The Influence of Complexity of Maternal Thoughts on Sensitive Parenting and Children's Social Responsiveness

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The Influence of Complexity of Maternal Thoughts on Sensitive Parenting and Children’s Social Responsiveness Cynthia L. Miller-Loncar Brown University School of Medicine

Susan H. Landry The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Karen E. Smith The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Paul R. Swank The University of Houston

This study examined whether complexity in mothers’ early thoughts of child development related directly to later child social responsiveness versus indirectly via maternal interactive behaviors. Two hundred eighty-seven families with a low socioeconomic status were evaluated longitudinally across 1, 2, and 41⁄2 years of age. The study included children known to vary in their early development to examine whether variability in children’s early cognitive and perceptual–motor skills were also important in understanding mothers’ parenting behaviors and children’s later social responsiveness. As hypothesized, the influence of early maternal thoughts on children’s later social responsiveness was indirect through its relation with mothers’ warm sensitivity at 2 years of age, which showed a direct, positive influence on children’s social responsiveness at 41⁄2 years of age. Although variability in children’s early developmental skills did not directly influence their later social responsiveness, these skills did significantly predict mother’s use of maintaining, which was significantly related to warm sensitivity. Results demonstrated the importance of a parent’s ability to think complexly about children to understand the use of behaviors that promote more optimal social outcomes.

Direct all correspondence to: Susan H. Landry, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Pediatrics, The University of Texas Medical School, 7000 Fannin, 24th Floor, Houston, TX 77030-5401 ⬍[email protected]⬎. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 21(3): 335–356 Copyright  2000 Elsevier Science Inc. ISSN: 0193-3973 All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 335

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The young child’s ability to cooperate and respond appropriately in social interactions is an essential skill that must be attained for later social, behavioral, and academic success. Interactions with one’s caregiver are the primary support the young child receives to assist in the development of this skill. Research on social cognition discusses how social interactions consist of a process of ongoing evaluation by the participants (Eagly & Chalken, 1993; Jones, Kanouse, Kelley, Nisbett, Valins, & Weiner, 1972; Weiner, 1979). An individual’s social response in a particular situation is guided by their thoughts on the causes of the situation as well as their thoughts on the motives and personality characteristics of the persons with whom they are interacting. In the case of social interactions between parents and young children, parental thoughts about children and their development are viewed as an important determinant of the social behaviors parents use with their children (Kochanska, 1990; Maccoby, 1992; Miller, 1988; Miller-Loncar, Landry, Smith, & Swank, 1997; Sameroff & Feil, 1985). There has been ongoing debate regarding whether parenting thoughts are a determinant of parenting behavior and subsequently whether they directly or indirectly influence child development (for discussion see Goodnow, 1988; Holden & Edwards, 1989; Miller, 1988). Theorists who support direct relations maintain that parental thoughts reflect aspects of children’s interactional histories and organization of the home environment that are not captured through observations of parent– child interactions (McGillicuddy-DeLisi, 1985). Proponents of this theoretical orientation acknowledge that parenting behaviors are one important mediator between parental thoughts and children’s outcomes. However, parental thoughts are often examined as indicators of parenting behavior and the caretaking environment rather than as important influences of parents’ behaviors with their children. Indirect theories hypothesize that parental thoughts act as a regulating influence on parenting behaviors which in turn shape children’s behaviors (Dix, 1993; Dix & Grusec, 1985). This is similar to theories of social cognition that maintain that the way individuals think about a situation drives their behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Eagley & Chalken, 1993). One shortcoming in the literature is that few studies have tested comprehensive models that conceptually link thoughts, behavior, and child outcome. Studies that have made this link have considered cognitive outcomes for the child (McGillicuddyDeLisi, 1982, 1985). Research models that contain both direct relations between maternal thoughts and child cognitive development as well as indirect relations through their influence on parent behavior either do not support indirect relations (Miller, Miceli, Whitman, & Borkowski, 1996) or have found mixed results with subsamples of parents (McGillicuddy-DeLisi, 1982, 1985; Sigel, 1986). Although the absence of indirect relations may be the result of a lack of fit between the maternal thought and behavioral measures (Miller et al., 1996), inconsistencies in findings may be the result of other parenting factors (i.e., parental education level and childrearing experience) influencing these relations (Sigel, 1986, 1992). Because of the variability both within and across studies, further exploration is needed regarding whether parental thoughts have direct versus indirect influences on child development. In addition, parental thought scales have been criticized for limiting their exami-

