (High 25-26) 287 In Going to the moon, the first two phrases begin on the dominant and end on the tonic. The stability of the tonic creates a sense of completion which clearly marks the end of the phrase. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by melodic contour Phrase A Phrase A1 In Belly Button, Jane does not settle on a tonal centre. Despite the change in pitch and key, Jane maintains the same melodic contour for each phrase throughout the interaction. Such consistency clarified the melodic phrasing amongst the ambiguity of tonality. Phrase ‘a’ – first time: Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrase ‘a’ – second time: The phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by melodic contour Phrase ‘a’ – third time: 288 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The phrasing of the lullaby is clearly shaped by an “ee” vowel sound Phrase ‘a’ – fourth time: Each phrase of the lullaby Sleep Baby Sleep ends with an “ee” vowel sound such as “sleep”, “sheep”, “tree”, “thee The large ascending major 6th interval in phrase ‘b’ and ‘b1’ greatly contrasts the smaller intervals in phrase ‘a’. The obvious melodic change clearly distinguishes the A-B-A ternary structure of the lullaby. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Contrasting pitch distinguish structure of lullaby Sleep Baby Sleep Phrase ‘b1’ Phrase ‘b’ Predictability is created in Belly Button by repeating the same rhythmic/phrasing pattern::short-short-long, short-short-long. Short Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the play song Short Long Predictability is created in Going to the moon, by repeating the same rhythm (Phrase A and A1). This created predictability even when the tonal centre was unstable (second time through) First time: Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the play song Second time (tonal instability): In Going to the moon, “Oh”, is sung with an ascending glissando and pause. 289 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates ending of the play song creating predictability for the infant In Belly Button, Jane sings a large ascending glissando of approximately a 7th -11th interval on “mummy”. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates ending of the play song creating predictability for the infant In Going to the moon, the end of the song is anticipated by a glissando and pause on “oh”. However, the anticipation is extended by also singing the preceding countdown with ascending glissandos, loud inhalations and exaggerated head movements. Anticipation in enhanced by raising the pitch of the glissandos as the ending approaches. The listener is left waiting for a resolving downward contour which arrives at the end of the song. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding 290 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Anticipation of the ending is extended by repetitive use and variation of expressive techniques Anticipation of the ending is extended by repetitive use and variation of expressive techniques In Belly Button, the end of the song is anticipated by an ascending glissando and pause on “mummy”. However, the anticipation is extended by also singing glissandos on the previous words “right where”. These first couple of ascending glissandos rise at least a 5th in her lower speech register. She then sings “mummy” at a higher pitch and sings a larger ascending glissando of approximately a 7th-11th interval. Anticipation in enhanced by raising the pitch of the “mummy” glissando as the ending approaches. The listener is left waiting for a resolving downward contour which arrives at the end of the song with a descending glissando on “goes”. Multiple changes occur at the beginning of the last phrase of Going to the moon. The melody does not begin on the dominant note, as did the other phrases and the phrase consists of ascending glissandos rather than a 2-bar phrase with a downward contour. Also, the tempo is more flexible as a result of the recurring pauses. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Indicates the last phrase of the play song by a change in melodic contour, expressive techniques and tempo. Bouncing occurs to the rhythm of the melody i.e. each downward motion matches the quarter or eighth note melody Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements and bouncing match the melody of the play song) Swaying occurs on each quarter-note beat of the 4/4 meter. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing (movements and swaying match the beat of the lullaby) 291 In the song Belly Button, ascending glissandos act as a cue to anticipate the upcoming raspberry. During Jane’s infant-directed speech, Jane incorporates a similar ascending melodic contour to anticipate the raspberry. In other words, Jane maintains the same type of anticipation cue to provide consistency and predictability in her structuring. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Incorporates similar melodic contour in infant-directed speech to anticipate raspberry In Going to the moon, Jane does not consistently indicate the end of the song. The first time she ended the song with a descending glissando, the second time she ended with a tremalo vocal effect. First time: Second time: Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Inconsistent guidance inconsistently indicates the end of the song 292 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Inconsistent guidance slightly inconsistent in indicating the end of the play song Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Creates an enveloping environment conducive to relaxation while singing lullabies Successful guidance - unsuccessful structuring attempt Well-intentioned attempt at playful infant-directed speech is unsuccessful The ending of Belly Button contains three expressive components (1) descending glissando on “blows”, (2) loud inhalation and (3) blowing a raspberry in the air or on the baby’s tummy. The order of the techniques varies throughout the interaction. However, the descending glissando on “blows” is consistent. Considering the preceding repetitive ascending glissandos the downward contour provides a sense of resolution which is particularly important amongst the ambiguous tonal centre. Thus, Jane consistently achieves some sense of musical resolution. Second time: Fourth time: In Sleep Baby Sleep Jane maintains a slow tempo of approximately = 54, sings the full duration of note values, breaths during rests to maintain the temporal flow of the lullaby and maintains a moderately soft dynamic throughout the lullaby. Consistent tempo and dynamic contributes to the calming environment of a lullaby The unsuccessful infant-directed speech contains the repetition of the phrase :”ou, ou, ou, ou!”. This phrase contains an “ou” triplet on ‘A#4’ followed by another “ou” a semi-tone lower. The last “ou” is sung with a semi-tone acciaccatura. This unsuccessful structuring attempt then ends with a descending 4th glissando on “ou”. Parental Non-intrusiveness (High 24-25) EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Jane follows infant’s vocal communications and responds with an imitative vocalisation ending on the same pitch as infant. Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Follows infant’s lead for verbal conversation 293 Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Attempts to structure vocal play using infant’s interest in “ou” after hair grabbing After observing infant’s positive response to the hair pulling, Jane playfully elaborates upon her “ou” sound to engage Jane in a conversation. Her elaborations comprise of (1) four “ou”s which are repeated and (2) a long descending 4th glissando. The four “ou”s comprise of 3short sixteenth note “ou”s. She then descending a semi-tone for the final “ou”. She also embellishes the ending by adding a semi-tone acciaccatura. Initial reaction Elaboration’ Jane asks questions then rests before continuing to speak to provide infant an opportunity to respond. Infant is treated as an interactive partner Jane leaves gaps for infant to respond to her speech. Jane attempts to repeat the song unsuccessfully. When Jane does not respond to infant’s initial signals (wriggling & looking away) infant starts to lean backwards and cry to indicate intrusiveness. Parent is made to feel intrusive Infant wriggles, looks away, leans backward and starts to cry when Jane repeats the song for a 4th time Jane interprets intrusive via infant-directed speech. Characteristics of the phrases include: (1) low speech register, (2) longer note values provide rhythmical emphasis to the words “don’t like that”, and (3) rising a tone adds extra emphasis to the word “like”. These musical emphases convey Jane’s interpretation i.e. infant no longer wants or like the Belly Button song. After interpreting infant’s communications Jane considers a different song to sing. EA subscale Lacking negativity lack of overt or covert hostility Behaviours Musical elements Only a few yawns and sighs observed. n/a Lack of mocking – lack of ridiculing or disrespect No ridiculing or disrespect observed n/a EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Affect demonstration of genuine and appropriate emotion General positive and relaxed affect Usually accompanied by silence 294 Parent is made to feel intrusive Parental Non-hostility (high 26) Child Responsiveness (Borderline mid/high 20) Vocalisations sound like a mixture of laughing and crying. Characterised by an ascending glissando of varying intervals (2nd – 5th). Two are clipped short by a staccato. Three are followed by the repetition of ending pitch or minor third interval Confused sounding affect/distress Affect – infant is able to use resources to regulate emotions Juliet becomes still and silent during moments of lullaby singing. Only temporary regulation Stillness is accompanied by silence (Sleep baby sleep) Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Smiling Usually accompanied by silence Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Giggling n/a Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Imitative vocalisation Juliet responds to the song by vocalising in a similar pitch to mother’s singing. 295 Affect demonstration of mixed emotion EA subscale Simple initiative Elaborative initiative Behaviours Looking and smiling Mainly looking, smiling for an extended period of time Child Involvement (borderline mid/high 20) Musical elements Mostly accompanied by silence Looking and smiling is mostly accompanied by silence 296 Juliet vocalises two short sounds to extend the interaction after the Belly Button song finishes Elaborative initiative Short vocalisation Negatively involving behaviours Whinging and crying and frequently n/a Confused vocalisations are characterised by an ascending glissando usually followed by a repetition of the final glissando pitch or a descending minor third. Negatively involving behaviours Confused crying/laughing sounds Tullia and Mark Tullia scored high, near optimal ratings in each of the parental dimensions (25.5-27). Mark scored highly for Child Responsiveness (24) but a borderline mid/high category score for Child Involvement (19.5). Although their scores could be more ideal, overall, Tullia and Mark appeared to have a generally positive and emotionally availability relationship (see Chapter 4 for further details). Transcript 1 and 2 examine Tullia and Marks's high Sensitivity, Structuring, Non-Intrusiveness, Non-Hostility, Child Responsive and Child Involvement during two play song interactions. Transcript 3 and 4 particularly examines Tullia's high Sensitivity, Structuring and Non-Hostility and Mark's high Responsiveness (ability to be regulated) and less-optimal Involvement during two lullaby interactions. See 297 Appendix NN for the full descriptions, transcriptions and music analyses. See Table 56 below for a summary of Tullia and Mark's features of singing interaction. 297 Table 56: Summary of Tullia and Mark's behavioural and musical features as they relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability Parental Sensitivity (High 24-26) EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Smiling while singing Open, positive smiley tone is created by smiling while singing (e.g. Open Shut Them & Trot, trot to Boston) Affect – demonstration of positive emotion and animation Consistently uses a variety of expressive techniques in play song In Open, shut them Tullia sings a large range of expressive techniques e.g. glissando appoggiaturas, accents, mezzo staccatos and tenutos. The combination of a smiley tone and frequent expressive techniques demonstrate her positive affect and animation 298 Affect – demonstration of appropriate animation Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Demonstrates intentional, behavioural and musical congruence during lullaby Tullia acknowledges and verbalises interpretation of infant’s communications via infant-directed speech Tullia’s intention behind Twinkle, twinkle little star and Cradle Song is to calm infant down. She demonstrates this intention by an appropriate lack of animation. She (1) maintains a neutral facial expression (as opposed to smiley & excited), (2) sings in a legato vocal style, (3) sings with a neutral vocal tone, (4) maintains constant dynamic (as opposed to sudden changes) to create sense of safety, and(5) breathing at the end of each phrase to prevent disruptions to the melodic flow, and (5) where rests are not included in the original notation (Cradle Song) Tullia consistently shortens the last rhythmic value of each bar. She provides herself an eighth-note rest to breath after each sub-phrase, thus minimises any disruption to the melodic flow. Tullia first acknowledges Mark by vocalising a descending 5th glissando “oh”. Then she rises a perfect 4 th to verbalise her interpretation of the behaviour i.e. infant wants to do something (“what do you wanna do?”) Characteristics include: (1) paired pitches “what do” and “wanna”, (2) “you” and “do” are emphasised via longer duration and disruption to paired pitches, (3) ending with a descending glissando Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Tullia acknowledges infant by responding sympathetically via infant-directed speech (Twinkle, twinkle & Cradle Song) Sympathetic phrases include: (1) a repetition of pitch followed by a descending glissando (examples show a 7 th, 6th or 4th interval), (2) and a descending 2nd glissando and (3) held pitch merging into a descending 4 th glissando. Example 1: Example 2: Example 3: Example 4: Example 5: Example 6: Tullia blows raspberries similarly to Mark (Trot trot to Boston) and verbalises an imitative sympathetic response to negatively involving vocalisations (Cradle Song). Example 1: 299 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Example 2: Acknowledges infant verbal initiations and respond imitatively Tullia verbalises her interpretation of infant’s communications via infant-directed speech Tullia interprets Mark’s communications as a desire for a cuddle. She speaks three phrases, all containing a question. Phrase ‘a’ and ‘a1’ are characterised by a triplet rhythm repeating the same E4 pitch followed by an ascending intervals to convey the upper inflection of a question. Phrase ‘a1’ has additional repetition of A4 pitch followed by a descending 7 th interval at the beginning of the phrase. Phrase ‘b’ contains the fast repetition of G4 pitch followed by a slurred ascending 2 nd to convey an upper inflection. Interpretation phrase ‘a’ Interpretation phrase ‘a1’ Interpretation phrase ‘b’ This phrase is characterised by the repetition of one pitch using fast sixteenth notes. 300 Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Tullia verbalises her suggested response to infant’s communications via infant-directed speech Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Responds to infant’s distressed communications by promptly singing Twinkle, twinkle, little star. General characteristics include: (1) major modality, (2) A-B-A ternary structure, (3) 7-beat phrasing, (4) repetition of paired-paired-pairedsingle pitch pattern, (5) 4/4 meter, (6) consistent moderately fast tempo, (7) legato vocal style, (8) neutral tone of voice, and (9) consistent moderately loud dynamic. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Responds to infant’s distressed communications by promptly singing Cradle Song. General characteristics include: (1) major modality, (2) paired phrasing structure, (3) 2-bar phrases are sung with 1-bar sub-phrases, (4) minor 3rd interval melodic motif, (5) motif is embellished with melisma, (6) opposing melodic contours distinguish phrase ‘a’ and ‘b’, (7) 4/4 meter, (8) legato vocal style, (9) consistent neutral tone of voice, and (10) consistent moderately soft dynamic. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Chooses to sing Open, shut them to maintain infant’s happiness. Characteristics include: (1) 2/4 meter, (2) 2-phrase per verse structure, (3) repetitive 7-beat (2-bar) phrase length, (4) major modality, (5) repetitive 4-eighth-note motif containing an ascending major 3rd, descending 2nd, descending 5th, (6) unique tempo for each verse, (7) different actions/movement for each verse, (8) tempo, melody and expressive techniques match the current movements, (9) sung with a moderately loud dynamic, and (10) sung with a open smiley tone of voice. Response to cues and signals – appropriate and prompt response Chooses to sing Trot, trot to Boston in response to infant’s behavioural communications. Response to cues and signals – flexibility Tullia demonstrates flexibility by altering the tempo of each verse of play song EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by a rhyme In Open shut shut each phrase ends with an “ap” (verse 1), “is” (verse 1) or “in” (verse 3) rhyme. Characteristics include: (1) 4/4 meter, (2) two 2-bar phrasing, (3) use of dotted as opposed to even eighth-notes, (4) major modality, (5) contrasting melodic contours in phrasing structure (descending versus ascending), (6) sung at a moderately fast tempo of approximately 132, (7) sung at a moderately loud dynamic and (8) sung with an open, positive and smiley tone of voice. During Open Shut them, each verse is sung at a different tempo. Verse 1 is sung at a slow tempo of approximately a slightly faster tempo of approximately = 58. Verse 3 is sung at a moderately fast tempo of approximately Parental Structuring (High 25-26) = 80 = = 54. Verse 2 is sung at In Trot, trot to Boston, both phrases end with an “in” rhyme (“Lynn” and “in”). The rest of the lyrics avoid this sound (e.g. “ot”, “aye” and “all” sounds). The contrast draws attention to the rhyme which clealry marks the end of the phrase. Also, the two prhases are separated by a quarter-note rest. The audible gap clearly indicates the end of phrsae ‘a’. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by rhythmic elements and “in” rhyme Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the play song is clearly shaped by rhythmic and melodic elements In Open shut shut each phrase begins with the same 4-eighth-note melodic motif and is followed by a quarter-note rest. The repetitive melody and audible gap at the end of the phrase clearly define the boundary of each phrase. Phrase ‘a’ comprises of a descending melodic contour, prhase ‘b’ comprises of an ascending meldoic contour and ascending glissadnos. The oppositional melodic content distinguishes the two prhases. 301 Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding The phrasing of play song is clearly distinguished by contrasting melodic contour Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Phrasing of the lullaby is clearly shaped by rhyme Phrase ‘a’ Phrase ‘b’ In Twinkle, twinkle little star, each section cpmtains 2-phrases. Both phrases end on either an “eye”, “are”, “on” or “ite” rhyme In Cradle Song, phrase ‘a’ and ‘b’ both end on the dominant which is resolved at the end of the proceeding phrase. The melodic resolution occurs at the same time as the “arm” lyrics (“arms” or “harm”). Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Paired phrasing structure of the lullaby is clearly shaped melodic resolution and rhyme Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Verse structure of the play song is clearly shaped by contrasting rhymes and resolution to the tonic. Each verse of Open, shut them contains a different rhyme. Verse 1 phrases end an “ap” rhyme (“clap” and “lap”). Verse 2 phrases end with an “in” rhyme “ (“chin” and “in”). Verse 3 phrases end with an “is” rhyme (“this” and “kiss”). These changes distinguish each verse and therefore help to clairfy the verse structure of the song. The verse structure is also shaped by melodic tension and resolution. Phrase ‘a’ ends with an ascending stepwise melodic contour and an unresolved dominant pitch. Phrase ‘a1’ ends with the resolving downward melodic contour ending on the tonic. The symmetrical up-down melodic shape and the resolution to the tonic provide a sense of completion and finality. Phrase ‘a’ Phrase ‘a1’ 302 Twinkle, twinkle little star contains 2 sections. Section A is characterised by melodic resolution and balance. The first phrase rises to the dominant which is resolved at the end of the second phrase. Also, the melody in each phrase rises and falls a similar intervallic range over the same duration, therefore creating a sense of melodic symmetry or balance. Section contains contains the repetition of a downward melodic phrase which ends on the super-tonic. Therefore, Section B is characterised by umblance and tension or lack of melodic resolution. The contrasting elements clearly distinguish the two sections and emphasise the ‘home-away-home’ juxtaposition of ternary form. Section A (resolution / ‘home’): Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Ternary structure of lullaby is clearly distinguished by melodic tension and resolution. Phrase ‘a’ Phrase ‘b’ Section B (tension / ‘away’): Phrase ‘b1’ Phrase ‘b1’ Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the play song Each phrase in the play song, Open shut them is 7 quarter-beats in length. Such repetition creates expectancy and predictability Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the lullaby Each phrase in Twinkle, twinkle little star is 7 quarter-beats in length followed by a quarter-note rest. Each phrase also contains the same pitch pattern: paired-paired-paired-single. Constant repetition expectancy and predictability which contributes to the feeling of safety. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Predictability is created within the lullaby Each phrase in Cradle Song is 2 bars long. Each phrase also comprises of two 3.5 beat (2-bar) followed by an eighth-note rest. The rhythmic constancy and repetition creates predictability which contributes to the feeling of safety. Verse 2 of Open, shut them has a unique ending. The last 3-beats of the ending phrase are sung at a very fast tempo (more than double previous speed). To anticipate this stark change Tullia uses temporal flexibility via two pauses: (1) she breaths with animation (wide open mouth) and a pause, then (2) she sings a short staccato at a higher pitch than the rest of the song (Ab4) with an accent and a pause. These obvious changes capture the listener’s attention and indicate that something different is approaching. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Anticipates unique ending of verse 2 of play song 303 During Trot, trot to Boston, Tullia uses contrasting rhythmic elements and expressive techniques to anticipate the “in” motion. She suddenly elongates the note duration (from quarter-note to half-note) and sings ascending glissandos with a pause. Also, singing two (instead of one) glissando and pause extends and enhances the anticipation. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Consistently anticipates ending of play song Tullia consistently ends Trot, trot to Boston with a descending 3rd interval in a higher register to the rest of the song Ending (first time): Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Ending (second time): Consistently indicates end of play song Movements match the lyrics as well as the pulse of the meter e.g. in verse 1 the feet come together at the same time as Tullia sings “in” and each downward motion of the shaking action occur on the word “shake”. Verse 1: Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Verse 3: Congruence of movements and singing 304 Bouncing movement matches the metric pulse and rhythm of the melody. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing Patting is executed in various rhythms but always in synchrony with the metric pulse. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing Tullia varies the melody to better dramatise/mimic the arm rolling movement. She adds upper and lower glissando appogiaturas on “roll”. By sliding up and down the pitch she mimics a smooth rolling motion. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing 305 Uses expresssive techniques to dramatise actions/movements e.g. in Verse 3 each accented beat coincides with the word “shake”. The ‘heaveniess’ of the accent mimics the heaviness of the downward shaking action. In verse 2, each word “creep them ...” is sung with a tenuto. The constant of holding the full note value mimics the ver-onward motion of wriggling fingers creeping up the infant’s body. Verse 2: Verse 3: Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Congruence of movements and singing Tempo changes in Open Shut them better match Tullia’s movements e.g. in verse 2 the slightly faster tempo allows Tullia to creep fingers from infant’s toes to chin for the same duration as the concurrent melodic phrase. Appropriate guidance – positive scaffolding Creates an enveloping environment conducive to relaxation while singing lullabies During Twinkle, twinkle little star Tullia maintains a moderately fast tempo of = 132, moderately loud dynamic and calm neutral tone of voice throughout the song. The constancy (lack of sudden changes) of these elements encourages infant to relax. EA subscale Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Behaviours Desires to follow infant cues by suggesting Open shut them when infant appears ready for a play song. Parental Non-intrusiveness (High 25-26) Musical elements When infant appears ready for a play song Tullia asks, “ready?” Characteristics include: slurred phrasing, ascending 3 rd intervals, final slurred interval conveys upper inflection of a question. Tullia asks, “ready?” by verbalising two ascending 2 nd intervals. The final slurred interval conveys the upper inflection of a question. Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Verbalises desire for infant cues to determine if ready for a play song Tullia asks, “Again?” Characterised by an ascending perfect 4 th interval. 306 Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Seeks infant’s lead. Incorporates raspberry into the play song Following child’s lead – follows the infant’s interest/desire Incorporates infant’s interest into activity EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Minimal negativity observed n/a No ridiculing or disrespect observed n/a Parental Non-hostility (High 27) Lacking Negativity – lack of overt or covert hostility Lack of mocking – lack of ridiculing or disrespect Child Responsiveness (High 24) EA subscale Behaviours Musical elements Affect demonstration of genuine and appropriate emotion General positive and relaxed affect Usually accompanied by silence Negatively involving vocalisations continue until the end of repeated verse 1. Characteristics of vocal negative affect include: (1) open and closed mouth sounds, (2) slurred phrases, (2) sliding to/from pitches via a glissando, (3) neighbour-note motifs, (4) oscillation motifs, (5) range of rhythms, and (6) phrases ending with a descending glissando. Has some difficulty regulating emotions and vocally expresses unhappy sounds (Twinkle, twinkle) Affect – infant is able to use resources to regulate emotions Vocally expresses distress and unhappiness (Cradle Song) Example 1: Example 2: Example 3: Example 4: 307 Affect – infant is able to use resources to regulate emotions Negatively involving vocalisations contain two common elements: use of glissandi and melodic oscillations. Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Responsiveness – Likely to respond with positive emotion Example 1: Example 2: Smiling Usually accompanied by silence Blowing raspberries Raspberry sound EA subscale Behaviours Child Involvement (Borderline mid/high 19 -20) Musical elements Simple initiative Looking and smiling Mostly accompanied by silence Example 3: Characteristics of Mark’s positive vocalisations include: (1) blowing raspberries of various lengths, (2) lower neighbour-note motif vocalised with a descending glissando and slurred interval, (3) descending tri-tone glissando, (4) short single pitch. Simple initiative Simple initiative Positive verbal involvement Frequent negatively involving vocalisations (open-mouth unhappy sounds/whines) Characteristics of Mark’s open-mouth vocalisations include: (1) slurred phrases, (2) some single pitch phrases, (3) phrases ending with a quick descending glissando, (4) melodic contour that rises and falls between small intervals (mostly 2nds and 3rds), (5) sliding to/from pitches via a glissando, (6) neighbour-note motifs, (7) oscillation motifs, and (8) range of rhythms. Example 1: Example 2: Example 3: Example 4: 308 Characteristics of Mark’s closed-mouth vocalisations during Twinkle, twinkle little star include: (1) phrases ending with a descending glissando, (2) neighbour-note motifs, (3) sliding to/from notes via a glissando, (4) sustaining one pitch before merging into a glissando, and (5) slurred phrases. Simple initiative Frequent negatively involving vocalisations (closed-mouth unhappy sounds/whines) Example 1: Example 2: Example 3: Example 4: Characteristics of Mark’s vocalisations during Cradle song include: (1) both open and closed mouth sounds, (2) minor 3 rd glissandi oscillations, (3) small and large intervallic glissandi that both ascend and descend (2 nd – 13th interval), (4) neighbour-note motif merging into descending glissando, (5) incomplete neighbour-note motif, (6) single short pitch, (7) screechy and non-screechy tone, (8) slurred phrases. Simple initiative Expresses negatively involving vocalisations Vocalisation 1: Vocalisation 2: Vocalisation 3: Vocalisation 4: Elaborative initiative Mainly looking, smiling Looking and smiling is mostly accompanied by silence Vocalisation 5: 309 Discussion This discussion focuses on the key features of the findings of the transcriptional music analysis. It contains three parts. Part 1 focuses on the potential arousal functions of play songs and lullabies. Part 2 summarises the distinctive characteristics of play songs and lullabies and compares the findings to previous research. The importance of expressing stereotypical 'play song' or 'lullaby' characteristics to facilitate emotional availability is particularly considered. Part 3 outlines five key aspects of the mothers' emotional availability and explains the need to explicate the musical principles underlying the mothers' interactions. Arousal functions of play songs and lullabies Papoušek (1996) has shown that certain melodic contours in infant-directed speech are used specifically to fulfil distinct arousal functions. As shown in the Figure 11, steep descending contours mark the highest level of arousal and provide a warning or prohibition whereas smooth, slowly descending contours are used to sooth and comfort the infant. The rising and falling contours in infant-directed speech and song are very similar in German, French and Russian (Falk, 2011) and in the current study it is also shown that English speech and song share common melodic contour characteristics for the purpose of increasing or diminishing infant arousal. 310 Figure 11 - The contour form and function in infant-directed speech according to Papoušek (1996), presented by Falk (2011) The play songs and lullabies also contain many of the melodic contours typically found in infant-directed speech (M. Papoušek, 1996). As shown in Table 57, Going to the moon and Acka Backa contain frequent occurrences of contours that arouse and elicit attention from the infant. In play songs, these contours tend to occur one after another during the last phrase of the song when mothers anticipate an exciting ending. Similarly, Hush-a-bye, Sleep Baby Sleep and Twinkle Twinkle contain many falling contours that diminish arousal. However, the contours are not restricted to the end of the lullaby, instead, they occur throughout the lullaby. 311 Table 57: Summary of the occurrences of pitch contour associated with increasing arousal in play songs Table 58: Summary of the occurrences of pitch contour associated with decreasing arousal in lullabies Clearly, play songs contain many of the arousing contours and lullabies the soothing contours identified by Papoušek (1996) in infant-directed speech, which suggests that infant-directed speech and mothers' singing express emotional 312 messages in a similar fashion. In other words, infant-directed speech and singing may be viewed as siblings of emotional communication (Creighton, 2011; Longhi, 2009; Trehub, Hill, et al., 1997) as both share the same functional roots and basic musical makeup. The occurrence of such clear and noticeable similarities between speech and song warrants further investigation. Perhaps a systematic, thorough and quantitative approach would reveal more similarities between song and speech in regard to arousal and other communicative functions (Falk, 2011). Further research could also identify and explain the functions of other melodic shapes that are present in songs (e.g. a reverse bell shape) and establish a new list of melodic contours specific to play songs and lullabies. Although it is beyond the scope of this study, such research would expand current understanding of the similarities between song and speech and the arousal functions that they perform. Distinctive characteristics of play songs and lullabies Previous research shows that the distinctive characteristics of play songs and lullabies serve particular communicative and arousal purposes (Rock, et al., 1999; Trainor, 1996; Trehub & Schellenberg, 1995). Exploration of the distinctive characteristics of the analysed play songs and lullabies may reveal further insights into how play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication. The music analyses demonstrate that play songs and lullabies have a mixture of shared and distinguishing musical characteristics. A table summarising the common characteristics of the analysed play songs and lullabies, as well as the differences between the two styles of song, is presented in Table 59 below: 313 Table 59 - Common musical characteristics of the analysed play songs and lullabies COMMON PLAYSONG CHARACTERISTICS (1) An ‘even’ metre or at least containing 2 main beats such as 4/4, 2/4 and 6/8, (2) Repetitive phrasing length, (3) Long-short dotted rhythms as opposed to even eighth notes, (4) Phrases marked by rhyme, (5) An open, positive ‘smiley’ tone of voice, (6) ‘Smiley’ tone of voice is accompanied by animated facial expressions, (7) Temporal flexibility, particularly at the end of the song, (8) Separated or mezzo-staccato style of singing, and (9) Absence of melismas (10) Use of expressive techniques such as glissandos COMMON LULLABY CHARACTERISTICS (1) An ‘even’ metre or at least containing 2 main beats such as 4/4, 2/4 and 6/8, (2) Repetitive phrasing length, (3) ABA ternary structure, (4) Even as opposed to dotted rhythms, (5) Phrases marked by rhyme, (6) Use of a neutral tone of voice, (7) A rest occurs after each phrase to provide time to breathe while maintaining temporal flow, (8) Minor 3rd melodic motif, (9) Repetitive rhythmic patterns, and (10) Use of melismas (11) Absence of or few expressive techniques As shown in Table 59by underlining, three musical characteristics are shared by both play songs and lullabies. Both types of songs tend to have ‘even’ metres or metres containing two main beats such as 4/4, 2/4 and 6/8. Both contain repetitive phrasing lengths (e.g. each phrase is 7-beats long) and phrases marked by rhyme. This suggests the sense of metric symmetry (‘even’ metre), clear phrasing structures and predictability created by rhythmic repetition are important components of infantdirected songs. In other words, whether fulfilling an arousing or soothing function, these structural and temporal components of singing may serve a particular communicative purpose. It is possible that these common elements help the infant to process a musical event and create musical expectancies. Longhi (2009) found that mothers emphasise the hierarchical structure of play songs through multimodal sensory information. For example, mothers lengthened the duration of the last beat of the phrase (upbeat) and combined this with gestural behaviours. It is believed that these emphases help the infant to process and segment the musical event into smaller units, thus enabling them to synchronise to the beat of the mother’s singing. Thus, the following may be 314 proposed: (1) the metrical symmetry of ‘even’ metres may allow for easier temporal segmentation than ‘uneven’ metres, (2) the consistent rhythmic repetition, which creates