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Predicting competence at age 6 from mother-infant interactions
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PREDICTING COMPETENCE AT AGE 6 FROM MOTHER-INFANT INTERACTIONS. Sheryl L. Olson, Kathryn Bayles, and John E. Bates. This was a prospective, longitudinal investigation of the relationship between early motherchild interaction and children's social and cognitive competence at age 6. Extensive home observation data· on mother-infant interactions were collected at age 6 months (N=168), with longitudinal follow-up assessments at 13 and 24 months. At 13 months mother-infant pairs also participated in the Ainsworth-Wittig Strange Situation procedure, in order to assess attachment security. Eighty motherchild pairs participated in follow-up procedures at age 6. Broad-band assessments of children's adaptive functioning included measures of self-control, social problem-solving, intellectual and academic competence, peer acceptance, psychopathology, and social-empathic understanding. Mother-infant interaction behaviors at 6 and 13 months were significantly correlated with teachers' assessments of aggressive problem behavior and academic competence at age 6. The security of attachment scale (based on the Ainsworth procedure) was significantly correlated with laboratory measures of impulsivity, but not with other measures. At 24 months the relative frequency of mother-child verbal interaction was significantly correlated with a wide range of social and cognitive outcome variables, whereas punitive mother-child interactions were negatively correlated with later self-control ability and academic achievement. Thus, these data showed that different measures of the mother-child relationship are associated with different child outcome variables. The data as a whole are consistent with the idea that the quality of the early mother-child relationship has lasting implications for children's adaptive functioning.
PREDICTING COMPETENCE AT AGE 6 FROM MOTHER-INFANT INTERACTIONS. Sheryl L. Olson, Kathryn Bayles, and John E. Bates. This was a prospective, longitudinal investigation of the relationship between early motherchild interaction and children's social and cognitive competence at age 6. Extensive home observation data· on mother-infant interactions were collected at age 6 months (N=168), with longitudinal follow-up assessments at 13 and 24 months. At 13 months mother-infant pairs also participated in the Ainsworth-Wittig Strange Situation procedure, in order to assess attachment security. Eighty motherchild pairs participated in follow-up procedures at age 6. Broad-band assessments of children's adaptive functioning included measures of self-control, social problem-solving, intellectual and academic competence, peer acceptance, psychopathology, and social-empathic understanding. Mother-infant interaction behaviors at 6 and 13 months were significantly correlated with teachers' assessments of aggressive problem behavior and academic competence at age 6. The security of attachment scale (based on the Ainsworth procedure) was significantly correlated with laboratory measures of impulsivity, but not with other measures. At 24 months the relative frequency of mother-child verbal interaction was significantly correlated with a wide range of social and cognitive outcome variables, whereas punitive mother-child interactions were negatively correlated with later self-control ability and academic achievement. Thus, these data showed that different measures of the mother-child relationship are associated with different child outcome variables. The data as a whole are consistent with the idea that the quality of the early mother-child relationship has lasting implications for children's adaptive functioning.