Changes in mothers' strategies for eliciting verbal responses (EVR's) as a function of child age were investigated in this study. Seven mother-child dyads were observed in their homes when the children were 16, 21, 24, 30, and 34 months of age. Mother EVR's were coded according to syntactic form, type of cue for child response, and complexity of…

The maternal affective environment to which children are exposed, conceptualized by (1) percentage of total emotional displays (happy, sad, angry, tense, or tender) and (2) global indices of current maternal psychosocial functioning, is likely to be related to children's expression of emotions and overall social-emotional competence. Thus,…

The speech that upper-middle class mothers used with their young children was compared to that used by working class mothers. Mother-child interaction was recorded in four settings: mealtime, dressing, reading, and playing with toys. Also investigated were mothers' child rearing beliefs and goals. Participants included 33 upper-middle class and 30…

Two longitudinal studies focused on naturally occurring conversations at home among (1) 18- and 24-month-old second-born children, mothers, and older siblings, and (2) first-born children 25 and 32 months old, mothers, and younger siblings. By two years of age most children referred to a range of feeling states in self and other, and discussed the…

A study involving three children with impaired hearing, three typical children, and three showing intellectual advancement, found children scoring above 130 IQ at age four demonstrated significantly advanced pretend play as toddlers. Mothers of the high IQ children engaged in scaffolding behaviors involving higher stages of pretend transformation,…

Examined attachment relationships of toddlers at 26 months to their child caregivers. Developed a scale describing safe haven and secure base functions of attachment relationships in child care. Found that this Safe and Secure Scale related to proximal indicators of child-care quality, and was a stronger measure than the child-caregiver Q-security…

In this longitudinal study, 60 mothers rated their toddler's personality traits concerning social relations and exploration of the physical and social world. Data showed that mothers of toddlers from older cohorts were more likely to have stable and consistent, but not more negative, perceptions of their child's personality over six months than…

Thirty-five mothers' experiences in parenting young children with disabilities (Down Syndrome, hearing impairment, and neurological impairment) were examined in this three-year longitudinal study. Results showed significant relationships between maternal stress and parenting experiences. Few differences across groups were noted. (Author/DB)

Reports that mothers' responsiveness to young infants' distress predicts language capacity at two years. Mothers' responsiveness to older infants' nondistress vocalizations predicts cognitive performance, perceived self-esteem, social competence, and family relations in preadolescents. (PCB)

Infants' habituation and mothers' encouragement of attention were assessed at 5 months. Toddlers' language comprehension, language production, and pretense play, and mothers' encouragement of attention, were assessed at 13 months. Examined the contributions of infant habituation and maternal stimulation to toddlers' cognitive abilities. (PCB)

Investigates conversational characteristics (discourse features, illocutionary force and style parameters) of mothers of two-year-old twins and mothers of two-year-old singletons with older siblings. Finds significant differences in conversational characteristics, and between twins' and singletons' language scores on measures of language…

Analysis of survey responses from 42 families of infants/toddlers with special needs found that both mothers and fathers desired involvement in the child's early intervention program and that their major perceived need was for information. However, differences were found between fathers' and mothers' preferred formats for receiving information.…

Ratings of early intervention services by 91 Massachusetts and New Hampshire mothers and fathers of young children with disabilities indicated the services' high level of helpfulness. Mothers and fathers differed in their ratings, and the weighting of perceived benefits varied by child and family characteristics. (Author/JDD)

Assessed temperament of children of 5-42 months of age. A Q-sort measure was used to assess children's attachment security between 12 and 45 months. Analysis of results revealed an association between temperament and attachment security at all ages. (BC)

This study, with 48 infants and toddlers (24 of which were drug exposed), found that mothers who used drugs during pregnancy reported higher levels of total parenting stress, child-related stress, and parent-related stress than foster mothers and comparison mothers. A strong association between maternal use of drugs and serious child maltreatment…