**1. Introduction**

Responsive caregiving is a key element in fostering young children's developmental potential [1–4]. This special type of caregiving integrates sensitivity (defined as the caregiver´s ability to notice, interpret, and respond appropriately to an infant´s signals, needs, and internal state [5]) and stimulation (described as expanding and building on a child's interest by talking, pointing and demonstrating in a developmentally appropriate way that supports early learning [6]). These attuned and reciprocal interactions—previously operationalized as cognitive sensitivity [7] or responsive stimulation [3]—have been found to predict cognitive [4,8,9], socioemotional [10,11], and brain development in young children [12]. This aspect of parenting is best assessed observationally as caregivers can only report on responses to signals that they notice and not those they miss or misinterpret [13,14].

**Citation:** Schneider, A.; Rodrigues, M.; Falenchuk, O.; Munhoz, T.N.; Barros, A.J.D.; Murray, J.; Domingues, M.R.; Jenkins, J.M. Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Brazilian Portuguese Version of an Observational Measure for Parent–Child Responsive Caregiving. *Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health* **2021**, *18*, 1246. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph18031246

Academic Editor: Verónica Schiariti Received: 23 December 2020 Accepted: 25 January 2021 Published: 30 January 2021

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The Responsive Interactions for Learning (RIFL) measure combines the well-understood concepts of sensitivity and stimulation in a brief, observational tool that can be used to assess responsive caregiving at the population level. It has been shown to have good reliability and validity in mothers, fathers, and siblings and is referred to as RIFL-P for parents [15] and RIFL-S for siblings [7,16]. The coding scheme for this instrument uses a thin-slice methodology proposed by Ambady [17], who argued that when a construct is well articulated, it can be accurately, intuitively, and rapidly rated. Thin-slice ratings have been shown to have similar psychometric properties to labor-intensive coding schemes [7,15].

Considering that most instruments measuring parental responsivity have been developed in Western countries based on middle-class samples [18], one cannot presume that specific behaviors observed for those families and assessed by those instruments are generalizable across cultures. To overcome this, the field recommends adaptation of instruments with documented validity rather than the development of new ones since cross-cultural adaptation is faster, easier, and less expensive [19,20]. Experimental and correlational studies performed in Brazil have shown cultural evidence of the importance of the construct of responsivity/sensitivity in the Brazilian society [21–23].

Given the public health importance of early responsivity to child development, and considering that responsive caregiving is the cornerstone of successful early childhood development (ECD) interventions [24,25], there is an urgent need for valid and reliable measures appropriate for use in large-scale studies. Screening of parental responsivity at the level of population groups could aid in identifying those caregivers who may benefit from parenting programs. There is also growing recognition of the need to integrate behavioral services into primary care [26] to strengthen early identification and access to appropriate interventions [27]. This is especially relevant in Brazil, as this country has been implementing massive ECD home visiting programs among disadvantaged families [28,29] and parent training programs to coach caregivers on positive parent–child interactions [30].

The aim of the study was to describe the cross-cultural adaptation process and validation of the Brazilian Portuguese RIFL-P, thus providing a culturally adapted, validated, and appropriate observational instrument to assess responsive caregiving in Brazilian parent–child dyads.