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nation to bipolar dimensions (e.g., authoritative versus authoritarian) and unidirectional questions (i.e., parent to child) rather than considering the transactional nature of parental thought processes (Holden & Edwards, 1989; Miller, 1988). An exception to this is the Concepts of Development Questionnaire (CODQ; Sameroff & Feil, 1985) that assesses the level of complexity at which a parent conceptualizes development. Complex thought processes on the CODQ are indicated by flexible thinking and transactional explanations that take multiple and reciprocal influences for child behavior into account. Because of this flexibility, parents view children as separate individuals with specific needs and interests. A parent with this type of complexity of thought can consider multiple causes of the child’s behavior (e.g., he’s upset today because—he’s sad because his dad is out of town or he’s tired). This is a positive aspect of complex parental thoughts because it makes the parent more likely to understand reasons for the child’s behaviors rather than viewing the child as “bad” because of their behavior. The parents’ manner of problem solving using complex thoughts may allow them to identify more appropriate solutions to child behaviors and thus more appropriate responses. In contrast, parents with less complex thinking attribute children’s behaviors to single, constitutional characteristics (e.g., he’s stubborn) and are less able to consider external explanations for child behavior. These parents view their children as extensions of themselves and are less likely to view their children as having individual needs. A parent’s ability to decenter from their own viewpoint and think of their child as an individual with separate needs and interests is a critical determinant of sensitive and responsive interactions (Belsky, 1984; Belsky, Robins, & Gamble, 1984; Dix, 1991; Kochanska, 1990; Landry, Garner, Swank, & Baldwin, 1996; McGillicuddyDeLisi, 1982; Miller-Loncar et al., 1997; Sameroff & Seifer, 1983). Studies using the CODQ indicate that parents who are able to think about children and their behaviors at a more complex level and appreciate children’s unique perspectives use parenting behaviors that are responsive (Pratt, Hunsberger, Pancer, Roth, & Santolupo, 1993) and recognize children’s interests (Miller-Loncar et al., 1997). Although many studies have examined the relation of maternal thoughts with child social outcomes (Benasich & Brooks-Gunn, 1996; Melson, Ladd, & Hsu, 1993; Mills & Rubin, 1993) and maternal thoughts with parent socialization behaviors (Kochanska, 1990; Kochanska, Kuczynski, & Radke-Yarrow, 1989; Landry et al., 1996; Miller-Loncar et al., 1997), few have examined models investigating the interrelations of these three variables. For example, Mills and Rubin (1993) found that parents of socially withdrawn children tended to view their children’s behavior as the result of constitutional characteristics rather than considering additional factors (e.g., child may need help in talking with peers). To date, no study has directly examined complexity of thought with both parenting behavior and child social development. The present study extends the current literature by examining whether complex parental thinking indirectly relates to children’s social responsiveness through its direct relation with responsive parenting behaviors (see Figure 1). In the present study, complex thoughts are hypothesized to influence maternal behavior which in turn will influence child social development. Mothers’ complexity of thought about child development in the first year of life was hypothesized to influence their children’s social responsiveness indirectly at 41⁄2 years of age through

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Figure 1. Conceptual model for the indirect relation of early maternal complexity of thought on later child social responsiveness.

the influence of complex thinking on mothers’ responsive parenting behavior at 2 years of age. Complex thoughts were hypothesized to have a positive influence on parenting behavior because they indicate that the parent is flexible in their thinking and recognizes the importance of using behaviors that are responsive and appropriate to child needs. Maternal behaviors were measured at 2 years of age, because this is a time when children are struggling with learning independence and autonomy despite immature emotional and communication skills. Maternal warm sensitivity and attentiveness to children’s interests (i.e., maintaining) were two aspects of responsive parenting believed to be particularly important at this age to support the child’s emotional, behavioral, and attentional needs. To test the hypothesis directly that complexity of thinking about children could influence later maternal behaviors, we measured this thought process at an age before examining maternal behaviors. Social responsiveness was examined at 41⁄2 years, an age when the child is better able to regulate their behavior and form appropriate social responses both with caregivers and peers. Complexity of maternal thoughts in the current study was expected to promote maintaining and warm sensitivity because this thought process emphasizes that parents appreciate the importance of acknowledging and responding to children’s interests. For example, when a parent views the child as a separate individual with her own perspective, the parent may interpret the child holding up a rattle as a signal that she wants to share this interest. This parent may readily respond to this signal by maintaining the child’s involvement and, because of her sensitivity to the

