Psychological Development and Education ›› 2022, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 739-748.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2022.05.15

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The Psychological Mechanisms Explaining the Role of Early Maternal Touch in Child Social Development

SU Jinlong1,2, SU Yanjie1   

  1. 1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871;
    2. School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210024
  • Published:2022-09-14

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Abstract: Recent studies have showed that early maternal touch might cause an effect on child social development. As to the explanations, extant studies have emphasized on the roles of CT afferents and related neural substrates, with little attention on psychological mediators. In the current study, we proposed a psychological model based on existing literature and our previous studies, and in which we explored the roles of caregiver-child relationships and children's exploratory behaviors in the relation between early maternal touch and children's social development. Furthermore, we also examined the limitations as to the study design, the multiplicity of the relation, and future directions that might help us better understand the effect of early maternal touch on children's development.

Key words: affective touch, social development, caregiver-child relationship, psychological mechanisms, exploratory behavior

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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