predictability, also encourages an expectation for phrases to end, and (3) the use of rhyme accentuates the proceeding upbeat or makes it more noticeable. If these proposals are correct, then the combination of ‘even’ metre, rhythmic predictability and rhyme create expectancy for the upbeat. This expectancy may in turn, encourage the infant to better attend to the upbeat and synchronise to the mother on the first beat of the next phrase. Also shown in Table 59, are five areas where play songs and lullabies demonstrate oppositional or distinctive characteristics: (1) play songs were sung with a ‘smiley’ tone of voice, lullabies were sung with a neutral tone of voice, (2) play songs tended to contain long-short dotted rhythms, lullabies tend to contain even rhythms, (3) play songs tended to have an absence of melisma whereas lullabies occasionally contain melismas, (4) play songs were sung in a separated or mezzostaccato-like style whereas lullabies were sung with a smooth legato style, and (5) play songs tended to contain expressive techniques whereas lullabies tended to have an absence of expressive techniques. This combination of opposing characteristics appears to clearly distinguish the two types of songs. It is interesting to note the similarities of these findings to previous research (Rock, et al., 1999; Trainor, 1996; Trehub & Schellenberg, 1995). For example Rock et. al (1999) found that the ‘smiley’ tone and rhythmic or rhythmically clipped style distinguishes play songs from lullabies. Similarly, the present study identified the ‘smiley tone’ of voice, absence of melismas, and separated/mezzo-staccato singing style to be distinctive characteristics of play songs. Rock et. al (1999) also found that exaggerated lyric rhythms distinguish play songs from lullabies. In the present study, 315 the lyrics and metric emphasis of syllables in play songs were found to match the stress-timed nature of the English language. If “exaggerated lyrics” refers to rhythmic matching of a particular language in speech and song, then the findings of this study further support her findings. It is also interesting to note that there are differences between the current findings and previous research. For example, the present study found distinguishing characteristics that have not previously been found including: metre, modality, the use of expressive techniques, temporal flexibility at the end of songs and the use of long-short dotted rhythms. The present study also found disparate characteristics for lullabies. For example, Rock et. al (1999) found that the rhythmic character of the lullabies is determined by accompanying rocking or swaying movements. However, this study did not find that most mothers sang according to the rhythm of their movement. Instead, mothers tended to exaggerate the melodic phrases by employing temporal flexibility such as pausing on the last note of a slur (see Appendix JJ and NN). This suggests that it is smooth legato phrasing and temporal flow that determines the rhythmic characteristic of lullabies rather than the accompanying movement. Additionally, Rock et. al (1999) found that a breathy tone of voice distinguished lullabies from play songs. However, the mothers in this study mostly used a neutral tone of voice that was not necessarily breathier than their play song singing. The inconsistency of findings concerning the tone of voice may be caused by Rock et. al (1999) using a microphone placed close to the mother's mouth. In the present study however, the mother’s voice was recorded via video camcorders placed in various corners of the room and quite distant from the mother’s mouth. Therefore, the quality of the mother’s timbre in the present study may not have been captured to 316 the same detail and richness as found in Rock, et. al (1999). Microphones were purposefully kept away from the mothers so as not to disrupt the naturalistic context for the study and allow as much freedom of movement as possible. The above inconsistency should challenge researchers to consider what is really important to mother-infant singing interaction. Is it actually necessary to have a breathy tone of voice to successfully soothe an infant? While it might help, it appears not to be necessary. Mothers who used a neutral tone of voice like Alice and Skye scored very highly in the Emotional Availability Scales despite the lack of breathiness in their voices. The commonality between these mothers was the demonstration of congruence and an emotionally enveloping quality to their singing. This included multiple factors such as the absence of animation and the absence of the ‘smiley’ tone (i.e. use of the neutral tone of voice), smooth legato style of singing, breathing in-between phrases to maintain temporal flow and maintaining the same tempo and dynamic. The use of or absence of a breathy tone therefore, does not appear to be essential to facilitating emotional communication via lullaby singing. What is important is the congruence between the soothing intention and the musical expression of this intention. Thus, the absence of some play song-associated characteristics or lullaby-associated characteristics does not necessarily impinge on emotional communication. Or, mere replication of play song and lullaby-associated characteristics does not seem to be the key to optimal singing interaction but rather the use of principles of musical interaction which provide a foundation for optimal emotional communication. Key features of singing interactions The purpose of the music analysis was to determine how mothers facilitate varying degrees of emotional availability by singing. In other words, the purpose was 317 to answer “what is a mother doing musically to score a higher or lower score in sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness and non-hostility?” The six cases studies described the multiple processes that are involved in facilitating emotional availability and drawn from these case studies are five important aspects of the mothers' singing interactions. Firstly, the mothers personalised songs. For example, Going to the moon was used by four mothers and each version of the song was unique. Mothers sang slightly different melodies and combinations of expressive techniques as well as at different tempos and tonal centres. The fact that the mother’s individualised songs demonstrates the personal nature of singing. Also, considering that singing may be a mode of positive projective identification, which is a unique kind of personal expression, the individualism of singing songs conveys the communicative nature of singing; play songs and lullabies are not a formula or precious piece of art to be replicated exactly with each performance, rather they are a means of communicating and expressing oneself on an interpersonal level. Secondly, the context (i.e. the present situation and the nature of the relationship in that situation) is determinant. Emotional availability is not about replicating a stylistic characteristic or using a certain ‘formula’. Instead, the theoretical framework outlines the core principles of emotional communication. For example, the concept and implementation of Sensitivity is entirely dependent on how the dyad interacts during the current situation. The very different way in which Alice and Skye’s sang Going to the moon highlights this point (see Appendix II and JJ). Alice sang with great energy, excitement and playfulness by alternating between two contrasting movements, tempos and vocal styles. Skye on the other hand demonstrated restrained animation within the constraints of a slower and more 318 constant tempo. Yet, Skye was not scored lower on the Sensitivity scale. It appears the reason lies in the communicative purpose of the singing. Alice and infant Cindy had only just started the video session and Cindy was happy, energetic and playful. Skye and Marley on the other hand were at the end of the session and Marley was showing signs of tiredness. In other words, Alice was maintaining Cindy’s level of energy and happiness whereas Skye was modulating Marley’s tiredness while preventing overstimulation. Both reflected their intentions in the manner of their singing. The specific situation in which the interaction occurs must be considered to appropriately adapt songs, modify singing style and attune to the infant’s cues and signals. In other words, the sensitive use of songs requires a particular attitude: songs are not inflexible pieces of art. Rather they are vehicles of communication in response to the present moment. Thirdly, the variation within and between the six cases reiterates the fact that the act of singing songs does not necessarily equate to optimal interaction. For example, some interactions were successful, others less so. Some mothers demonstrated genuine and consistently positive affect, others were bland or over-thetop. Some mothers maintained a strong tonal centre, others did not. Such variation in the sample supports that there is no ‘formula’ for communicating through the medium of song to guarantee optimal emotional availability. Indeed, it is about aligning your singing to the infant's mood and arousal state. Fourthly, seemingly small differences in behaviour noticeably impact the degree of emotional availability. A comparison between Skye and Jane highlights this point. Skye employed preventive structuring techniques when singing Going to the moon and was consequently rated as highly non-intrusive, highly successful in structuring and highly sensitive. Jane however, did not employ preventative 319 structuring when singing Belly Button and was rated as less sensitive, less successful with structuring and less non-intrusive. During this interaction, because Juliet initially showed so much enjoyment of Belly Button, Jane continued to repeat the song, even when Juliet’s interest was diminishing. Subsequently, Juliet began to cry, turn away and squirm and it was only then that she stopped. This example shows the importance of acting immediately to subtle cues and being proactive rather than reactive, can noticeably impact the quality of interactions. Fifthly, two types of musical features emerge in the analyses: inherent and implemented. Features that are inherent to the musical composition include: the placement of rhyme at the end of a phrase, the use of melodic tension and resolution to distinguish Section A and B and the melody itself, all of which were determined by the composer. The second type of feature is implemented by the mother in response to her infant. For example, the use of repetitive glissandos is added by the mother, rather than composed. Thus, the dimensions of Emotional Availability are facilitated by a combination of inherent and implemented features of interaction. Differentiating the two is imperative to better understand the musical processes involved in facilitating optimal and less-optimal singing interactions. In sum, the case studies have revealed at least five components that contribute to optimal and less-optimal singing interactions within the Emotional Availability framework. However, while these components are important insights they do not resolve the original question, “in what ways do mothers sing songs to facilitate varying degrees and qualities of emotional availability?” The resolution of this question necessitates the explication of musical principles underlying the mothers' singing as they relate to optimal and less-optimal Emotional Availability. 320 SECTION 2 - DERIVING THE MUSICAL PRINCIPLES The process of deriving the musical principles involved comparing the behavioural and musical features of each Emotional Availability dimension across the six cases. Characteristics of very high or near perfect scoring (optimal) or lower/mid scoring (less optimal) emotional availability were then identified. These characteristics are summarised in separate tables according to the Emotional Availability dimension they relate to then further divided according to more specific attributes or subscales of each dimension (Biringen, 2008b). The musical principles of optimal and less-optimal emotional availability are discussed in relation to whether the principle is (1) inherent to the musical composition, or (2) implemented by the mothers. The findings of this comparison and extraction are presented below. Parental Sensitivity As shown in Table 60, the behavioural and musical features of Sensitivity relate to parental response to cues and signals, parental affect and flexibility. In regard to responding to cues, optimal singing was characterised by congruence. Whether the intention was to arouse or soothe, optimal singing was characterised by appropriate choice and deliverance of play song or lullaby repertoire according to the infant's needs. Flexibility was an important component of congruence and the appropriate deliverance of a song. In regard to maternal affect, mothers rated with very high sensitivity used a 'smiley' tone of voice while appropriately singing play songs. Creating this tone requires the actual 'smiling' of the facial muscles. Thus, creating a 'smiley' tone demonstrated both vocal affect and facial animation. What distinguished high and 321 lower/mid degrees of sensitive was the absence of the 'smiley' tone or the use of a bland vocal tone and affect during playful singing interactions. As shown in Table 61, two inherent musical principles of optimal Sensitivity were extracted from the analysis but no inherent principles of less-optimal sensitivity were identified. Three implemented musical principles of optimal sensitivity and three implemented principles of less optimal sensitivity were also extracted from the analysis. Table 60: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Sensitivity during singing interaction. EA quality Affect (positive emotion) PARENTAL SENSITIVITY DIMENSION High scoring or optimal qualities and characteristics Consistent open, positive ‘smiley’ tone of voice Consistent use of expressive techniques throughout a song e.g. glissando, vibrato/pulsating effect combined with glissando, accent, mezzo staccato, tenuto, appoggiaturas and glissandos Demonstrates intention to modulate emotions and produces behavioural and musical congruence to achieve modulation. Common characteristics of calming intention: absence of animation, neutral facial expression and tone of voice, legato vocal style, rests are used for breathing purposes only to maintain temporal flow, maintains dynamic and tempo. Characteristics of arousal/happy intention: consistent use of animation, ‘smiley’ tone of voice, expressive techniques, separated/detached non-legato vocal style, moderately loud dynamic. Characteristics of merging from a calming intention into arousal/happy intention (1 case example only): increase in tempo, merges from legato style to mezzo-staccato style, merges from neutral tone to smiley tone of voice, straight to dotted eighth-notes, moderately soft to moderately loud Acknowledges infant communications via imitative IDS 36. Characteristics include: similar descending contour/interval/glissando, similar pitch and duration and reproduction of raspberry sound Acknowledges infant’s distress by responding sympathetically via IDS. Common characteristics include: descending glissandos (all under an 8 ve), descending slurred intervals (under an 8ve), long pitch followed by descending interval, questions containing small 2nd or 3rd intervals, questions ending with a small ascending interval or upper inflection and slurred phrases. Other acknowledgement phrases (not necessarily sympathetic or imitative) include the following characteristics: verbalising oppositional elements to infant, questions that contain small intervals and end with either an ascending or descending interval Verbalises interpretation of infant communication via IDS. Common characteristics of speech include: Keywords emphasised via accents, elongation and rise in pitch, small ascending intervals (under a 5th), questions containing small 2nd and 3rd intervals, questions ending with ascending or descending interval/glissando, and repetition of pitches. Verbalises intended response to infant (before singing a song). Common characteristics of speech include: repetition of pitch, ending with an ascending or descending interval (under an 8ve), mostly small intervals and keywords emphasised via accents. Responds appropriately to infant communications and responses by singing/continuing a lullaby. Lullaby successfully calms distress. Common Affect (animation) Affect (demonstration of emotion and animation) Response to cues and signals Response to cues and signals Response to cues and signals Response to cues and signals Response to cues and signals Response to cues and signals 36 IDS is an abbreviation for infant-directed speech and used throughout this chapter 322 Response to cues and signals Flexibility Sub-scale Affect (positive emotion) Affect (animation) characteristics of a lullaby include: ABA ternary structure, neutral tone of voice, consistent tempo, consistent dynamic, legato style, breathing during rests to maintain temporal flow, major modality, 4/4 metre, minor 3rd melodic motif, repetitive phrasing length, repetitive rhythmic patterns, an ‘even’ metre or at least containing 2 main beats such as 4/4, 2/4 and 6/8, and phrases end with rhyme. Responds appropriately to infant communications and responses by singing/continuing a play song. Play song successfully modulates/maintains infant emotion and arousal. Common characteristics include: even meter (4/4 or 2/4), repetitive phrasing length, smiley tone of voice, phrasing marked by rhyme and dotted rhythms, major modality. Employs temporal flexibility while singing and stops mid-phrase or song to respond to infant Lower/mid scoring or less optimal qualities and characteristics Merging out of ‘smiley’ tone into bland/neutral or over-the-top screechy tone. Affect (demonstration of emotion and animation) Response to cues and signals Response to cues and signals Flexibility Degree of animation fluctuates e.g. temporary increases in animation via expressive and melodic features such as: accelerando, merging into chant-like IDS, accenting each beat, crescendo, glissando, pause, rise in pitch. Mostly bland i.e. no variety is demonstrated to indicate an intentional change in behaviour to achieve modulation. Verbalises difficulty in interpreting infant or verbalises uncertainty of current interpretation. Common characteristics of speech include: accents on keywords, repetition of pitch, ending with an upper inflection, use of small intervals. Inappropriately chooses a chant/rhyme to settle infant. Characteristics include: 2/4 meter, moderately fast tempo, combining bouncing and leaning movements in synchrony to the pulse. These characteristics were overstimulating Absence of or limited flexibility demonstrated. Table 61: Summary of inherent and implemented musical principles of optimal and less optimal Sensitivity during singing interaction. INHERENT PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions 1. 