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child’s needs and flexibility in accommodating these needs, the parent may do this in a warm and supportive manner. Parents with the level of thought that children’s actions are the result of constitutional characteristics are less likely to take children’s interests into consideration and therefore are hypothesized to be more likely to use interactional behaviors that are less child focused. When parents think about children as complex individuals with their own needs and interests, they are more likely to take more time to pay attention to what the young child is trying to express so that they can respond to them more sensitively. Parental warm sensitivity and maintaining of children’s interests were expected to promote social cooperation and responsiveness because these behaviors demonstrate the mutual give and take necessary for effective social interactions (Rocissano, Slade, & Lynch, 1985). When children perceive their parents as accepting of their interests and needs for independence, they are more likely to be motivated to cooperate in social interactions (MacDonald, 1992). Studies demonstrate that parents’ high responsivity to children’s interests and signals relates to greater cooperation and acceptance of parental suggestions (e.g., Kuczynski, 1984; Lewis & Goldberg, 1969; Parpal & Maccoby, 1985). In addition, use of maintaining behaviors also places fewer demands on children’s attentional capacity, thus supporting children’s ability to form a social response (Rocissano et al., 1985). Furthermore, when parents are emotionally available, as demonstrated by warm and sensitive responses to children’s signals, it may help them develop a better sense of their importance to others and foster greater social involvement (Emde, 1985). Sameroff and Feil (1985) noted that an important aspect of complex thinking is the understanding that children develop what they need through a variety of different parenting approaches that attend to the individual characteristics of the child. Therefore, the present model also includes child developmental level. Although it is widely recognized that child characteristics (i.e., cognitive levels, temperament, behaviors) influence parental behavior (e.g., Maccoby & Jacklin, 1983; Marfo, 1990), few studies have incorporated children’s developmental levels in models examining the influence of parental thoughts (Kochanska, 1990). The present study included both normally developing children and very low birth weight preterm children, because these two groups are known to vary in their need for parental structure (Plunkett & Miesels, 1989) and in their development of attentional, cognitive, and motor skills (Garner, Landry, & Richardson, 1991; Landry, Smith, MillerLoncar, & Swank, 1997; Smith, Landry, Swank, Baldwin, Denson, & Wildin, 1996). We hypothesized that children with higher levels of early cognitive and motor skills would elicit more maintaining and greater warm sensitivity from their mothers because their mothers would be better able to identify when children were signaling interest in an activity. In summary, our primary objective was to determine whether the relation between thought processes that consider children as unique individuals with their own perspectives and children’s social responsiveness is direct versus indirect. We expected a direct influence of this thought process on maternal behaviors that are responsive and sensitive to children’s needs (i.e., maintaining and warm sensitivity) and that in turn these behaviors would directly influence children’s socialization.

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METHOD Participants A cohort of 365 families with a low socioeconomic status recruited during 1990 and 1991 were evaluated in a longitudinal study of parenting and developmental outcomes for full-term and preterm very low birth weight children. Families were recruited from Hermann Children’s Hospital and Lyndon Baines Johnson General Hospital in Houston and John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas. Attrition over the 1-year to 41⁄2-year period was 21% and was primarily the result of families moving outside the study area or loss of contact with families. Preterm children (n ⫽ 184) had birth weights less than 1600 grams, gestational ages less than 37 weeks, and a broad range of medical complications (i.e., chronic lung disease, acute respiratory problems, severe and mild intracranial insults). Full-term children (n ⫽ 103) had gestational ages from 37 to 42 weeks, Apgar scores more than 8 at 1 and 5 minutes, and a normal pregnancy history and physical exam at birth. Children were excluded from participation in the study if they were diagnosed with significant sensory impairments, meningitis, encephalitis, symptomatic congenital syphilis, congenital abnormalities of the brain, short bowel syndrome, or if they were positive for the HIV antibody. Families were also excluded if the primary caregiver was less than 16 years of age, had a positive drug screen at the child’s birth, or spoke no English. Eleven percent of parents approached for participation in the study declined. No differences were found on a broad range of demographic and medical characteristics between children whose parents chose to participate and those who declined. Table 1 shows demographic and medical information for the preterm and fullterm participant groups. No significant differences were found between the groups on socioeconomic status, mothers’ education, ethnicity, or child gender. The mean socioeconomic status across the two groups is consistent with occupational levels for clerical, sales, and semiskilled workers and a high school education (Hollingshead, 1975), indicating that families fall in the upper lower-class to lower middleclass range. Developmental levels for children in both groups were within normal limits on average. Procedure Families were seen for 2-hour home visits when children were 1, 2, and 41⁄2 years of age, with very low birth weight children seen at ages corrected for prematurity. All measures were collected in the homes. Measures of children’s mental and motor development and parents’ complexity of thoughts were obtained at 1 year of age. Measures of maternal behaviors were assessed at 2 years, and children’s social responsiveness was examined at 41⁄2 years. Maternal behaviors and child social outcomes were assessed using a 60-minute naturalistic period of daily activities and a 10-minute toy play session. For the naturalistic observation period, mothers were asked to go about their daily activities for 1 hour and to feed, bathe, dress, or a combination thereof, their children during that hour. Although mothers often left their children for brief periods to retrieve something in another room or answer

