Mother-infant interactions, including culturally specific features, have been found to predict child socio-emotional development (e.g., social communication and emotion regulation (ER)). However, research is lacking on the specific processes involved. We used a cross-cultural, longitudinal design, and a microanalytic coding approach to address this issue. Fifty-two mother-infant dyads were recruited from the UK (N = 21) and Italy (N = 31), representing Northern European and Mediterranean cultures, respectively. While these cultures share core features of parent-child relationships, their values about emotional expressiveness differ. We observed face-to-face mother-infant interactions at 2 months (T1), and coded infant socio-emotional behavior and maternal responses. Children were seen again at 2 years (T2), when their ER in the face of frustration, using the Barrier Task, was assessed, and the occurrence of different “mature” strategies (communicative and autonomous) coded. Results revealed common features of interactions at T1 (infant socio-emotional expressions, and maternal positive responses), but also cultural variation in the frequency of different infant cues (more pre-speech in UK infants, more smiles in Italians), and of maternal responses to them. While greater overall maternal responsiveness at T1 predicted more mature ER in general at T2, cultural differences in early responsiveness to specific infant behaviors predicted later group differences in children’s use of particular ER strategies, with UK children using more communicative strategies, and Italians more autonomous. Findings indicate that positive maternal behaviors that are common across cultures (e.g., responsiveness) promote overall successful child emotion regulation, while culturally specific features of interactions are associated with how child socio-emotional outcomes are expressed.

已发现母婴互动（包括特定于文化的特征）可以预测儿童的社会情感发展（例如，社会交往和情绪调节（ER））。但是，缺乏对所涉及的具体过程的研究。我们使用了跨文化的纵向设计和微观分析编码方法来解决此问题。从英国（N  = 21）和意大利（N = 31），分别代表北欧和地中海文化。这些文化虽然具有亲子关系的核心特征，但它们在情感表达上的价值观却有所不同。我们观察了两个月（T1）时面对面的母婴互动，并编码了婴儿的社会情感行为和母体反应。在2岁（T2）时，再次再次看到孩子，当时他们使用障碍任务评估了他们面对挫折时的ER，并对不同的“成熟”策略（交流和自主）的发生进行了编码。结果揭示了在T1时互动的共同特征（婴儿的社会情感表达和母亲的积极反应），但在不同的婴儿暗示发生频率上也存在文化差异（在英国婴儿中有更多的预言，在意大利人中有更多的笑容），以及母亲对他们的回应。虽然在T1时总体母体反应性更高，通常预示着在T2时更成熟的ER，但对特定婴儿行为的早期反应中的文化差异预示了儿童在使用特定ER策略时的群体差异，英国儿童则使用更多的交流策略，而意大利人则更加自主。研究结果表明，跨文化常见的积极的孕产妇行为（例如，反应能力）促进了整体成功的儿童情绪调节，而互动的文化特定特征与儿童社会情感结果的表达方式相关。英国儿童使用更多的交流策略，而意大利人则更加自主。研究结果表明，跨文化常见的积极的孕产妇行为（例如，反应能力）促进了整体成功的儿童情绪调节，而互动的文化特定特征与儿童社会情感结果的表达方式相关。英国儿童使用更多的交流策略，而意大利人则更加自主。研究结果表明，跨文化常见的积极的孕产妇行为（例如，反应能力）促进了整体成功的儿童情绪调节，而互动的文化特定特征与儿童社会情感结果的表达方式相关。