2. In relation to appropriately choosing a lullaby to soothe distress or negative emotional states, common compositional characteristics of the chosen lullabies include: ABA ternary structure, resting after each phrase to provide time to breathe, major modality, 4/4 meter, minor 3rd melodic motif, repetitive phrasing length creates predictability, repetitive rhythmic patterns, an ‘even’ metre or at least containing 2 main beats such as 4/4, 2/4 and 6/8, use of even as opposed to dotted rhymes, phrases that end with rhyme and use of melisma. In relation to appropriately choosing a play song to sustain/enhance infant happiness and capture/sustain infant attention, common compositional characteristics of the chosen play songs include: ‘even’ meter such as 4/4 or 2/4, or at least containing two main beats such as 6/8, repetitive phrasing length, long-short dotted rhythms (not even eighth-notes), phrasing marked by rhyme, a major modality, and absence of melisma. Less-optimal None extracted IMPLEMENTED PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions 1. Maintain a genuine (not over-the-top) open, positive, ‘smiley’ tone of voice during play songs (and playful) interactions. Mothers who merged in and out of the smiley tone received a lower sensitivity score. 1. 2. 2. Be clear in your intention (demonstrate congruence). If you intend to calm your baby down, then reduce animation, maintain a neutral facial expression and tone of voice, use rests to breathe (maintain temporal flow), sing in a legato style and prioritise phrasing and 323 3. Less-optimal Maintain a mostly bland affect and do not demonstrate much animation. Execute an inappropriate choice of play song/lullaby according to infant’s needs and arousal/distress level Absence of or limited smoothness. If you intend to be playful then maintain animation, maintain a smiley tone of voice and sing in a more separated mezzo staccato style. flexibility 3. Employ temporal flexibility while singing Parental Structuring As shown in Table 62, the behavioural and musical features of Structuring primarily relate to positive scaffolding. About half of the findings are inherent to the music composition and half are implemented. In regard to positive scaffolding inherent to the composition, optimal singing was characterised by clear and consistent phrasing. In regard to positive scaffolding implemented by the mothers, optimal singing was characterised by creating anticipation and employing preventative structuring. Mothers who scored lower in structuring demonstrated an absence of anticipation. As shown in Table 63, seven inherent musical principles of optimal structuring were extracted from the analysis and no inherent principles of lessoptimal sensitivity were identified. Eleven implemented musical principles of optimal structuring and one implemented principle of less optimal structuring was also extracted from the analysis. Table 62: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Structuring during singing interaction. Sub-scale Inherent positive scaffolding Inherent positive scaffolding Inherent positive scaffolding Inherent positive scaffolding Inherent positive scaffolding Inherent positive PARENTAL STRUCTURING DIMENSION High scoring or optimal qualities and characteristics All phrases, pairs of phrases or sectional phrases (e.g. each verse) end with the same vowel sound or rhyme. Usually the other lyrics contain contrasting vowels and therefore make the rhyme more noticeable, thus marking the end of phrases and sections. Phrasing is shaped by beginning each phrase with the same lyric Phrasing is shaped by consistent repetition a particular melodic contour e.g. rising and/or falling to the tonic, symmetry and sequential rise Phrasing is shaped by consistently beginning each phrase with the same melodic motif Structural changes are distinguished by contrasting melodic contour, rhythm, melodic motif/intervals, movement and disrupting a previous rhythmic pattern Verse/sectional structure is shaped by melodic tension and resolution (i.e. returning to tonic 324 scaffolding Inherent positive scaffolding at the end of the verse or with the return of ‘home’ section) Predictability is created by constant repetition of: (1) phrase length e.g. 7-beats, (2) rhythm, (4) rhythmic/phrasing pattern e.g. short-short-long, (5) pitch patterns e.g. paired-pairedpaired-single, and (6) rhythmic alternation (a-b-a-b) Inherent/ implemented positive scaffolding Phrasing is indicated by consistently resting at the end of a phrase. Some rests are inherent to the song others are created by clipping the last note of the phrase short to provide time to breath. Inherent/ implemented positive scaffolding Consistently indicates: (1) ending of song with a descending or ascending glissando, (2) ending with tonic-dominant-tonic melody, (3) last phrase by beginning the phrase with oppositional melodic contour e.g. descending interval instead of previous ascending, (4) last phrase by changing pitch, melodic contour and temporal content, (5) last phrase by adding expressive techniques, (6) last phrase by changing the pitch, melodic contour and melodic style e.g. arpeggiato to step-wise, (7) the end of each verse by ending with melodic resolution e.g. leading tone to tonic, and (8) ending of song by repetitive use of small descending interval. Inherent/ implemented positive scaffolding Implemented positive scaffolding Implemented positive scaffolding Implemented positive scaffolding Implemented positive scaffolding Implemented positive scaffolding Implemented preventative scaffolding Sub-scale Inherent/ implemented positive scaffolding Implemented positive scaffolding Creates an enveloping quality to interaction by maintaining tempo and dynamic, neutral tone of voice and legato flow (avoids sudden changes) Consistently anticipates: (1) first phrase (beginning of song) with animated inhalation, (2) last phrase with animated inhalation, (3) ending of song with ascending glissandi and/or rhythmic elongation, and (4) each phrase with animated inhalation Enhances anticipation of final phrase by extending pause and freezing animation Extends anticipation of ending by repetitive use of ascending glissandos and pauses Teases infant by creating and disrupting musical expectancy Congruence of movement and singing is created by: (1) matching movement to metric pulse or rhythm of the melody, (2) matching the cessation of movement with rhythmic rests, and (3) dramatising action via pitch glissandos, tenutos and accents. Preventative scaffolding is creating by alternating between two contrasting movements and being animated within constrained boundaries e.g. being animated in voice within a soft dynamic and slow tempo Lower/mid scoring or less optimal qualities and characteristics Slightly inconsistent in indicating ending of song e.g. swapping order of glissando and animated inhalation and changing expressive techniques. Absence of anticipation e.g. merging straight into a song with no introduction or preparation. Table 63: Summary of inherent and implemented musical principles of optimal and less optimal Structuring during singing interaction. INHERENT PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions 1. 2. 3. 4. Use rhyme to mark the end of phrases, verses or sections. Highlight the rhyme with contrasting vowels to make the rhyme more noticeable and phrasing/structure clearer. Use the same lyric or melodic motif to mark the beginning of each phrase. Consistently repeat a particular melodic contour to shape a phrase e.g. rising and/or falling to the tonic, symmetry or sequential rise. Consistently rest at the end of a phrase to clearly mark the end of one phrase and the beginning of the next. This is also important to provide space to breathe without disrupting temporal flow. 325 Less-optimal None extracted 5. 6. Distinguish sections by contrasting melodic contour, rhythm, melodic motif/intervals, movement, disrupting any previous rhythmic patterns and utilising melodic tension and resolution. This is particularly important to create the ‘home-away-home’ feeling of ternary. Create predictability by consistently (1) repeating phrase length e.g. each phrase is 7-beats long, (2) repeating a particular rhythm, (3) repeating a rhythmic-like phrase e.g. short-short-long, (5) repeating a pitch pattern e.g. paired-paired-paired-single, and/or (6) repeating a rhythmic alternation e.g. a-b-a-b rhythmic phrasing 7. Consistently indicate (1) the ending of a song with a tonic-dominanttonic melody, (2) the ending of a verse by providing melodic resolution; (3) the last phrase of a song by beginning the phrase with an obviously different melodic contour or interval, and (4) the last phrase by changing the overall pitch, melodic contour and temporal content to contrast previous phrases. IMPLEMENTED PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions 1. End the song consistently e.g. with a descending or ascending glissando or intervallic motif to mark the end of the song. 2. Create an enveloping quality to your lullaby interaction by maintaining a neutral tone of voice, legato style and dynamic. This is essentially part of the congruence point below (point 3). 3. Create congruence between movement and singing by (1) matching movements to the metric pulse or rhythm of the melody, (2) matching the cessation of movement with rhythmic rests and (3) dramatising actions via pitch glissandi, tenutos and accents. 4. Anticipate each and/or the first phrase of a song with an animated inhalation. 5. Anticipate the last phrase of the song with animated inhalation 6. Anticipate the ending of the song with ascending glissandi and/or rhythmic elongation. 7. Enhance anticipation of the final phase by freezing animation or extending a pause. 8. Extend anticipation of the ending by repeating ascending glissandos and pauses. 9. Playfully tease the infant by creating then disrupting musical expectancy. 10. Alternate between contrasting movements to maintain infant attention 11. To prevent over-stimulation be animated within constrained boundaries e.g. softer dynamic or slower tempo and/or movements. Less-optimal 1. Be inconsistent or lack anticipation/indication of endings (e.g. going straight into a song without a transition and lacking sense of closure) Parental Non-intrusiveness As shown in Table 64, the behavioural and musical features of Nonintrusiveness relate to following the child’s lead and seeking/interpreting feedback. In regard to following the infant's lead, optimal singing was characterised by following and incorporating the infant's interest into the interaction. Mothers who scored lower in Non-intrusiveness delayed responses to the infant and were 326 consequently made to feel intrusive. In regard to seeking/interpreting feedback, optimal singing was characterised by mothers observing and responding to the infant's cues as reflected in infant-directed speech. As shown in Table 65, no inherent principles of optimal or less-optimal NonIntrusiveness were identified. Four implemented musical principles of optimal nonintrusiveness and two principles of less optimal non-intrusiveness were extracted from the analysis. Table 64: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Nonintrusiveness during singing interaction. Sub-scale Follows child lead Follows child lead Follows child lead Seeks infant feedback Treats infant as interactive partner Sub-scale Follows child lead Made to feel intrusive Recognises and verbalises intrusiveness PARENTAL NON-INTRUSIVENESS DIMENSION High scoring or optimal qualities and characteristics Responds promptly by: (1) following infant’s gaze / looking at infant’s interest, (2) disrupting the flow of the song to respond promptly, (3) imitative vocalisation characterised by mother vocalising a similar pitch and duration to the infant, (4) talking about infant interest via IDS e.g. what have you seen? “You’re obsessed with the high chair. Characteristics include: emphasising keywords via accent, appoggiatura and rise in pitch and questions ending with either a large ascending 6 th interval or descending 5th interval. Mother attempts to structure interaction around infant interest by creating variations of her speech e.g. adding dotted rhythms to increase playfulness or repeating a previous pitch in a different rhythm with the addition of upper appoggiaturas. Incorporates infant interest into song e.g. adding a raspberry to the ending Mothers either observe infant behaviours and respond promptly with a song or ask questions such as “really?” “do it again?” and “is that better?” Musical characteristics of questions include: (1) repetition of pitch followed by large ascending 6th interval, (2) a series of ascending 5th/4th intervals, (3) repetition of slurred ascending minor 3 rds, (4) question ends with a small slurred ascending 2 nd / 3rd interval or glissando, and (5) question begins with pitch repetition or ascending 4th interval. Leaves rests or gaps in between IDS to allow time for infant to respond Lower/mid scoring or less optimal qualities and characteristics Delays response to infant. Response comprises of an infant-directed question ending with an upper inflection via small ascending intervals. Infant cries, whines, wriggles and leans backward Mother verbalises her interpretation of infant’s communications to be intrusiveness via speech. Characteristics of speech include: an overall descending contour, small 2 nd, 3rd or 4th intervals and the repetition of pitch. Table 65: Summary of the inherent and implemented principles of optimal and less optimal NonIntrusiveness during singing interaction. INHERENT PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions None extracted Less-optimal None extracted IMPLEMENTED PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions 1. 2. Follow the infant’s gaze and interest instead of insisting on a song. Incorporate singing into every-day life instead of it being a scheduled inflexible playtime. Follow the infant’s lead by structuring an interaction around the 327 Less-optimal 1. Infant indicates intrusiveness by whining, wriggling, leaning backward, turning away 3. 4. infant’s interest. Seek feedback from the infant e.g. by asking questions. Always observe the infant’s responses, cues and signals to determine how to proceed. Treat the infant as an interactive partner. Singing songs is not a performance, it is interactive communication. For example, ask the infant questions and leave rests/gaps for the infant to respond. and/or crying. In this case it is more optimal to recognise intrusiveness and stop current activity. 2. Delay response to infant until the end of a song. Promptness relates to both sensitivity and nonintrusiveness. Parental Non-hostility As shown in Table 66, the behavioural and musical features of Non-hostility relate to an absence of hostile behaviours, for example, absence of negativity, ridiculing or disrespect. Mothers who scored lower in non-hostility demonstrated some expressions of negativity and/or disrespect. As shown in Table 67, no inherent principles of optimal or less-optimal NonHostility were identified. One implemented musical principles of optimal nonhostility and one principle of less optimal non-hostility was extracted from the analysis. Table 66: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Non-hostility during singing interaction. Sub-scale Absence of negativity Absence of negativity Absence of negativity Absence of ridiculing and disrespect Sub-scale Absence of negativity PARENTAL NON-HOSTILITY DIMENSION High scoring or optimal qualities and characteristics Only a few sighs or yawns observed States dislike of situation without hostility “Ou-oh” Phrase is characterised by a slurred descending 2nd interval and neutral vocal tone. Responds to potentially irritating behaviour with playful IDS, “Uh oh”. Characteristics include a descending 5th interval with the first note clipped short by a staccato. Absence of disrespect observed Lower/mid scoring or less optimal qualities and characteristics Irritation, stress and anxiety is expressed via vocal tone and speech. Holly speaks with a clenched/closed jaw and says, “Oh Oli. Whose my little princess” Characteristics include: ascending semi-tone glissando, (2) accent on keywords, (3) repetition of low pitches, (4) descending 4th glissando 328 Table 67: Summary of the inherent and implemented principles of optimal and less optimal Nonhostility during singing interaction. INHERENT PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions None extracted IMPLEMENTED PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions 1. Less-optimal None extracted Be respectful and have an overall positive and calm affect Less-optimal 1. Express irritation, stress and anxiety Child Responsiveness As shown in Table 68, the behavioural and musical features of Child Responsiveness relate to affect, ability to regulate emotions and likeliness to respond positively. In regard to infant affect, optimal responsiveness was characterised by a general positive and relaxed affect and the vocal expression of positive affect such as giggling sounds as opposed to the expression of negative affect. In regard to regulation of emotions, optimal responsiveness was characterised by the expression of sounds and behaviours reflecting a calmer or more relaxed baby such as vocal exhalations or becoming still and silent. Infant who scored lower in Responsiveness demonstrated a difficult in regulating emotions. In regard to demonstrating likelihood to respond positively, optimal Responsiveness was characterised by frequent expressions of positive affect and imitative vocalisations. As shown in Table 69, no inherent principles of optimal or less-optimal Child Responsiveness were identified. Four implemented musical principles of optimal child responsiveness and three principles of less optimal child responsiveness were extracted from the analysis. 