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Table 1. Medical and Demographic Characteristics of Sample by Risk Group Preterm (n ⫽ 184) Group Means (standard deviations) Birth Weight (gms) Gestation (wks) Socioeconomic Status Maternal Age (yrs) Maternal Education (yrs) Maternal Ethnicity (%) African American White Hispanic Other Infant Gender Male Female Bayley Mental Age Bayley Motor Age

1117 29.7 28.9 29.4 12.2

(270) (2.5) (11.3) (7.5) (2.0)

Full Term (n ⫽ 103)

3224 39.1 26.6 26.6 11.7

(732) (1.9) (5.9) (6.0) (1.7)

60 23 14 3

63 23 14 0

45 55 12.3 (2.1) 11.7 (2.9)

51 49 12.9 (1.1) 13.1 (1.9)

Note: Socioeconomic Status is based on Hollingshead Scale (1975).

the phone, in general they were requested to stay in view of their child. This was done to ensure consistency across families with regard to time spent together for mothers and children. No further structure was placed on the family, and observers followed the dyad into all parts of the home as the family went about their daily activities. During the 10-minute toy play session, mothers were asked to play with their children in their usual manner, using age-appropriate toys provided by the research assistants. Maternal and Child Predictor Constructs Maternal Complexity of Thought. The Sameroff and Feil (1985) Concepts of Development Questionnaire (CODQ) was used at 1 year of age to measure mothers’ complexity of thought. The scale consists of 20 items and assesses mothers on two areas: categorical and compensating perspectivistic thinking. Categorical items look at whether the parent thinks that child characteristics are concrete expressions of the child’s nature (e.g., “boy babies are less affectionate than girl babies”) and do not consider situations from the child’s perspective. A parent with a categorical perspective may tend to see behavior as having a single cause and assign categorical labels (e.g., good versus bad) to the child. In contrast, compensating perspectivistic items examine the child in relation to a specific context (e.g., “children’s problems seldom have a single cause”) and take the child’s point of view into consideration. This is indicative of a more complex pattern of thought, because under this view the parent thinks of the child’s behavior as being explained by a combination of factors (e.g., child’s age, environmental events) and considers the transactional

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nature between these factors. Statements were rated on a 4-point scale (4 ⫽ strongly agree; 1 ⫽ strongly disagree). A total score was derived by combining the amount of agreement to compensating perspectivistic items and the amount of disagreement to categorical items, with higher scores indicating a more complex level of thought. The internal consistency for this measure has been shown to be .82 (Sameroff & Feil, 1985). The predictive validity of this instrument has been demonstrated in previous studies that show the CODQ to be positively related to children’s cognitive and social development (Landry et al., 1996; Sameroff & Feil, 1985) as well as parenting behavior (Miller-Loncar et al., 1997). Cronbach’s alpha for the current sample has been demonstrated as .67 (Landry et al, 1996). The alpha in the present study may have been lower, as compared with that found by Sameroff, because of differences in the sample sizes and socioeconomic status of the participants. Child Developmental Level. Children’s developmental levels were measured at 1 year of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley, 1969). Preterm children’ scores were corrected for amount of prematurity. The Bayley mental and motor ages were used as markers of individual differences in children’s developmental levels. Group means and standard deviations are provided in Table 1 for children’s mental and motor ages. Measures of Maternal Behaviors Maternal behaviors were assessed at 2 years of age from observations in two contexts (daily activities and toy play) using paper and pencil coding methods. Both quantitative and qualitative aspects of mothers’ behaviors were coded to obtain a more comprehensive picture of parenting. The context of daily activities is a naturalistic observation of mothers interacting with their children as they go about their daily routine, whereas the toy play context provides an assessment of maternal behaviors in a more specific teaching task. To quantify mothers interactions in the home, mothers’ verbal (e.g., questions, comments, directives) and nonverbal (orienting gestures, demonstrations, giving of objects) behaviors directed towards the child were coded as maternal attention-directing events. Separate attentiondirecting events were coded when 3 or more seconds elapsed between maternal behaviors. When mothers gave rapid requests that did not allow time for a child response, the series was coded as a single event. For example, a mother might have said, “Hand me your ball,” thus directing the child’s attention to the toy. Maintaining Children’s Interests. Maternal attention-directing behaviors were coded as maintaining when the maternal request was related to the activity or object with which the child was currently visually and or physically engaged just before her request or in direct response to the child’s attempts to attract her attention to an object or activity. For example, mothers’ behaviors were coded as maintaining if they gave a directive, question, or comment that related to the child’s interest in a toy (e.g., child is playing with a truck and mother says, “Make the truck go”). This was in contrast to requests made when the child was already involved with a different toy (e.g., child is playing with a truck and mother says, “Look at the book I have”) or was not involved with a toy or object.

