Flexibility and organization in parent-child interaction through the lens of the dynamic system approach: A systematic review of State Space Grid studies

The dynamic systems (DS) theory has been previously applied to the regulatory processes that characterize the parent-child dyad. These processes provide infants with adequate flexibility to respond and adapt to environmental stimulations and sufficient stability to develop and maintain coherent self-organization. The State Space Grid (SSG) tool was specifically developed to provide graphical representations and quantitative assessments of different measures of dyadic flexibility and organization. During the last 20 years, the SSG has been increasingly adopted in research projects. The present review provides a comprehensive and integrated discussion of the SSG literature about parent-child interaction so far. The literature search was conducted on PubMed and Scopus and 16 studies were selected. Results showed that flexibility allows dyads to manage interactive perturbations, leading the system to a new possible equilibrium and promoting better child outcomes. Studies suggested a developmental trend in organization with a reduction of dispersion at an older age, that was associated with better child functioning. Significant individual differences emerged for child and caregiver sex. In sum, this review confirms the potentials of SSG to depict flexibility and organization constructs in parent-child dyads from a genuine DS perspective. Future SSG studies on atypical and at-risk parent-child populations are needed to bridge the gap between DS research and clinical practice.