329 Table 68: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Child Responsiveness during singing interaction. Sub-scale Affect Affect Able to use resources to regulate emotions Likely to respond positively Sub-scale Affect Affect Able to use resources to regulate emotions CHILD RESPONSIVENESS DIMENSION High scoring or optimal qualities and characteristics General positive and relaxed affect accompanied by silence Vocal expressions of happiness include giggling type sounds. Characteristics include: (1) large 2 octave range, (2) combination of single tones, appoggiaturas and melodic oscillations and (3) some phrases are clipped short by a mezzo staccato. Becomes still and silent. Expresses relaxing vocal exhalations. Characteristics include: descending glissandos (2nd – 5th interval size), range of durations (sixteenth to quarter-notes durations), “heh”, “eh” or “ah” sounds Infant may smile (accompanied by silence), blow raspberries, giggle, vocalise an imitative pitch and duration to mother and/or vocalise giggling-type sounds. Characteristics of the giggle type sounds include short small ascending intervals (eng 2 nds), short single tones, ascending glissandos and upper appoggiaturas. Lower/mid scoring or less optimal qualities and characteristics Frequently vocally expresses distress/unhappiness. Common characteristics include use of ascending and descending glissandi and melodic oscillations. Vocal expressions of confused affect (half laughing half crying). Characteristics include ascending glissandos (2nd -5th interval size), phrases sometimes clipped short by a staccato, and phrases sometimes ending with repetition of pitch. Has difficulty regulating emotions and continues unhappy/whining sounds. Characteristics include: (1) open and closed mouth vocalisations, (2) slurred phrases, (3) sliding to and from pitches via glissandi, (4) quick and long descending glissandi, (5) neighbour-note motifs, (6) oscillation motifs, (7) ending phrases with descending glissando, (8) range of rhythms, (9) single short low tones, and (10) crying Table 69: Summary of the inherent and implemented principles of optimal and less optimal Child Responsiveness during singing interaction. INHERENT PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions None extracted Less-optimal None extracted IMPLEMENTED PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions 1. 2. 3. 4. Child maintains a genuine (not over-the-top) positive and relaxed affect Child vocally expresses happy and giggling-type sounds. Child is able to be calmed by singing as demonstrated through stillness and silence. Child responds positively to singing by smiling, giggling, vocalising imitative pitch and duration and blowing raspberries Less-optimal 1. 2. 3. 330 Child vocally expresses distress/unhappiness and frequently e.g. ascending and descending glissandi and melodic oscillations Child vocally expresses confused affect (half laughing half crying) Child shows difficulty with regulating emotions via continuation of distressed sounds Child Involvement As shown in Table 70, the behavioural and musical features of Child Involvement relate to simple and elaborative initiative. In regard to simple initiative, optimal involvement was characterised by looking and smiling at the mother and/or vocalising sounds. In regard to elaborative initiative, optimal Child Involvement was characterised by sustained eye-contact and positive affect. Infants who scored lower in Child Involvement demonstrated a mixture of positive and negatively involving behaviours. As shown in Table 71, no inherent principles of optimal or less-optimal Child Involvement were identified. Three implemented musical principles of optimal child involvement and one principle of less optimal child involvement were extracted from the analysis. Table 70: Summary of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal Child Involvement during singing interaction. Sub-scale Simple initiative Simple initiative Elaborative initiative Sub-scale Simple and elaborative initiative CHILD INVOLVEMENT DIMENSION High scoring or optimal qualities and characteristics Looking and smiling usually accompanied by silence Vocal initiation comprising of: quick descending glissandi, short single tone, raspberry blowing (various lengths), lower neighbour-note motif (verbalised with glissando), rising and falling 4th and 5th intervals via glissandi, tight throat/grunt-like sounds and exhalationlike long descending 3rd glissando. Looking, sustained eye contact and smiling is usually accompanied by silence. Lower/mid scoring or less optimal qualities and characteristics Continuation of negatively involving vocalisations comprise of the following common characteristics: (1) open and/or closed mouth sounds, (2) imitative pitch (of mother’s singing), (2) slurred phrases, single pitches, phrases ending with quick descending glissando, (3) melodic contour that rises and falls between small intervals (mostly 2nds and 3rds ), (4) sliding to and from pitches via glissandi of various lengths and durations, (5) complete and incomplete neighbour-note motifs, (6) oscillation motifs vocalising with/without glissandi, (7) range of rhythms, (8) sustaining one pitch before merging into a glissando, (9), short single tone followed by glissando, (10) screechy and non-screechy tones and (11) crying 331 Table 71: Summary of the inherent and implemented principles of optimal and less optimal Child Involvement during singing interaction. INHERENT PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions None extracted Less-optimal None extracted IMPLEMENTED PRINCIPLES Optimal interactions 1. 2. 3. Child initiates interaction by looking and smiling at mother in silence Child initiates interaction by vocalising to mother Child elaborates interaction by sustaining eye contact and smiling in silence Less-optimal 1. Frequently negatively involves mother by vocalising distressed sounds Discussion The musical principles extracted in this study are based on six cases and therefore, may not be representative of all healthy mothers or necessarily comprehensive. However, the musical principles do outline the underlying mechanisms of singing interaction of a particular set of mothers. Certainly, analysing a larger sample would reveal more and/or a greater variety of principles, particularly in regard to less-optimal interactions. However, such an extensive analysis is beyond the scope of this study. The findings in this study should not be treated as conclusive, but rather the beginning of new insights into musical principles of singing interaction to be further explored in future research. The musical principles of optimal singing interactions illustrate how the plain act of singing does not necessarily facilitate optimal emotional communication. It is the combination of both compositional (inherent) and appropriate behavioural (implemented) processes that facilitated emotional availability. It is also argued that the implemented musical principles are of more importance to emotional communication for three reasons: (1) musical principles inherent to the composition of a song were only found for the structuring and sensitivity dimensions as opposed to all of the dimensions, (2) implemented musical principles were found for all of the 332 emotional availability dimensions, and (3) the majority of the musical principles were implemented rather than compositional. Inherent compositional principles did not facilitate the full range of Emotional Availability dimensions. Facilitating each dimension of Emotional Availability necessitated the mothers' appropriate deliverance of implemented musical principles. Similar characteristics of musical emotional communication are echoed in Shoemark & Grocke’s (2010) exploration of musical interplay between therapist and neonate. They too discovered a range of both infant and therapist behaviours contributing to music therapy interplay. Examples of the types of behaviours demonstrated by infants during Active interplay include: (1) Reject - persistent crying, splaying of limbs, (2) Demand – crying of different volume, duration and timbre of reject, (3) Complain – brief, plaintive whine, (4) Answer – smooth, bright movements, vocal sound, eye-contact, (5) Recognise – sigh on return of familiar melody line, (6) Partner – More obvious animation, and (7) Initiate – action animated. Examples of the types of behaviours demonstrated by infants during Quiet interplay include: (1) Fade – increasing stillness, infant’s positive state diminishes as s/he moves towards sleep, (2) Processing – lack of major expression, eye-contact, (3) Interested – slightly more animation or intensity of expression than for processing, small vocalisations, (4) Moment of meeting – stilled, no sound, smile, eye contact, ‘twinkle’ in eye. Examples of the types of behaviours demonstrated by infants during Not Available include: (1) Regulate – infants turns away from therapist, (2) Withdrawn – turns away, eyes still open, and (3) Medical – infant is unavailable while coping with an aspect of medical condition. Similar infant behaviours were found in the current thesis, especially regarding Child Responsiveness and 333 Involvement, such as looking, smiling, vocalising, blowing raspberries, stillness and eye-contact with mother. The therapist’s behaviours were divided into three categories: Enticing – the therapist built an experience that the infant found appealing enough to join, Responsive – therapist overtly acknowledged the infant with the specific intention of imparting a sense of approval for the infant’s participation, and Directive – encompasses diverse behaviours from the therapist intending to draw the infant’s attention away from current state and preclude escalation into distress through to sustaining a presence while the infant self-regulates or transitions to sleep (Shoemark & Grocke, 2010). Examples of the types of behaviours demonstrated by the therapist when Enticing include: (1) Anticipate – Eye contact, head tilted downward, (2) Expect – mouth open, brows up, (3) Invite – tapping infant’s bottom, nodding, increasing musicality in voice, (4) Share a moment of meeting – brows relaxed, smiling gently. Examples of the types of behaviours demonstrated by the therapist when being Responsive include: (1) Acknowledge – vocalisation reflects quality of infant’s expression, (2) Affirm – more animated acknowledge behaviours, (3) Reciprocate – eye contact, smiling, vocally matching infant vocalisation, (4) Emmulate – more energy in vocals and visual display, brighter smile, raised brows, (5) Promote – behaviours with more energy, use of singing or aspects of it such as undeveloped melodic themes/chanting, and (6) Share intimate interaction – stroking infant’s face, unguarded maternal gesture. Examples of the types of behaviours demonstrated by the therapist when being Directive include: (1) Override – strong speech, rhythmic patting, (2) Pre-empt – singing, trying to keep infant in interplay rather than letting early distress emerge, (3) Hold–immediate thread – energy of musical elements decrease, (4) Hold-transitional thread – lyrics reduced to gentle 334 nonsense lyric, pauses at end of each line, musical elements become more sedative, (5) Contain – therapist’s hand envelops infant’s hand, bell-shaped speech, (6) Maintain – singing, repetitive speech, chanting, little physical movement, prevailing eye contact, (7) Support - singing lullaby, hand contact, (8) Close – singing lullaby with even more sedative musical elements, (9) Process - therapist takes time to consider next step, and (10) Maintain medical safety – tasks to confirm infant remains physically safe. There are apparent similarities between Shoemark & Grocke’s (2010) therapist behaviours and the implemented principles explicated in the current thesis, especially regarding animation, eye contact and anticipation in relation to Parental Structuring (e.g. animated inhalation). It is reassuring that such similarities exist, as it perhaps indicates that healthy mothers are capable of intuitively achieving or perhaps learning to replicate optimal emotional communication similar to a trained therapist. However, a more important similarity to highlight is the necessity of the adult’s efforts to facilitate emotional communication. Apart from identifying infant and therapist behaviours, Shoemark & Grocke (2010) also derived seven markers of interplay which describe various dynamic phases of interplay that occurred throughout the course of music therapy. The seven markers mostly reflect how the adult chooses to respond to various infant states to promote and sustain interplay, while also acknowledging the intrinsically dyadic nature of music therapy. The markers are as follows: (1) the infant is unsure and therapist draws the infant into interplay, (2) the infant is unavailable and the therapist introduces singing as the medium for interplay, (3) the dyad moves along comfortably, (4) the dyad shares a Moment of Meeting, (5) the therapist keeps the infant in the interplay, (6) the infant refuses or rejects the interplay and the therapist accommodates, and (7) the infant 335 cannot make use of the interplay and the therapist offers support. Shoemark & Grocke (2010) conclude that the fundamental element of interplay is the “attentive interest from an attuned adult partner which demands little or nothing from the infant” (p. 328). A similar sentiment is echoed in the current thesis, in that the implemented musical principles are more important than the inherent principles for facilitating mother-infant emotional communication. In other words, the work of the adult (in relation to the infant) shapes the emotional communication. The findings of this thesis are based on mother-infant interactions that have not been influenced by an intervention per se (see Limitations, p. 361 for further discussion). The musical principles were derived from what was intuitive to a particular set of healthy mothers. Therefore, it is possible that the inherent musical principles found for the present sample are similarly intuitive to other healthy mothers. However, the variation in the ratings of Emotional Availability ratings, as well as the less-optimal behaviours demonstrated by dyads such as Jane and Holly, illustrate that not all of the mothers sang intuitively in the same manner in response to their infants. Some mothers demonstrated strength is some of the musical principles but not others. It is also the case that some mothers have more experience with infants and singing and/or have a greater knowledge of mother-infant communication than others. The findings suggest that enhancing mother-infant singing interactions would require skills in the musical principles to enable the intentional execution of those musical principles. Both awareness and skill development would facilitate consistent optimal emotional availability across all dimensions, which is important to establish and maintain a secure mother-infant attachment (Barnacle, 2001; Beebe, et al., 2010; Biringen, 2000; Bowlby, 1988; Cassidy, et al., 2005; Cozolino, 2010; Easterbrooks 336 & Biringen, 2000; Easterbrooks, et al., 2005; Woodhouse, 2010). Also, in consideration with the interview findings, consistent optimality would hypothetically provide regular contributions to maternal attachment constructs via the 'flow of influence'. Thus, a program which aims to develop skills and awareness may simultaneously promote optimal emotional communication and positive influence to maternal attachment constructs. To date, there has been little research that evaluates methods and techniques of enhancing mother-infant emotional communication specifically in the first year of life through skill enhancement and awareness (Baker & Mackinlay, 2006; de l'Etoile, 2006a; Bargiel, 2012; Vlismas, et al., 2012). The challenge for therapists pioneering new programs is considering how to practically design and implement a program. Considering the number and range of musical principles that have been identified, simple exposure to optimal singing (i.e. modelling techniques) does not seem sufficient. For example, a mother may turn to popular children’s television shows such as, Playschool to learn how to sing to her child. While she may learn repertoire and certain techniques, there is no instruction on the importance or facilitation or reciprocity. Furthermore, full awareness of what emotional availability means and involves as well as the related musical principles has the benefit of encouraging intentional consistent emotionally attuned interactions. Vlismas et al. (2012) implemented a music and movement program for mothers with young infants in two different formats (1) face-to-face instruction within a group setting, and (2) self-instruction which consisted of the same song repertoire but in the form of an audio recording accompanied by written instructions suggesting how to use rhythmical movements and gestures to accompany the activities. The self-instruction mothers received weekly telephone calls from the 337 facilitator of the program to discuss any questions they had, but otherwise did not experience any face-to-face contact. Surprisingly, Vlismas et al (2012) found that the self-instruction method was more effective at enhancing the reciprocity of dyadic interactions than the group face-to-face format. The authors suggested that the mothers may have been better able to develop their own intimate, unique and personal variations of music and movement activities in the privacy of their own home which enabled the mother-infant relationship to bloom and develop in its own way. In other words, the space to explore the music and movement interactions in privacy was more beneficial than exploring within a group setting. Previous research from Baker and Mackinlay (2006) shows the benefit of educating mothers in music therapy techniques such as the iso-principle (Wigram, Pederson, & Bonde, 2004) and then allowing the mothers to apply the knowledge in the privacy of their own home. Mothers learnt to manipulate their lullaby singing to firstly match then secondly modulate her baby’s emotional distress. The mothers then practiced the new skill at home and kept a diary of their experience rather than attend program sessions. The results demonstrate that mothers (1) were able to more effectively and quickly settle their baby by using this technique, and (2) were able to grasp therapeutic singing principles and apply it in everyday life with the support and guidance of a music therapist. Thus, the findings support education as an effective technique to enhance mother-infant song-based emotional communication. Research in music therapy with premature and hospitalised infants suggests that attachment may benefit from therapist-infant interaction. Malloch, et al (2012) believes that infants experiencing music therapy may provide the necessary foundation for the infant to remain regulated, which in turn, provides the necessary precursor for positive social interaction. Hospitalised and healthy infants were 338 examined either experiencing or not experiencing music therapy. Hospitalised infants who experienced music therapy showed a significant reduction in irritability