Mother-toddler Interaction Research Articles

Effects of Mothers' Simulated Withdrawal and Depressed Affect on Mother-Toddler Interactions

Effects of Mothers' Simulated Withdrawal and Depressed Affect on Mother-Toddler Interactions

Maternal confidence, knowledge, and quality of mother‐toddler interactions: A preliminary study

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among maternal confidence, knowledge of child development, and quality of mother-toddler interactions using self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977, 1989) as the theoretical framework. Using the Toddler Care Questionnaire, 50 mothers of toddlers were asked to estimate their confidence in their ability to parent their toddlers. Mothers also completed the Knowledge of Infant Development Questionnaire and were videotaped in their homes during a structured interaction with their toddlers. Maternal confidence was positively correlated with maternal knowledge of child development and parenting. The relationships among mother's knowledge of child development, maternal confidence, and quality of mother-toddler interactions were examined by a 2 × 3 analysis of variance with quality of interactions as the dependent variable. There were no significant main effects for maternal knowledge or confidence on quality of mother-toddler interactions, but there was a significant interaction effect. That is, the combined effects of maternal knowledge and confidence were related to quality of mother-toddler interactions. These results may explain previous inconsistencies in the literature regarding the significance of maternal confidence for mother-child interactions and are congruent with self-efficacy theory. Implications for interventions are discussed.

The Effect of Hearing Impairment on the Quality of Attachment and Mother-Toddler Interaction

The Effect of Hearing Impairment on the Quality of Attachment and Mother-Toddler Interaction

The Effect of Hearing Impairment on the Quality of Attachment and Mother-Toddler Interaction

In the present study, 41 hearing impaired and 41 hearing toddlers together with their hearing mothers were observed in Ainsworth's Strange Situation and during free play. Both security of attachment and ratings of maternal and toddler behavior during free play were remarkably similar for the hearing impaired and hearing dyads. In addition, security of attachment was related to the ratings of maternal and toddler behavior in a similar way for the hearing impaired and hearing toddlers. The results suggest that development of a secure attachment and maintaining a good mother-toddler relationship does not depend on normal language development during the toddler years.

Playful Relationships: A Contextual Analysis of Mother-Toddler Interaction and Symbolic Play

The relation between social interaction and complexity of toddler's symbolic play was investigated. 57 toddlers between 15 and 24 months of age were observed under 4 conditions: (1) child play alone, (2) child play with mother, (3) child modeling mother, and (4) child play with mother following the modeling condition. Each subject was rated on complexity of play, maternal attention directing, reciprocity, and maternal intrusiveness. Significant condition effects were found in which more complex forms of play were observed when the children were playing with their mothers than when playing by themselves. Maternal intrusions and questioning were negatively related to symbolic play. Turn-taking was negatively related to simple exploratory play. Results of a sequential analysis demonstrated that turn-taking was more likely to precede symbolic play, and maternal intrusiveness was more likely to precede simple exploratory play. The role of active partnership in symbolic play development is discussed.

Playful Relationships: A Contextual Analysis of Mother-Toddler Interaction and Symbolic Play

Playful Relationships: A Contextual Analysis of Mother-Toddler Interaction and Symbolic Play

Mother-Toddler Problem Solving: Antecedents in Attachment, Home Behavior, and Temperament

In a widely cited study, Matas, Arend, and Sroufe showed that mother-toddler interaction during problem solving at age 2 years was related to the child's prior attachment security. The current study asked (1) whether an independent laboratory could replicate this attachment finding, and (2) whether problem-solving interactions relate to mother-child interactions observed at home and to child temperament measured at 6, 13, and 24 months. Replicating Matas et al., secure dyads worked more competently, and mothers showed better quality of assistance and supportive presence. Mother-child home interaction also predicted problem solving: positive involvement at home predicted effective, unconflicted problem solving. Negative control at home did not predict problem-solving interaction. Unadaptable temperament was generally related to dependency in problem solving. Several patterns of correlations appeared to be mediated by sex of child, e.g., difficult temperament in boys predicted more effective, unconflicted problem solving, while for girls it predicted more conflict.

