Patterns of interactional synchrony were compared in mother-child and father-child dyads during dyadic and triadic interactions. Forty-two dual-earner families from the French province of Québec, Canada, participated in the study with their 32 months-old child. Parent-child interactions were coded using a taxonomy including the social partners' physical proximity, visual and body orientation, and dyadic involvement. Analyses show similar patterns of interactional synchrony in mother-child and father-child dyads in the dyadic context while father-child dyads presented less interactional synchrony than mother-child dyads when interacting in triad. Discussion focuses on the impact of the context and on the factors that could explain the changes in father-child patterns of interaction from one context to another.

Based on family systems theory, our objectives were to examine the association between dyadic parent–child interactional synchrony (mother–child and father–child) and triadic mother–father–child interactional synchrony and the effect of the child’s gender on the family interactional synchrony at the child’s third year. Forty-three low-income Brazilian families (mother, father, and child) were observed in free play interaction. Multidimension assessments of the degree of dyadic and triadic interactional synchronies were made (interpersonal distance, visual and body orientation, play involvement, and shared affect). Results indicated that father–child dyadic interaction was more strongly associated with triadic family interaction than mother–child interaction. Furthermore, father–daughter dyads and triads with girls were more attuned than all other family compositions. Taken together, these results expand research in the field and suggest that fathers may have a greater impact on child gender development than previously thought. Our findings also add empirical evidence to the unique contribution of the triadic family context for understanding of parental roles and family dynamics.

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