and crying in response to handling/stimulation from pre to post intervention. Also, when the results of hospitalised infants of music therapy were compared to the healthy control infants, the difference in irritability and crying were no longer significantly different at post-intervention. In other words, the hospitalised infants scored more closely to the healthy infants as a result of participating in music therapy. Furthermore, the hospitalised infants who did not experience music therapy showed significantly lower scores of irritability and crying extent when compared to the healthy infants. All together, these results show that infants who received a music therapy intervention were better able to maintain self-regulation during social interaction with an adult, or, they protested less when an adult interacted with them, and showed more positive response to adult interaction. Malloch et al (2012) suggest that it is through the music therapy intervention that infants may develop the ability to stay regulated. Since this ability is a first but necessary step for social interaction, the experience of music therapy for an infant may later support interaction with another social partner. In other words, experiencing music therapy may help an infant to better engage in mother-infant interaction. Therefore, when considering the design and implementation of music therapy programs for mother-infant attachment, it may be beneficial to include opportunities for therapist-infant interaction, particularly in cases where the infant is at-risk or having regulation difficulties. Shoemark (2008) mapped the progress of interaction between therapist and full term hospitalised infant. Essentially, the framework of interplay comprises of seven phases in which the therapist makes key decisions about extending or 339 modifying/decreasing stimulation. The stages include: (1) Observation – therapist observes physical and psychological status of infant and ascertain if/how session should proceed or be postponed, (2) Assessment – the therapist becomes conscious od, open to, acknowledges and meets the infant’s current state, (3) Orientation – this involves the negotiation of interaction with the intention of creating the potential for interplay when the infant is ready, (4) Attunement – this phase is characterised by the infant coping well with the interplay and showing interest in the therapist’s offerings, (5) Fittedness – dyad create smooth interactions and increasing coherence. High level of attunement promotes possibility of a Moment of Meeting, (6) Moment of Meeting – a special moment that is shared by both partners characterised by the dyad reaching a new level of understanding which transforms the relationship, and (7) Closure – the infant indicates disengagement behaviours indicating he has had enough and the interaction concludes. Shoemark’s (2008) framework is particularly useful for therapists planning to engage with infants personally and model emotional communication. However, it may be too overwhelming to teach to mothers. The core component of the framework is that, throughout the interplay, the therapist observes the infant’s behaviour, makes an interpretation of that behaviour then makes a decision of how to proceed. This core component could be communicated to mothers, particularly to promote optimal Parental Sensitivity and Structuring. Shoemark & Grocke (2010) revised Shoemark’s (2008) original framework and delineated seven markers of interplay (see above discussion for further detail). These new markers of interplay are a particularly clear and detailed framework for music therapists aiming to work with infants. They outline dynamic phases of interplay that may occur during therapist-infant interaction in a way that emphasises 340 the therapist’s response to the infant’s current state and cues. In other words, the language of the markers describes the dyadic element of interplay i.e. how the adult works in response to the infant. For example, when the infant refuses or rejects the interplay, the therapist’s role is to try to accommodate the infant using directive behaviours (see discussion above for more detail about therapist behaviours). As Shoemark & Grocke (2010) suggest, the markers could be modified to be implemented with mothers for an attachment-based program. Haslbeck (2014) highlights how mother, infant and mother-infant attachment may benefit from experiencing a triadic music therapy format, that is, mother, infant and therapist participating together. Mothers who participated in music therapy with their premature baby in hospital reported that music therapy helped them to relax and, in turn, intensified their feeling of connection or attachment to their infant. Analysis of video footage also shows that mothers were able to focus on and attune to their infant during music therapy. One case describes a mother who felt stress and frustration during her infant’s feeding difficulties and would consequently withdraw from her infant. As the therapist worked to regulate the infant to promote a suckswallow-breath rhythm (to achieve feeding success), the mother began to entrain to the therapist’s music by nodding along, then later rocking her infant to the rhythm of the therapist’s music; engaging in communicative musicality through the therapist. Then later, the mother began to sing herself, and the therapist was able to gradually withdraw her own musical input to allow mother and infant to engage dyadically. The mother then began to sing her own lullaby in interactional synchrony with her infant’s sucking patterns. This case highlights how music therapy may simultaneously model and facilitate mother-infant emotional communication. It allows both mother and infant to relax and self-regulate and to witness, participate 341 and engage in communicative musicality, first with and then without the music therapist. Furthermore, being able to experience a joyful and attuned interaction empowers mothers in the quality of their interactions, and thus, in building attachment and self-confidence as a mother. Haslbeck’s (2014) research shows that a triadic music therapy format may be well suited to a mother-infant attachment music therapy program outside the hospital setting. The actual experience of music therapy contains an educative component through modelling, entrainment and the opportunity for therapist to allow space for mother to sing autonomously. Overall, it allows both infant and mother to be empowered to relax and engage in emotional communication. However, the neonatal research demonstrates this format is beneficial for specific situations, such as, when there is a feeding difficulty and in a financially funded environment (hospital). It is unknown how well this format would promote optimal musical interaction and attachment or how appealing/affordable it would be in a community setting. It is perhaps more realistic to consider a modification of the already existing and successful format of Sing & Grow (Abad & Williams, 2007; Nicholson, et al., 2008; Nicholson, et al., 2010). Research shows that of the parents who completed the program, 100% enjoyed the program and 94% would like to participate again (Abad & Williams, 2007). This format involves a group of parents/carers with their children (under 5 years) participating in interactive music-based activities delivered by a music therapist. Similarly, a group of mothers with young infants could participate in singing-based interactions delivered by a music therapist. Just as the therapist in Sing & Grow consciously models positive parenting behaviours, the therapist of an attachment program could consciously model optimal emotional communication, based on the musical principles derived in this thesis as well as Shoemark & 342 Grocke’s (2010) markers of interplay. Mothers could also be provided a booklet which summarises the dimensions of Emotional Availability to educate mothers on the optimal interaction. During the program, mothers could practice specific musical behaviours (as outlined in the musical principles), such as: singing with a smiling tone, inhaling with animation and moving rhythmically with their infant by singing along (or entraining) with the therapist. In this way, the musical principles could become a list of goals/outcomes for mothers to experience during the program. Amongst the singing may be short informal discussions about how specific behaviours being practiced relate to dimensions of Emotional Availability. Such discussion may encourage awareness and conscious application of emotional communication skills. The therapist could also set aside time to engage with each dyad separately within the group setting, thus, providing opportunities for mothers and infants to both witness and experience a triadic format of music therapy (Haslbeck, 2014). In sum, mothers could draw from the self-instruction component (Emotional Availability summary), therapist’s modelling, entrainment with the therapist, triadic music therapy interaction, and informal discussions to become aware of, and consciously develop/practice skills in singing with optimal emotional availability. However, further research is required to explore if this format is practical, realistic or effective. Conclusion Ultimately, the findings from the music analysis demonstrate that there is no 'formula' for optimal singing interaction. Instead, optimal singing interactions need to be responsive, are dependent on context and ultimately reliant on a combination of compositionally inherent and behaviourally implemented principles of interaction. 343 These musical principles highlight that the way mothers musically manipulate their responsiveness is essential to facilitate emotional availability. The musical principles also offer new insight into the specific mechanisms underlying optimal singing interaction. If a mother were to ask, “but how do I sing songs in an optimal manner?” the derived musical principles provide a platform to answer that question. In addition, they can be used in combination with emotional availability dimensions, and Shoemark & Grocke’s (2010) markers of interplay to provide a set of goals and outcomes of a singing program. In this way, even in a primitive form, the musical principles may directly enable the construction of an intervention that is focussed on educating mothers about singing as a medium for emotional communication within a relationship focussed framework. Overall, the musical principles are the beginning of exciting new research exploring the facilitation of song-based emotional communication from an emotional availability perspective. CHAPTER SUMMARY The purpose of this chapter was to explore the ways in which mothers use songs to facilitate emotional availability. The findings from six detailed cases illustrated that the key to optimal singing interaction is context-based and involves two distinct types of musical processes: inherent and implemented. This finding led to further analysis and the explication of musical principles underlying the mothers' optimal and less-optimal singing interactions. In the next chapter, all of the Interview, Emotional Availability and musical findings will be considered and compared to the research aims to present a final convergent discussion and conclusion to the thesis. 344 CHAPTER 8 – CONVERGENT DISCUSSION "Well, it definitely makes us closer. It makes me more, um, what's the word? Valuable to him. As in, I'm the one that sings to him and I'm that person that comforts him with singing and stuff. It makes me more special to him ... yeah. I feel significant" Tullia, mother of three, interview conducted on 7th December, 2011 In this chapter the findings from each analysis will be converged and considered to provide an overall interpretation of the findings (Creswell, 2009; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). Firstly, the research purpose will be revisited and the author's lens of interpretation discussed. Secondly, the overarching research question will be revisited and each set of data will be considered in regard to the three research aims. Thirdly, the process of convergence will be described and an overall interpretation of findings will be presented. Fourthly, the implications on research, theory and music therapy practice will be discussed. Fifthly, future directions, limitations and methodological challenges will be discussed. Lastly, the author will draw upon all sets of findings and interpretations to draw conclusions. RESEARCH PURPOSE REVISTED The purpose of the study was to increase an understanding of how singing play songs and lullabies facilitates mother-infant emotional communication and contributes to attachment. Multiple facets of song-based mother-infant emotional 345 communication were examined to expand current understanding and inform the development of relationship-focussed music therapy early interventions. By providing further insight into the therapeutic potential of singing, music therapists may be better able to intervene and strengthen the security of mother-infant relationships. Thus, the motivation to contribute to the music therapy field shaped the interpretation of findings as it also shaped the research design. In other words, to stay true to the original purpose of the research, the author maintained a 'therapeutic lens' when converging and interpreting the findings. Hence, the discussions in this chapter focus on the implications for music therapy research, theory and practice. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS The prime research question of this study is “how do play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and contribute to the mother-infant relationship?” To answer this question, three research aims formed the focus of the mixed methods investigation including: (1) To examine the mother’s subjective experience of using play songs and lullabies with her infant (Interview analysis). (2) To examine the quality of interaction during the use of play songs and lullabies (Emotional Availability ratings). (3) To examine the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal singing interactions during the use of play songs and lullabies (Music analysis) 346 Essentially, the main research question comprises two separate questions. The first is "how does singing play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication?" The second is, "how does singing play songs and lullabies contribute to the mother-infant relationship?" The key findings from each data set address either the first or second part of the main research question; the emotional communication or relationship aspect. A summary of the key findings of each data set and what part of the research question they address is presented below: Main findings of the mother's subjective experience of using play songs and lullabies The findings from the interview data contributed to the relationship aspect of the prime research question by examining how the experience of singing songs impacts maternal attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998). The findings from the individual interview analyses revealed that the subjective experience of singing was unique to each mother. What one mother perceived to be particularly prominent or personally important was different to another mother. The findings from the group interview analysis revealed five key insights. Firstly, the mothers' experience of singing was distinctly different to the experience of non-singing interactions; singing contributed uniquely to three attachment constructs and did so in a way that the experience of non-singing play interactions did not. Secondly, one of the main differences between the two types of interactions was that the mothers' experience of singing prominently impacted the tolerance/acceptance construct, whereas non-singing interactions did not. Considering this finding, it was postulated that if the mothers were not to sing to their infant they would be potentially missing out on many important positive 347 emotional and mental states that contribute to tolerance/acceptance as well as their well-being. Thirdly, the mothers' experience of singing and non-singing interactions together impact positively on all four attachment constructs. It would be unbalanced for the mothers in the sample to experience only one set of emotional and mental states that characterise each type of interaction. The ideal would be to frequently practise both types of interaction to experience the full variety of emotional and mental states that positively impact all four attachment constructs. Fourthly, the experience of singing play songs and lullabies did more than facilitate positive emotional and mental states. It also facilitated a 'flow of influence' between the states. Fifthly, the positivity of the 'flow of influence' was contingent on successful modulation of infant emotions. The existence of the catalyst suggests that the 'flow of influence' may possibly be experienced by other mothers if they too can facilitate successful emotional communication. Main findings of the quality of interaction during the use of play songs and lullabies The findings from the emotional availability data contribute to the emotional communication and relationship aspects of the prime research question by rating the various dimensions of dyadic interaction and considering the overall quality of the dyadic relationship. The individual ratings of the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008b) revealed that circumstance does not guarantee a healthy emotional connection. The 'typical' dyads that comprised the sample did not necessarily reflect a positive and entirely healthy relationship (See Chapter 4 and 5 for details). Nor did they necessarily intuitively sing songs in a manner to score near-perfectly on every dimension. The group Emotional Availability ratings demonstrated that neither the 348 act of singing nor playing necessarily equated to optimal emotional availability. Rather, it was the manner in which mothers sang and interacted that determined the quality of emotional availability. Main findings of the behavioural and musical features of optimal and less-optimal singing interactions The findings from the transcriptional music analysis contribute to the emotional communication aspect of the prime research question by exploring the features and principles of the mothers' optimal singing interactions. Three key findings emerged from the case analyses. Firstly, the mothers' act of singing alone did not facilitate optimal emotional availability. Secondly, a combination of inherent and implemented principles facilitated emotional availability. The inherent principles related to only two of the emotional availability dimensions, whereas the implemented principles were related to all dimensions. Hence, the appropriate execution of the implemented musical principles (that is, the manipulations by the mother) was of more importance than the inherent (compositional) principles to facilitate emotionally available singing interactions. Thirdly, there was no formula found for optimal singing interactions. Ultimately, it was the mothers' application, utilisation and manipulation of the songs according to context and infant cues as well as the demonstration of congruence between intention and musical expression that determined emotional availability. 