PATTERNS AND LEVELS OF MATERNAL BEHAVIOR

Abstract

Many environmental factors appear to play a part in the development of child behavior and personality. The relative importance of these factors and the specific manner in which they influence personality development are still, to a large extent, a matter of conjecture. It is generally assumed, however, that a major portion of a child's socialization takes place during his early formative years in his daily interactions with various members of his family. Usually the child's mother plays a particularly central role in this process. Until the child enters school, she spends more time with him than any other person and is primarily responsible for a major part of his early socialization. If personality development is viewed in terms of social learning experiences, what is learned will depend upon the behavior of the persons who play the role of socializer to the child. From this viewpoint, the study of maternal behavior patterns and maternal socialization techniques should substantially contribute to a more complete understanding of personality development. In the past, information concerning maternal behavior has primarily come from clinical observation and reports. In the last decade, however, several systematic research efforts have been directed toward the description and analysis of various aspects of maternal behavior. The construction and use of the Fels Parent Behavior Rating Scales (PBRs) by Champney (3) represents one such effort to categorize and measure a relatively wide range of maternal behavior. This effort was made in the context of long-range longitudinal research. From the time of Champney's original report in 1941 until the present time, specially trained psychologists at the Fels Research Institute for the Study of Human Development, acting as Home Visitors, have routinely observed mother-child interactions in the families of the Fels longitudinal research population. Subsequent to each home visit, the Home Visitor has rated each mother's maternal behavior on the 30 Fels Parent Behavior Rating Scales. A moje detailed description of the Fels