A longitudinal study of mother–child interactions at school entry and social and academic outcomes in middle school

Abstract

This study examines the association between quality of mother–child interaction assessed at kindergarten entry and children's social and academic outcomes in middle school. The relation between early mother–child interactions and later school performance was examined controlling for demographic variables (e.g., maternal education, family's ethnicity, estimated child IQ, and child's gender) often associated with school outcomes. Ratings of mother–child interaction were assessed for 122 mother–child dyads on the first day of kindergarten. Children's social and academic performance in school (e.g., discipline problems, classroom behavior, and grades) was assessed via teacher observation and grade reports through the eighth grade. Results indicate that positive quality of mother–child interaction accounted for unique variance in social and academic success in early adolescence over and above the contribution of demographic variables. Further, the relation between mother–child patterns and middle school social outcomes varied as a function of ethnicity. These findings support the exploration of process-oriented social variables for predicting later social and academic competence.