Mother-child play of maltreating and nonmaltreating families was analyzed when infants were 12 months old (Time 1), and 2 years old (Time 2), as a context to examine children's developing cognitive and social skills. At Time 1, infants from abusing families demonstrated less independent and more imitative behavior during play than did infants from…

There is no one style of parenting which characterizes young mothers as a group. In addition, life circumstances play an important role in shaping maternal behaviour. The aim of this study was to identify patterns of maternal play behaviour and contextual (social and personal) factors associated with these different patterns. In this study, 107…

This study compared 17 toddlers identified as prenatally exposed to cocaine (along with marijuana, alcohol, or nicotine), with another group of 10 toddlers with no prenatal exposure. All subjects were African-American, 1-3 years of age, and in foster care. Toddlers were age- and gender-matched and compared on measures of temperament, development,…