Mothers reported their toddlers' reactions to child-directed and child-observed emotions expressed by others. Results indicated that (1) self-concern and angry defiance were more frequent, and concern for others less frequent, when anger was expressed, and (2) maternal anger toward the toddler was associated with prenatal period attitudinal…

Examined the impact of early maternal interactive behaviors on children's symbolic play. Found that an option-promoting context in mother-infant dyads coexisted with the child's exhibition of symbolic play at 18 months and at 40 months. This context was stable between the two ages. An options-limiting interactive context at 40 months correlated…

Sixteen dyads comprised either of deaf toddlers and their deaf mothers or deaf toddlers and their hearing mothers were compared on the use and success of various means for establishing mutual attention for communication. Results suggested the deaf-deaf dyads experienced significantly more episodes of mutual attention because the deaf mothers were…

Examined relationships between social contingency in mother-child interaction and the social competence of 47 two-year-olds from low-income families. Found that social contingency was related to children's use of self-regulatory strategies but not to empathic responsiveness. Child negative emotionality and gender contributed to explanations of…

This 6-month prospective study examined how differences in the frequency and nature of early mother-toddler conflict at 30 months related to individual differences in children's socioemotional development at 36 months. Findings indicated that mothers' use of justification, resolution, and mitigation in conflict at 30 months during laboratory tasks…

Investigated the relationship between deaf children's "security of attachment" with their hearing parents and parental attitudes toward deafness. Children ranged in age from 20 to 60 months. Found marked differences within individual dyads of mother-child/father-child relationships. Also found negative correlations between parents'…

Mental terms in mothers' and their childrens' speech at two and three years were studied to examine relationships between maternal and child use. Nineteen mother and child dyads were videotaped for 1 hour on each of 2 days when children were 2;0 and again for 2 1-hour sessions on separate days when they were 3;0. Mental terms were noted. (JL)

Examined the relationship between caregiver behavior toward toddlers and caregiver and toddler nutritional intake in Kenya and Egypt. Results indicated that the relationship between nutrition and caregiving was mediated by cultural factors, sex of child, and type of nutritional parameter. (GLR)

Examined discourse styles of mothers and fathers when talking separately with their three year olds about shared events. Found two distinct narrative styles, neither of which was associated with parent gender. Parents of daughters were generally more elaborative than parents of sons, and daughters participated in the conversations to a greater…

Examined the mediating role of the home environment on the relationship between IQs of mothers and their low birthweight children. Results indicated that the IQ of children at three years was related to maternal IQ and measures of home environment when children were one and three years of age. (BB)

Examined factors associated with young children's aggression. Observed 104 toddlers during free play with same-sex peer, with both mothers present. Found that early out-of-home care was not related to aggression. Boys were more aggressive than girls. Observed aggression and mother-reported externalizing problems were associated significantly with…

Investigated the relationship between joint attention and toddler's race, sex, and SES. Found that joint attention related to a "persisting" mother, whether or not the toddler accepted the initial maternal bid. Females engaged in joint attention bouts and nonpersistent maternal responses after the bid was accepted more often than males. Race and…

Investigated the relationship between language competence, joint attention, and interaction between mothers and toddlers that fosters joint attention. Found no correlation between joint attention and concurrent language, yet joint attention was related to toddler age when correlated with language. Suggested that nonostensive settings need further…

The signed and spoken language produced by 14 mothers (7 deaf and 7 hearing) to their 18-month-old deaf children was analyzed. Deaf mothers were more successful in presenting signed utterances with a salient context visible to their children. For both groups, visible and salient signed utterances were positively correlated with mothers' success in…

Examined relations between maternal control and evaluative feedback during the second year of life and children's mastery motivation and expressions of self-evaluative affect a year later. Found that negative maternal evaluations at 2 years related to children's later shame, especially when linked to children's actions or products. Positive…