# Using Remote Sensing Technology to Assess Parent-Infant Interactions as a Mechanism Linking COVID-related Stress and Infant Neurobehavioral Functioning

> **NIH NIH R34** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · 2021 · $234,822

## Abstract

The young child’s ability to regulate stress sets the foundation for a host of developmental outcomes, and the
parent-infant relationship is the primary context in which stress regulation capacities first develop. Prior
research underscores how parents’ own stress may lead to disturbances in parent-infant co-regulation of
stress. Given the immense disruptions to family life resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to
understand the degree to which COVID-related stress may impact the parent-infant relationship and ultimately
infants’ neurobehavioral outcomes. We posit here that (a) maternal stress due to the pandemic will be
associated with disturbances in the mother-infant relationship, particularly with respect to mother-infant co-
regulation of infant distress and (b) mothers’ experiences of COVID-related stress will have an indirect effect
on infant neurobehavioral outcomes, in part, due to disturbances to the mother-infant relationship. We also aim
to investigate risk factors (e.g., maternal depressive symptoms, substance use; infant negative emotionality)
that might exacerbate such linkages, as well as protective factors (e.g., maternal social support, coping) that
may attenuate them. We will partner with six sites from the NIH HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study-
Phase 1 (New York University, Oregon Health Sciences University, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Children’s Research Institute) that will
permit addressing the proposed aims among a geographically diverse sample of 240 families with infants
between 6 and 18 months of age. To assess key constructs relevant to mother-infant relationship disturbance,
we will use a novel multimodal sensing platform that captures infant vocalizations, stress physiology, and
motor behavior, and we will employ machine learn approaches to these multimodal data to yield automated
assessments of mother-infant co-regulation of infant distress. By combining assessments of (a) mothers’
COVID-related experiences, as well as maternal, family, and infant functioning, collected by the six HBCD sites
via maternal reports and virtual visits and (b) mother-infant co-regulation of stress in home environments using
remote multimodal sensing technology, the current study will provide unique opportunities for a nuanced and
rich understanding of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on infants born during this unprecedented time.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10239919
- **Project number:** 3R34DA050256-01S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
- **Principal Investigator:** Nancy L McElwain
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $234,822
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10239919

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10239919, Using Remote Sensing Technology to Assess Parent-Infant Interactions as a Mechanism Linking COVID-related Stress and Infant Neurobehavioral Functioning (3R34DA050256-01S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10239919. Licensed CC0.

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