Mother-Child Interaction in High-Risk and Contrast Preschoolers of Low Socioeconomic Status

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Children's activities with their mothers and the techniques used by mothers while interacting with their child were examined in older (30--46 months) and younger (12--27 months) low SES preschool children from high-risk (in terms of cultural-familial retardation) and contrast homes. Older high-risk children interacted less often with their mothers and spent less time in "highly intellectual" activities than did the contrast children. The mothers of older high-risk children, in comparison with the contrast group, engaged less often in didactic teaching, showed less encouragement of their child's activities, and their attempts to control their child's activities more often resulted in failure. The differences between younger high-risk and contrast groups however were nonsignificant. Implications for future home intervention programs for high-risk low SES children are discussed.