Bidirectional influences in mother–toddler dyads: an examination of the relative influence of mothers' and children's behaviours

Abstract

This study examined bidirectional relations between mothers' lax and overreactive discipline and children's misbehavior and negative affect. We examined the moment-to-moment stability of mothers' and children's behaviors (actor effects) and mothers' and children's influence on their partners' subsequent behaviors (partner effects). Participants were 71 mothers and their 24-48-month-old children observed during a thirty-minute interaction. Both children and mothers exhibited stability in their own behaviors and influenced the subsequent behaviors of their partners. Additionally, a comparison of partner effects indicated that overreactive discipline more strongly predicted child negative affect than child negative affect predicted overreactive discipline. In contrast, although a child's negative affect predicted lax discipline, lax discipline did not predict subsequent child negative affect.