349 CONVERGING THE FINDINGS Within a convergent parallel mixed methods design, convergence is essentially a process of discovering how the findings fit together to answer the research question (Creswell, 2009; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). In this study, when viewed through a 'therapeutic lens' the findings merge in a particular way. Previously, each data set analysed separately for analysis and presented to address a certain aspect of the research question; either pertaining to the mother-infant relationship or emotional communication. However, when merged together and considered as a unit, the overall findings contribute to answering the prime research question as an integrated whole, rather than separate components. Both types of interactions were rated highly on the Emotional Availability Scales. Yet, the mothers' subjective experience of singing and non-singing play interactions was distinctly different. Demonstrably, despite both types of interactions being equally capable of facilitating emotionally available interactions, the experience of singing interactions impacted maternal attachment constructs in a unique way to the experience of non-singing interactions. From the interview findings, the therapeutic potential of singing songs to impact attachment was found embedded in the 'flow of influence'. However, this flow of positive emotional and mental states was contingent on meeting the infant's needs effectively and recognising the success of emotional modulation. The behavioural findings illustrate that the manner of interaction was the important factor in determining the quality of emotional availability. When considered together, the Interview and Emotional Availability findings suggest that experiencing the full benefits of the 'flow of influence' relies on experiencing optimal singing interactions. To promote the most 350 beneficial impacts to the attachment constructs, therefore, it would be necessary to understand how to facilitate optimal singing interactions. This particular junction is crucial to the thesis. The prime research question no longer comprises two separate parts. Rather, the attachment and emotional communication aspects now interlock. By understanding how to experience positive and optimal emotional communication, one may also understand how to potentially promote the positivity of the 'flow of influence' in other mothers. Thus, the convergence of the Interview and Emotional Availability findings refocus and transform the research question from “how do play songs and lullabies facilitate emotional communication and contribute to the mother-infant relationship?” to "how do mothers facilitate optimal singing interactions, in order to maximise the potential contributions to attachment?" The crux of the thesis lies in understanding how mothers facilitate optimal singing interactions. The findings of the music analyses (the six case studies) suggest that optimal singing was achieved by drawing from specific principles of dyadic interaction. Deriving principles specific to singing was necessary to answer the transformed research question. Explicating the musical principles guiding the mothers' optimal dyadic singing interaction provided insight into how the mothers appropriately and sensitively sang according to the infant's needs and consequently sparked the positivity of 'flow of influence' to impact the attachment constructs. A diagram summarising the process of convergence is presented in Figure 12 below. 351 Interview findings (focussed on answering attachment aspect) Therapeutic value revealed via 'flow of influence’ Catalyst to therapeutic potential revealed (need-gratification construct) Behavioural findings (focussed on answering the emotional communication aspect) It is the manner in which mothers sing and interact that is important Together the findings re-focus the main research question to be "how do mothers sing optimally?" (attachment and emotional communication aspect become joined) In order to promote optimal flow it is necessary to understand how to sing optimally The music principles outline how to achieve optimal singing interactions and thus promote optimal 'flow of influence' Musical principles act as a 'how to' guide providing necessary understanding of communication processes and therefore becomes focus of the thesis Findings may be applied by music therapists Figure 12 - Diagram outlining the convergence of findings in relation to the main research question A Convergent Interpretation Together, the data sets answer the main research question by exploring and conceptualising the processes involved in song-based emotional communication in regard to attachment including: (1) the potential internal process experienced during singing interaction and how it contributes to maternal attachment constructs and (2) the musical principles underlying the mothers' practice of singing as emotional communication. The convergent findings illustrate the co-dependency of the two processes; that is, the influence of singing on attachment goes hand-in-hand with the optimisation of singing interactions. The subjective experience of singing, and the 352 behavioural and musical aspects of the practice of song-based emotional communication are integral components of the mother-infant relationship phenomenon. The findings suggest that any music therapy intervention aiming to strengthen and enhance attachment in the first year of life should utilise both internal and behavioural processes to optimise emotional communication and promote maternal positivity. In other words, when considering the mother-infant relationship it is important to consider the components of dyadic emotional communication as well as the attachment constructs. Although the implications of each individual set of findings were discussed previously, it is also necessary to consider the research findings from a convergent or holistic perspective. Wheeler (2005) states that research is "intended to increase or modify the knowledge base of music therapy while practice is intended to help clients achieve health" (p.5). Thus, it is essential to clarify how the findings impact theory, research and practice separately to increase understanding of the contributions to knowledge and potential directions for future research and clinical practice (Wheeler, 2005). A discussion of the implications and future research directions as well as limitations and challenges are presented below. The Implications for Theory In this study the author drew upon the previously existing attachment constructs and Emotional Availability theory to frame her research, and then assimilated the findings to fit within music therapy. By borrowing and assimilating theory from the field of psychology, the beginnings of a music-centred theory, specifically focussed on attachment and singing was created (Bruscia, 2005). 353 Previous studies have evaluated, described and investigated the practice of early intervention music therapy programs which aim to encourage sensitive and reciprocal mother-child interactions (Abad, 2002; Abad & Edwards, 2004; Baker & Mackinlay, 2006; Oldfield & Bunce, 2001; Shoemark, 1996). However, this study provides new attempts at explicating the inner processes involved in singing, which may inform attachment intervention, particularly with mothers who are considered 'typical' or 'healthy'. The author cannot make any conclusive claims regarding the 'flow of influence' or musical principles and it is unknown whether other mothers whose health is less typical have the capacity to interact to the same degree of emotional availability or experience the same emotional and mental states as the mothers in the sample. However, the interpretation of the 'flow of influence' offers a new means of conceptualising how the experience of singing may impact attachment constructs. Similarly, the musical principles offer new insights into the processes involved in facilitating optimal emotional communication, which in turn, helps to inform therapists about how to facilitate optimal mother-infant interactions in order to contribute to secure attachment. The musical principles are based on only six cases and are by no means exhaustive. However, the findings contribute to understanding the nature of singing as emotional communication which may, in turn, inform the therapeutic application of singing in order to influence attachment and, in addition, expand the theoretical foundations underpinning music therapy early intervention. Comparing the findings of the singing and non-singing condition provides additional perspectives on the data and also makes further contributions to musiccentred theory. More specifically, having a point of comparison helps to (1) clarify the potential therapeutic function and value of singing, (2) clarify how the potential 354 function and value of singing is unique to non-singing play interaction, while also (3) defining and delimiting the parameters of the therapeutic potential of singing and its role in therapy. For example, demonstrating that non-singing play interactions did not contribute to the tolerance/acceptance construct in the same way as singing highlights how singing may benefit maternal well-being and do so in a way that is possibly unique to singing. Furthermore, explicitly recognising that both singing and non-singing interactions would be required for a mother to experience the potential positive influence to all four attachment constructs, is an important acknowledgement that singing does not necessarily fulfil a full range of roles in the process of strengthening mother-infant attachment. However, illustrating what singing does and does not contribute to attachment helps to define the potential parameters of singing as a therapeutic tool. In addition, the parameters outlined in this thesis, help to define the potential of music therapy to fulfil a specific role or function within the larger field of early intervention. Thus, the findings help to shape the theoretical foundations underpinning the potential therapeutic application of singing. A clearer understanding of the delimitations of singing are just as important as an understanding of the features of singing that contribute to secure attachment and good emotional communication, as both sets of conclusions expand and enhance the body of evidence that supports music therapy as a valuable theory-based profession with clearly definable functions. However, delimitations are only recognised with a point of comparison or control. Considering the contributions the non-singing data provided in this study, it is recommended that such comparisons be considered for inclusion in future music therapy studies because comparison to other modes of mother-infant communication enhances the understanding of the 355 similarities and differences, and acts to contribute knowledge over and above what might be found if singing was examined on its own. The Implications to Music Therapy Research Wheeler (2005) states that "the needs of music therapy research have led some to suggest that music therapists need to develop our own research methods methods suitable for investigating the specific combination of factors inherent in music therapy" (p. 5). In this study, the author creatively modified existing methods in order to understand the mother's experience in relation to attachment in more detail than has previously been attempted. For example, the phenomenological interview analysis was modified to integrate the attachment constructs (Condon & Corkindale, 1998) and the structural music analysis was integrated within the framework of Emotional Availability framework in order to maintain the focus on qualities and attributes of dyadic emotional communication. This study provides examples of how researchers may creatively modify methods from a variety of fields to investigate specific research questions applicable to the music therapy field. This study also demonstrates the applicability of Emotional Availability to music therapy research by being the first to apply the scales to a music-centred context. The Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008b) were a valuable and integral part of examining singing as a mode of emotional communication. It provided valid detailed information about specific dimensions of dyadic motherinfant interaction while focussing on their relationship. Thus, the scales provide an ideal tool to be used in other music therapy research that involves dyadic interaction. 356 The Implications to Music Therapy Practice The implications of research data for music therapy theory and music therapy and practice often go hand-in-hand. The conceptualisation of the 'flow of influence' contributes to music-centred theory by providing a deeper understanding of the potential role of singing to have positive influences on maternal attachment constructs. Such understanding may be applied and further developed by students, practitioners and supervisors in clinical practice who are aiming to promote positive mother-infant relationships. The musical principles derived in this study contribute to practice by providing specific guidelines about how to sing and engage an infant to enhance emotional communication. Therapists may draw from these principles to enhance their own awareness of how to facilitate singing as emotional communication and apply their new understanding to modelling behaviours and program goals. It is also important to take into account that dimensions of emotional availability as they can provide a road map for successful dyadic interaction. Overall, the new knowledge and theoretical understanding of singing as emotional communication provided in this thesis have implications for ways in which clinicians can enhance emotionally available mother-child interactions in their own clinical work. Another important implication relates to the distinction between using singing interactions as a tool for treatment versus prevention. Edwards (2011b) states: Further distinctions between and a deeper understanding of theoretical approaches will help in providing specific training and supervision support for practitioners. For example, distinctions and the overlap between music therapy as a preventative approach or as a treatment approach are not always clear" (p. 17). As already discussed, singing may serve a dual function in (1) promoting, and (2) maintaining positive emotional and mental states. The findings suggest that the 357 experience of singing promotes positivity and reduces negativities within the mother through the 'flow of influence'. Thus, the enhancement of maternal emotional and mental states through singing has the potential for treatment when there is an accumulation of negativity and hostility, and it is affecting the mother-infant relationship. However, singing can also act protectively to prevent and disrupt negativity if mothers regularly experience the positive of the 'flow of influence'. Thus, the findings offer new insights into the function of singing as a potential treatment and as a prevention intervention. FUTURE DIRECTIONS The ‘flow of influence’ that was derived in this study involved developing composite themes of the mothers' experience of singing in relation to each of the attachment constructs. These themes were shared by between 50-100% of the sample. In other words, not every mother described experiencing every composite theme that comprise the full flow of emotional and mental states; most of the participants described experiencing most of the ‘flow of influence’. The ‘flow of influence’ cannot be considered representation of what all healthy mothers will necessarily automatically experience while singing. Instead, it is an ideal experience that therapists would hope all mothers achieve. Considering this, the findings may be useful as a reference or type of 'baseline' for future studies that examine the experience of singing in relation to attachment constructs in other clinical populations. For example, do mothers with post-natal depression or mental illness have the capacity for experiencing the ‘flow of influence’? What is the subjective experience of singing with and without 358 intervention? Is it similar or entirely different to the 'flow of influence' discovered in this study? If/how does illness or circumstance impair/block the potential 'flow of influence'? Better understanding of how circumstance affects the attachment constructs would better inform therapy interventions aiming to promote positive impacts to attachment in specific populations (Edwards, 2011b). The Interview findings in this study reveal that the experience of singing may promote positive thoughts and feelings such as reassurance, a sense of achievement and validation of self as 'good mother'. These emotional and mental states may help to prevent a spiral of negative and hostile feelings and help to balance out the negativity and stress that comes with caring for an infant. In other words, experiencing the positivity of the 'flow of influence' may balance out or replace negativity/hostility specifically. It is therefore recommended that future studies examine the experience of singing in healthy mothers currently experiencing circumstances that promote hostility such as when the infant is having difficulty sleeping or being particularly 'clingy' or demanding. It would be interesting to compare mother's emotional and mental states, as they relate to attachment, before and after a singing intervention to examine if/how any changes in negativity/positivity occur. Future studies may also create a questionnaire based on the composite themes derived in this study to specifically examine the experience of singing in relation to the attachment constructs. Using the questionnaire method would allow for a large sample of participants and open the opportunity to generalise the results. Once validated, the questionnaire could also be used as tool for evaluating song-based relationship-focussed music therapy programs for mothers with infants under twelve