Référence
Deneault, A.-A., Jenkins, J., & Madigan, S. (2025). Responsiveness in family relationships. In N. Overall, J. Simpson, & J. Lavner (Eds.), Research handbook on couple and family relationships. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Résumé
This chapter describes the importance of responsiveness in family relationships for positive child development. Responsiveness is the ability to detect, accurately interpret, and provide an appropriate and timely response to children’s signals of emotional or physical needs. Although responsiveness has been primarily examined within mother-child relationships, our review of the benefits of responsiveness illustrate that children benefit from responsive interactions with mothers, fathers, sibling, and other caregivers (e.g., teachers, care providers). We integrate findings from recent meta-analytical studies to synthesize over 50 years of research identifying the antecedents, contextual factors, and child outcomes associated with parental responsiveness. We then identify important future directions and describe intervention efforts designed to improve responsiveness. We conclude that, by paying attention to others’ cues and responding to them rapidly and adequately, family members can help foster a climate of responsiveness that is beneficial for children and everyone else in the family.
