Investigating Baby Behavior and Family Technology Use Study

This study is looking at how mothers' use of technology, like TVs and mobile devices, during feeding times might affect their babies' development. Researchers want to understand how these technologies influence how mothers respond to their babies' cues and how babies learn to manage their emotions and feeding. The study will observe mothers and their babies during feeding interactions at 1 month and 4 months of age, specifically looking at how TV and mobile device use impacts maternal sensitivity and how mothers help their babies grow socially, emotionally, and cognitively. To join, you need to be at least 18 years old, in your third trimester of a healthy, low-risk pregnancy, live near Cal Poly, and own a mobile device. The study aims to enroll 345 participants.

Study design
This is an interventional study that will observe mother-infant pairs during feeding under different technology use conditions. The study plans to enroll 345 participants.
What's involved
At 1 month and 4 months after your baby is born, you and your baby will be observed during three different feeding conditions over three days, with a day off between conditions. During one condition, you will be asked to watch a TV show on a tablet while feeding your baby.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Participants will be followed from 1 month to 4 months of infant age to assess changes in maternal sensitivity and growth fostering.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT05781100

Investigating Baby Behavior and Family Technology Use Study

Recruiting
NAAll AgesInterventionalBasic science
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
~345 participants
Updated 2025-02-24 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Technology Use during Feeding Conditions

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Cues during Feeding
Measured over Infant ages 1 month and 4 months
+12 more outcomes measured
Mobile Phone Use
Mother-Infant Interaction
Infant Development
Self-Regulation, Emotion
Self-Regulation
1 sites across 1 states
California1

Opens a ready-to-send draft in your own email app — review before sending.

Do you actually qualify for this trial?

Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.

Check eligibility for this trial ~2 min · HIPAA-protected · delete anytime
Eligibility criteria

Exclusion

Mother has an untreated medical or psychiatric condition (e.g. bipolar disorder) that could impede study participation or affect mother-infant interaction
Mother is participating in another interventional study that influences parenting, mother-infant interactions, feeding practices, or technology use
The mother is unwilling or unable to commit to longitudinal follow-ups of herself or her child
Infant was born preterm (gestational age \<37 weeks)
Infant diagnosed with fetal abnormality or medical condition that interferes with oral feeding (e.g., feeding disorder, milk protein allergy) or development
Infant diagnosed with developmental delay (e.g., Down's syndrome)
  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Cues during FeedingInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded using the Nursing Child Assessment Parent-Child Interaction Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Possible score range for the Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Cues subscale is 0-16 with higher scores representing greater maternal sensitivity to infant cues.

  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Socioemotional Growth Fostering during FeedingInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded using the Nursing Child Assessment Parent-Child Interaction Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Possible score range for the Maternal Socioemotional Growth Fostering subscale is 0-14 with higher scores representing greater maternal socioemotional growth fostering.

  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Cognitive Growth Fostering during FeedingInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded using the Nursing Child Assessment Parent-Child Interaction Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Possible score range for the Maternal Cognitive Growth Fostering subscale is 0-9 with higher scores representing greater maternal cognitive growth fostering.

  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Attentiveness to the Infant during FeedingInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded to determine the percentage of time the mother spent looking at the device versus her infant, with greater percent time spent looking at the infant representing greater maternal attentiveness to the infant.

  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Infant Clarity of Cues during FeedingInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded using the Nursing Child Assessment Parent-Child Interaction Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Possible score range for the Infant Clarity of Cues subscale is 0-15 with higher scores representing greater infant clarity of cues.

  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Infant Attentional Responsiveness to the Mother during FeedingInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded to determine the percentage of time the infant spent looking at the mother, with greater percent time spent looking at the mother representing greater infant attentiveness to the mother.

  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Infant Intake FeedingInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. The infant will be weighed before and after feeding to determine amount consumed during the feeding.

  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Meal DurationInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded to determine the duration of the meal.

  • Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Rate of FeedingInfant ages 1 month and 4 months

    When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Infant intake (mL) will be divided by meal duration (min) to determine rate of feeding (mL/min).

  • Change Infant Emotion Regulation between infant ages 4 months, 6 months, and 12 monthsInfant ages 4 months, 6 months, and 12 months

    Infant emotion regulation capacity will be assessed via both observational and maternal-reported measures. Observational measures will come from infant behavior during the Still Face Paradigm described in the intervention section; videos of infant behavior during this paradigm will be coded using the infant-caregiver engagement phases (ICEP). Maternal-reported emotion regulation will come from the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Very Short Form. These observational and maternal-reported measures will be combined into a composite score representing infant emotion regulation capacity. Greater scores will represent greater emotion regulation capacity.

  • Change in Infant Intake Regulation between infant ages 4 months, 6 months, and 12 monthsInfant ages 4 months, 6 months, and 12 months

    Infant intake regulation capacity will be assessed via both observational and maternal-reported measures. Infant intake regulation will be assessed via percent difference scores gleaned from the Caloric Compensation and COMPX protocols described in the intervention section. Maternal reported infant self-regulation of intake (satiety responsiveness) will also be assessing using the Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaire (BEBQ) at and the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire for Toddlers (CEBQ-T). These observational and maternal-reported measures will be combined into a composite score representing infant intake regulation capacity. Greater scores will represent greater intake regulation capacity.

  • Infant Socioemotional and Behavioral ProblemsInfant age 12 months

    Mothers will complete the Brief Infant-Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA), a 42-item questionnaire that indexes the presence of social-emotional and behavioral problems and competencies that has been extensively validated for use with children from 12-36 months of age. Broad domains assessed include Internalizing (depression/withdrawal, general anxiety, inhibition to novelty, separation distress subscales), Externalizing (activity/impulsivity, aggression/defiance, peer aggression subscales), Dysregulation (negative emotionality, sleep, eating, sensory sensitivity subscales), and Competence (compliance, attention, mastery motivation, imitation/play, empathy, prosocial peer relations subscales). A mean score will be calculated with higher scores indicating poorer socioemotional and behavioral adjustment.

  • Change in infant weight between birth and 12 months of ageBirth to 12 months

    A trained research assistant will collect infant weight and length measurements in triplicate using an infant scale/infantometer (models 374 and 233; Seca, Hamburg, Germany). Infant anthropometric data will be normalized to z-scores using the World Health Organization (WHO) Anthro software (http://www.who.int/childgrowth/en/) to calculate age- and sex-specific z-scores based on the WHO growth standards.