months old. 359 Furthermore, the findings in this study suggest that there is potential to establish the 'flow of influence' in other typical and non-typical mothers and that this would necessitate successful meeting of infant needs and emotional modulation. It is therefore recommended that future studies examine the design and implementation of singing-based programs aiming to enhance mother-infant attachment through singing interactions (see Discussion p. 332). Understanding how to practically implement such an educative program would be helpful in establishing new attachment focussed programs. The establishment of programs would also provide practical means of evaluating the effect of singing to impact attachment in various populations. Future studies may also investigate cultural and ethnic influences on motherinfant singing practices in the first year of life. Investigating mother's attitudes towards and beliefs in singing may provide further insight into the contributing factors of parent-infant singing practices, particularly in specific cultures. With such understanding therapists may be better able to assist migrant groups and better connect, and encourage the use of singing, with families from other ethnicities, such as refugees. Another potential area for future study is the observed similarities of the arousal function motifs between infant-directed song and speech. Further research could aim to identify musical similarities and differences between infant-directed song and speech using quantitative methods of music analysis. Such research would provide further evidence of the close relation between infant-directed song and speech. The Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008b) offer great potential for the music therapy field. They provide an excellent method of examining the dyadic singing interacting by investigating specific dimensions of emotional availability 360 while also providing an overall indication of the quality of the emotional connection or dyadic relationship. Thus, the scales can be applied to research examining relationships within and pre- and post music therapy sessions. For example the scales could evaluate mother-infant clients (even within a group setting) or be used to explore the characteristics and features of therapist-client relationships. LIMITATIONS One limitation of the study is the restricted ability to generalise the findings to the general population of mothers and young infants even though an adequate number of dyads was used. Another limitation concerns reliability of the interview analysis. Efforts were made to increase the trustworthiness (or validity) of the findings by incorporating participant verification into the analysis process and the investigator completing an examination of bias, also known as an epoché, (Broido & Manning, 2002; Creswell, 2009; Denzin & Lincoln, 2008; Erlandson, et al., 1993; Grocke, 1999; McMurray, et al., 2004; Moustakas, 1994, see Appendix H). However, if another researcher were to analyse the transcripts it may be the case that the findings could change somewhat. Incorporating another investigator or a research team to analyse the interview transcripts would provide opportunities to cross-check themes, strive for inter-researcher agreement and thus increase reliability. It is therefore suggested that reliability measures be considered carefully if/when planning and budgeting for future interview-based studies. Another limitation arose from using only six cases in the music analysis. Twelve cases would have strengthened the findings. However, it was not possible to complete these within the allotted time frame. Time and resources are a common 361 cause of concern and challenge for mixed methods research (Creswell, 2009; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). However, it should be noted that this is the first study to incorporate a structural music analysis within the Emotional Availability framework. Introducing novel song repertoire via singing sessions is an important limitation to note. Providing and examining a song-based intervention was not the intention or purpose of the present study. However, the mere introduction of songs and experience of the singing sessions would have, to some degree, changed the participants’ pre-existing singing interactions. Firstly, as a result of learning something new, mothers sang songs they previously were not singing to their infant. Secondly, as part of the learning process, the mothers listened to the author singing independently and together with the mothers’ singing. Whether consciously on unintentionally, the mothers may have copied the author’s personal tendencies to sing/vocalise in a certain way and altered the manner in which they would otherwise sing the song if learnt without the author present. In other words, mothers had still been instructed in some fashion. To some extent the author had already ‘intervened’ and thus, the purity of the ‘naturalness’ of the observed dyadic interactions inevitably altered. The author’s potential influences upon the participants’ singing interactions were counteracted by, (1) providing weekly gaps between the singing sessions allowing the mothers to embrace her own musicality, make the song ‘her own’ or intuitively implement the songs while singing with her infant, (2), mothers were frequently reminded that the singing sessions were a means of learning songs, in no way a strict instruction of what/how exactly to sing and that they may sing the songs any way they liked. In other words, the author verbally encouraged the mothers to 362 intuitively implement the songs, (3) removing any other persons from the video sessions allowing the mother and infant to interact without the influence of a third party present, and (4) instructing mothers to interact as they please during the video sessions for example, free to sing songs that were learnt during the singing sessions as well as previously known repertoire. Other difficulties and methodological challenges experienced during the study are discussed below. METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES In order to examine mother-infant emotional communication, it was essential to capture and analyse dyadic interaction. Throughout data collection mothers were often told that the video sessions aimed to capture interaction that was as natural as possible within a lab environment. The phrase “a ‘snap shot’ of what it’s like at home” was used frequently to reduce the formality of the lab environment and thus encourage naturalistic data. Although there were benefits to using a dedicated recording room, there were also challenges. The main benefit was that once all of the audio/visual technology was set up collecting data was quick and simple. Additionally using fixed cameras provided consistency between video footage. The main challenge was that the lab environment simply cannot substitute home-based recording sessions. However, for the majority of published data, this is how motherinfant interactions are recorded. Efforts were made to encourage mothers to feel comfortable in the video room and to feel free to move and interact in whatever way they pleased. Before the video sessions began time was spent talking to the mothers about freedom of movement. Mothers were told that they were free to sit, stand, dance around and do 363 whatever they pleased. Infants could be in their chair or on the mother’s lap or in other various positions. If mothers felt they needed to move to the floor, they were told which part of the room was the best to use. If they needed extra space or were switching between chairs and the floor, they were shown how to push the chairs out of the way in order to stay in view of the cameras. Mothers were also told not to worry about the cameras because if they did move out of view, the researcher could enter and room and ask them to move back into view. However, there was still a degree of 'unnatural-ness' as mothers tended to convey a desire to ‘do the right thing’ and stay in view. Some mothers expressed feeling restricted and avoiding certain interactions (e.g. dancing) that would normally occur at home due to the size of the room and concerns about stay in view. Other mothers appeared compelled to sing almost continuously, presumably to provide good data for the researcher or ensure the usefulness of their contribution to the study. Furthermore, mothers described singing to typically occur sporadically throughout the day rather than in one block of time. Singing for twenty minutes, therefore, was not a usual mode of behaviour for the participants in the singing condition. Considering this, the data captured in this study cannot be considered as ‘completely natural’. Interestingly, observing a mother’s responses in the lab environment did give an indication of the emotional availability of a relationship. The judgements that were made to complete the emotional availability ratings were focussed on the quality of behaviours, rather than the behaviours per se. For example, it was not so important that a mother chose to touch rather than hold her infant. What was more important was the way in which it was done such as harshly, gently or playfully and if this was appropriate given the context/situation. Also, how a mother adapted to the 364 lab environment demonstrated her flexibility and creativity in interacting and/or meeting needs as well as her emotional regulation. These demonstrations of adaptability provided an indication of the quality of the connection and communication between mother and infant. Therefore, despite the potential influence of the environment on a mother’s behaviour, the validity of the behavioural data was not compromised. In addition, it was helpful to have all the mothers in the same environment to analyse the quality of each dyad's connection and relationship. It was also necessary to manage bias throughout the data collection and analyses process due to the fact that one researcher, the author, conducted all the interviews, video sessions and analyses. For example, because the author was exposed to personal and insightful information about each mother during the interview, it was difficult to avoid memories of the interview discussion when rating emotional availability. Thus, the author needed to suspend knowledge of the interview and make judgments objectively according to the behaviour observable in the video footage. The use of a second expert rater however, helped to avoid instances of bias during this part of the study. Future mixed methods studies should consider the use of two blind external raters to complete the emotional availability ratings to minimise bias. It is also revealing to consider bias within the participant sample. Mothers were contacted through a search of the MARCS BabyLab database. This database includes mothers who volunteer their participation in research conducted at the lab. Presumably the mothers who volunteer have certain characteristics or values that motivate them to be included in such a database. For example, perhaps the mothers are more socially oriented than those who would shy away from voluntary participation or value education more than those who would not even consider 365 participation. Also, most of the mothers lived within a particular region of Sydney in which the university was situated. The combination of geographical limitation and voluntary-based recruitment therefore, could have resulted in a selection bias and thus, influenced the findings. Another challenge involved the interview method. Despite all the mothers having completed at least twelve years of high school and most held university degrees, some mothers were more articulate than others. For example, there were instances where the interviewer needed to provide additional prompts, redirect the participant to the focus of the interview or reflect back to the mother 37 to clarify what she meant. Since every woman is a unique individual who communicates in her own way such difficulties could not be avoided. The advantage of the interview method however, was that the opportunity for clarification was always available and utilised frequently by the interviewer. The open-ended nature of the interview question and prompts may also have limited the type or range of data collected. Open questions encouraged the mothers to consider their own unique experience of singing. However, it is possible that that there were aspects of experience that mothers did not think to discuss. For example, if mothers were provided with a questionnaire, perhaps their responses would have differed by considering aspects of their experience that they otherwise would not have thought about. It is important to remember that the benefits of interviews outweigh the challenges. For example, it is possible that the interviewer's clarifications conveyed a sincere interest in the mother's responses. Thomas & Brubaker (2000) believe that such sincerity may encourage participants to be similarly diligent when considering 37 This was achieved by rewording or rephrasing a mother's response 366 and answering the questions and thus enhance the quality of the participants' responses. Another advantage of the open-ended questions was that if mothers were unsure of how to answer a question they could think out loud and explore their thoughts for as long as required38. By reflecting back key words and phrases, the interviewer was able to prompt the mother into expanding on her response and/or focus on particular ideas and concepts. Having the time and space to explore her thoughts and 'think out loud', provided a freedom of thought and discussion which would not necessarily have been experienced in a strictly structured interview procedure. In other words, the open-ended nature of the questions helped retrieve a deeper and richer understanding of the participant's experience, as required of the research aim . CONCLUSION The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of how singing play songs and lullabies facilitates mother-infant emotional communication and contributes to attachment. This was achieved by examining the subjective, behavioural and musical features of mothers singing play songs and lullabies. The findings revealed many insights into how mothers facilitate optimal singing interactions, how their experience of singing impacted attachment and how singing was characteristically different to non-singing play interactions. The main findings include: (1) it is the manner in which mothers sing that determines and reflects the emotional availability in a singing interaction, (2) the mother's manipulation of musical elements (implemented principles) was more 38 The interviewer would encourage mothers to calmly think about their experience by saying, for example, “I know they’re tricky questions, take your time to think about it and feel free to think out loud if you want” 367 influential and important in facilitating highly emotionally available singing interactions than compositional elements (inherent principles), (3) there were specific musical principles underlying optimal singing interactions. It was particularly important that mothers were responsive, sensitive to context and cues and demonstrated congruence between intention and musical expression, (4) the experience of singing interaction facilitated a flow of positive emotional and mental states that impacted three of four maternal attachment constructs, described as the 'flow of influence'. Importantly, the mothers' experience of singing was unique from the mother's experience of non-singing play interactions, despite both types of interactions facilitating similarly high emotional availability, (5) the experience of singing and non-singing interactions each impacted three of four attachment constructs. Together the two types of interaction contributed to all four attachment constructs, and (6) the positivity of the 'flow of influence' was contingent on meeting the infant's needs and facilitating successful emotional modulation. The latter finding implies that optimising interactions promotes the 'flow of influence' in mothers. The most important contributions however, are the conceptualisation of the 'flow of influence', derivation of musical principles of optimal singing interactions and an understanding of how the two work together to further music-centred theory. The 'flow of influence' offers a new perspective on the inner processes that contribute to maternal attachment constructs and illustrates an ideal in terms of the flow of emotional and mental states that mothers may experience. The converged findings suggest that highly emotionally available singing interactions are required to maximise the flow of positive emotional and mental states that impact maternal attachment constructs. Impacting attachment therefore, requires more than the simple act of singing songs. It requires successful and emotionally available communication. 368 Thus, the findings suggest that intervening attachment necessitates the optimisation, not just prevalence, of singing interaction. Hypothetically, the role of a therapist aiming to enhance attachment would be to facilitate the optimisation of singing interactions in order to maximise the 'flow of influence'. This requires an understanding of the underlying principles that facilitate optimal singing interactions. Here, the derived musical principles provide necessary tools for improving singing interactions, and to inform music programs aiming to educate mothers on how to optimise singing interactions and enhance attachment. Ultimately, the contribution of this study is that it provides robust insights into singing as a mode of emotional communication and into its potential as a therapeutic tool for enhancing attachment. The findings also contribute to and expand founding concepts and theories underpinning music therapy attachment intervention. By conceptualising the inner processes and explicating principles involved with facilitating emotional communication that impacts on attachment, the potential role and function of singing as a treatment and prevention tool is more clearly understood and defined. Thus, the current thesis offers new insights and perspectives into how to facilitate optimal emotional communication and to enhance attachment by singing play songs and lullabies. It is hoped that this research informs the development of new relationship-focussed music therapy programs specifically designed for mothers with infants under twelve months and encourages further developments in music therapy early intervention research, theory and practice. 369 References Abad, V. (2002). 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