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The maintaining variable consisted of the proportion of interactions in which mothers maintained their infants’ attention rather than frequency to control for differences across mothers in the total amount of maternal attention-directing events mothers did with their infants. Maternal maintaining of infants’ attention was assessed as a positive aspect of mothers’ behavior because previous research has shown that maternal maintaining behaviors predict better child social outcomes (Aktar, Dunham, & Dunham, 1991; Landry, 1995; Rocissano & Yatchmink, 1983). Maternal Warm Sensitivity. Five-point scales were used to rate two aspects of mothers’ warm sensitivity: warm acceptance and positive affect. Bakeman and Brown (1980) have proposed that ratings are appropriate because maternal warm sensitivity is a dispositional variable. Ratings of warm acceptance were based on mothers’ acceptance of children’s interests and needs and sensitivity to infant’s cues, including promptness and appropriateness of mother’s reactions, appropriate pace that fits infant’s abilities, amount of physical affection, positive tone of voice, and avoidance of negative comments about the child. Ratings of positive affect were based on the frequency of mothers’ smiling and laughter during interactions both directed toward the child and in general. Four ratings for each scale were obtained every 20 minutes during the 1-hour daily activity observation and once at the end of the toy play session. These four ratings were averaged to obtain a single score for both positive affect and warm acceptance. Each rating contributed unique information about mothers’ behaviors and were moderately correlated (.67), thus making it appropriate to include both as indicators in a construct labeled Maternal Warm Sensitivity. Reliability of these two scores across the four ratings was .75 for positive affect and .86 for warm acceptance. Children’s Social Responsiveness Children’s social responsiveness was coded at 41⁄2 years of age. Responsiveness measures children’s abilities to control their behavior in cooperation with their mothers and captures growing sophistication in social–cognitive contingencies as they learn to negotiate in social interactions. Factor analytic results have demonstrated that social responsiveness is a distinct construct that remains distinct across time and risk groups (Landry et al., 1997). Within the construct, separate aspects of responsiveness were revealed (i.e., compliance, gestures and words, smiles and affect), which were used to aid in the development of our scoring system. Children’s social behaviors were coded as responsiveness if they followed within 3 seconds of a maternal attention-directing event. A maternal attention-directing event, previously defined in the section describing maternal behaviors, represented an opportunity a child had to display social responsiveness. The construct of responsiveness and the points assigned to each category within this construct were based on the developmental sequence of social behaviors documented in the literature (e.g., Butterworth, 1995; Kopp, 1982). To validate this scoring system further, expert raters viewed videotaped mother–child interactions for a subset of children at each of the four time points and ranked these children as high, medium, or low on appropriate social responses in their social behaviors

