Using wearable technology to measure the real-world parent-child dynamics which underpin emotional resilience

Emotional resilience is, by now, widely recognised as an attribute that strongly predicts long-term mental health outcomes across diverse diagnostic categories (Davydov et al., 2010). However, almost all research thus far has treated resilience as a property of different individuals. Yet 'no man [or woman] is an island, entire of itself' (Donne, 1624). Resilience in an individual child develops through their interactions with other people, and with their environment. Historically, it has been impossible to record large volumes of naturalistic parent-child interaction data in home settings. Because of this, we understand surprisingly little about how a child's long term resilience is influenced by the mechanisms of the relationship between child and parent during early life. If awarded this studentship, I would further build on new methods pioneered by Dr Wass and Professor Jones, including miniaturised wearable microphones, cameras and physiological stress monitors that can be worn by infants and their parents in home settings. I would use this to collect and analyse large volumes of 'at-home parent-child interaction data'. I would assess, for the first time, how real-world parent child interaction dynamics predict the development of long-term emotional resilience in the child. In order to maximise the cost-effectiveness of this studentship, this PhD would be integrated as part of two large-scale funded longitudinal projects awarded by the European Research Council and Medical Research Council respectively to my proposed supervisors, Dr Wass and Professor Jones. This will maximise the cost-effectiveness of this project, and give me access to participant populations that I would not otherwise have access to. In addition, the project would also promote the exchange of data and ideas within the UBEL DTP between the BabyDev Lab at UEL, which specialises in understanding typical early development, and the BOND lab at Birkbeck, which specialises in atypical early development.