Specific associations between domains of mother-child interaction and toddler referential language and pretense play

This study investigated associations between three domains of mother-toddler interaction and toddler referential language and pretense play at 13 months. Interactions within the social domain included interpersonal, affective exchanges; the didactic domain involved maternal encouragement of child attention to objects; and the control domain referred to which member in the dyad was judged to be more responsible for initiating and maintaining these exchanges. Naturalistic observations of mother-toddler interactions and independent toddler assessments were conducted in the home. Maternal didactic, not social, interactions related independently to toddlers' language, not play, skills. Conditional associations between domains significantly augmented explained variance in both toddler language and play. For example, social interaction was positively associated with language only in dyads where mothers, rather than toddlers, controlled object-oriented exchanges. Neither social nor didactic interactions were independently associated with toddler pretense play, but their combination was. Conditional relations between interactions and toddler skills are discussed with stress on the importance of maternal modulation of social and didactic exchanges depending on toddler attention and initiative.

Mother-child interaction and mirror behavior

Toddlers and children, aged 6 to 38 months, with their mothers, were observed in free-play that included a hand and standing mirror. The mother-toddler interaction was assessed according to a proposed profile that described 34 categories of maternal behaviors, such as empathy, attunement, acceptance of the child as a separate individual, and capacity to provide a referencing framework. Fourteen maternal modes or styles, such as consistency, genuineness, intrusiveness, and pleasure in maternal role, also were coded. The global ratings of maternal behaviors were related to the behaviors in front of the mirrors as outlined by Amsterdam (1972). Initial observations suggest that deviant mirror behaviors parallel deficits in the mother-toddler interaction. In contrast, mirror behavior is appropriate or beyond the chronological age if the mother-toddler interaction is satisfactory. Because mirror behavior reflects a sense of self and covaries with the quality of the mother-toddler interaction, the behavior in front of the mirror may be used as a clinical diagnostic tool.

Mother-child interaction at age two years and perceived difficult temperament.

The current study investigated a hypothesized link between early child temperament and later problem behavior. Early temperament was assessed at ages 6, 13, and 24 months via mother ratings on age-appropriate versions of the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire. The 24-month form was developed in this study. Factor analyses of the questionnaire indicated a clear difficultness factor that was similar in content across all 3 ages. The 6-, 13-, and 24-month difficultness factors were correlated with home observation measures of mother-toddler interaction at age 24 months. Home observation indexes focused on situations where the mother tried to control the toddler's "trouble" behavior. Children rated by their mothers as difficult at 24 months were found to approach "mild trouble" more frequently than children perceived as easy or average. Furthermore, their mothers used intrusive control tactics more frequently than mothers of easy or average children. Analysis of behavior sequence variables showed that difficult children resisted their mothers' control attempts significantly more often than easy or average children, that is, had more conflict with the mothers. The 6- and 13-month difficultness scores predicted both the 2-year-old difficultness rating and the observed conflict indexes. It is suggested that the conflict observed in the interaction between the difficult 2-year-olds and their mothers is conceptually similar to the conflictual behavior characteristic of older, clinically referred, socially aggressive children and their mothers. Thus, the conflicted interactions found at age 2 years may represent an empirically based link between difficult infant temperament and the development of childhood problem behavior.

Mother-toddler interaction and symbolic development

Mother-toddler interaction and symbolic development

Second order effects of peers on mother-toddler interaction

The influence of adult and toddler peers on mother-toddler interaction was investigated in the natural home environment. Toddlers and mothers were observed in four circumstances on four different days: (1) at home by themselves; (2) with a toddler peer; (3) with an adult peer; and (4) with a toddler peer and an adult peer. In the presence of a toddler peer, toddlers made fewer instrumental and distal social bids to their mothers. Presence of an adult peer or mother without a toddler peer increased toddler tactile and proximal bids to mother. Maternal affect expression, both positive and negative, was intensified in the absence of the peers. Higher level reciprocal toddler peer play was more frequent in the absence of the adult peer. These findings were interpreted in terms of different types of second order effects.