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used to respond. Experts’ ratings and those based on the scoring system showed agreement at .81. Additional validation was demonstrated by a correlation of .94 between the scores derived from the theoretically based developmental weighting system with scores empirically derived through factor analyses. This high correlation indicates that the theoretical weighting system matches directly to a system based on statistically derived weightings. This was further support for our decision to assign heavier weightings to reflect the complexity in more developmentally sophisticated behaviors. Weightings were assigned conceptually because as children develop they acquire more complex social behaviors. For example, negotiating is a more complex form of social responding and requires a heavier weighting as compared with more simplistic responses such as affects, smiles, or gestures. The weighting system was devised to parallel growth one would anticipate seeing in other areas of child development at 41⁄2 years of age. Children’s social responsiveness at 41⁄2 years was scored on five categories of behavior: positive affect, eye gaze, gestures, vocalizations and words, and compliance or noncompliance with maternal requests. In this coding scheme, compliance was broadly defined as involving children’s social behaviors related to maternal requests for verbal information (e.g., What is the color of that block?) as well as requests for behavioral compliance (e.g., Pick up that block). This approach was used to capture children’s level of responsiveness to a broad range of maternal requests. Some skills emerge earlier than others, thus reflecting the development of social maturity and competence. Points were assigned based on this developmental sequence. Although all behaviors were considered important, the weighting system allowed for giving a child more credit when they responded by using a combination of behaviors versus a single behavior. A display of positive affect (smile, laugh) received 1 point. If children displayed eye gaze toward their mothers, this behavior received 1 point. Point assignment of these categories was based on the fact that these skills are more simplistic methods of child responsiveness that emerge early in infancy. Gestures (e.g., pointing, showing, giving) were assigned 2 points, because this is a behavior that begins to emerge at the end of the first year of life after eye gaze and positive affect (Leung & Rheingold, 1981). To capture the use of language skills as an aspect of social responding, children’s vocalizations or words were captured through a hierarchy of points assigned based on the complexity of the verbal utterance. Points were assigned based on whether children used single words (2 points), brief but incomplete utterances (5 points), and complete sentences (7 points). Based in part on Kuczynski and Kochanska’s (1990) developmental study of compliance, three levels of compliance were examined in our study. Noncompliance received negative 2 points, compliance received 3 points, and negotiating received 4 points. Negotiating represents a higher level of social responding, whereas compliance may involve a less complex behavior. For example, a child who responds to a maternal request to pick up their shoes by stating, “In a minute Mom, I have to finish this puzzle,” would receive a code of negotiating as compared with a child who responds by picking up their shoes. In part, research demonstrates that children who take initiative in directing their social interactions perform better on tasks requiring higher order cognitions and executive functioning skills (Landry, Smith, Swank, & Miller-Loncar, 2000; Welsh & Pen-

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nington, 1988). Kuczynski and Kochanska (1990) found that across the toddler period there is variability in children’s ability to comply, with most children being adept at this skill by 3 years. However, the ability to assert social individuality through the use of negotiations was found to be a marker for more social sophistication because it did not emerge until after 2 years of age and was related to competence in directing others’ attention. Although more complex verbalizations did receive heavier weightings, children could comply with less mature language. Negative points were given for noncompliance at 41⁄2 years because Kuczynski and Kochanska (1990) found that by 2 to 3 years, children showed high levels of compliance, with noncompliance being a marker for social immaturity. An average social responsiveness score was calculated by dividing the total number of social responsiveness points obtained by the total number of maternal attention-directing events to control for frequency of maternal requests across dyads. Previous research has validated the social responsiveness measure as a separate construct from children’s initiations of social interactions (Landry et al., 1997). Higher social responsiveness in the first year has also been noted as being predictive of better cognitive and language skills at 2 years of age (Landry et al., 1997). Training and Interrater Reliability for Mother and Child Observational Measures Coding of maternal and child observational measures as well as maternal ratings was done by research assistants who received extensive training. Training was directed by the principal investigators of this study and was carried out using volunteer families with children of comparable ages to the data collection time points. Coders were trained to a minimum of 80% agreement on the measures of maintaining, warm sensitivity, and social responsiveness before actual data collection. To estimate reliability for coding of maternal and child behaviors, the principal investigators coded more than 15% of the home observations as a second rater. Generalizability coefficients, using repeated-measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs), were calculated to determine interrater reliability for each maternal and child variable within each time point and are reported below. This method is recommended for studies using continuous, behavioral observational data, and has the advantage of evaluating both the consistency across a variable for each rater and the variance across subjects (Frick & Semmel, 1978). Coefficients above .50 indicate adequate reliability (Mitchell, 1979). Generalizability coefficients for observational measures were as follows: 41⁄2 child social responsiveness, .96 (daily activities), .89 (toy play); maternal maintaining, .95 (daily activities), .73 (toy play); maternal warm sensitivity, .84. RESULTS Model comparisons, using structural equation modeling, were performed to examine the hypothesis that maternal complexity of thought indirectly related to child social responsiveness through a direct relation with parenting behavior (see Figure 1). First, the measurement model for the total sample is described, which is used to

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test the adequacy of the individual indicator variables for the constructs. Second, the comparison of multiple structural models is described to test whether complexity of thought is indirectly related to child social responsiveness through the maternal behaviors of maintaining and warm sensitivity. Finally, analyses examining the potential difference between preterm and full-term groups are presented. Table 2 provides correlations and the variance and covariance matrix for the indicator variables used in the measurement models. Variance estimates are provided on the diagonal line. Covariance estimates are presented below the diagonal, whereas firstorder correlations are presented above the diagonal. The variance and covariance matrix is used to test how well the model fits the data. The first-order correlations among the separate indicator variables provides additional information on the relations among the indicator variables that is not available through the assessment of relations among the constructs in the models. LISREL 8.14 (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993) was used to test the adequacy of the models based on several indices of how well the model fit the data. The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), which is based on the number of fixed and free parameters, is reported, with indexes less than .05 indicating a close fit (Browne & Cudeck, 1993). A Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) more than .90 and a nonsignificant chi-square value also indicate a good fit of the model. However, unlike the chi-square value and GFI, the RMSEA is not as affected by skewed distributions in the data and sample size (Browne & Cudeck, 1993). Because the chi-square statistic tends to be sensitive to large sample sizes, numerous parameter estimates, and nonnormal distributions, a 2:1 ratio of chi-square value to degrees of freedom is considered an acceptable fit when the chi-square value is significant. Measurement Model. A full measurement model for the total sample was examined to determine the reliability of the constructs. The measurement model considers whether the constructs account for the variance and covariance in the predictor and outcome variables. The measurement model does not restrict the intercorrelations among the constructs but only restricts the relation between the construct and their indicator variables. For each maternal and child construct, we examined the amount of variance (r 2) in each indicator variable explained by the construct. The construct of Child Developmental Level was measured at 1 year of age using the Bayley Mental Age (r 2 ⫽ .90) and Motor Age (r 2 ⫽ .56) scores as the indicator variables. Bayley Mental and Motor ages were chosen because these provided comprehensive indicators of the child’s developmental level. The variance estimates indicated that these measures both contributed to the construct of Developmental Level, with the Mental Age measure contributing more to the construct than Motor Age. The Complexity of Thought construct was measured using a single predictor of the CODQ total score at 1 year of age (r 2 ⫽ .81), therefore 1 minus the reliability estimate for the CODQ was also used to estimate the disturbance term for this construct (Bollen, 1989). The CODQ was chosen as a measure of Complexity of Thought based on its theoretical development (Sameroff & Feil, 1985) as well as research that illustrates its relation to sensitive parenting behavior (Pratt et al., 1993). Maternal Warm Sensitivity construct was measured at 2 years of age by two indicators: maternal affect (r 2 ⫽.28) and warm acceptance (r 2 ⫽.88). Maternal affect

⫺1.04 ⫺.70

3.95 2.90 ⫺.71 ⫺.23 .18 .27

11.28 20.86 1.56 3.83 1.27 1.06

* Degrees of freedom for correlations ⫽ 285. CODQ ⫽ Concepts of Development Questionnaire.

1.99 4.31

2.56 2.74

⫺.01 .94

.20 .08

.71 5.85

⫺.00 .08

3

26.28

2

5.65 5.53

8.21 17.93

285.69 113.03

.15 .05

2.49 2.54

3.64 18.07

.38 310.07

.10 .10

.23

5

Indicator Number

.13

4

1.11 1.29

8.79 4.91

.16 .07

⫺.15 ⫺.14

.10

6 .23

1.14 1.87

.50 10.89

.32 .31

⫺.13 ⫺.09

7

4.06 2.78

.18 .17

.16 .07

.06 .04

.12

8

.59 5.46

.19 .24

.14 .06

.07 .01

.09

9

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Note:

Complexity of Thought 1. CODQ at 1 year Child Developmental Level 2. Mental Age at 1 year 3. Motor Age at 1 year Maternal Maintaining 4. Daily Activities at 2 years 5. Toy Play at 2 years Maternal Warm Sensitivity 6. Affect at 2 years 7. Acceptance at 2 years Child Social Responsiveness 8. Daily Activities at 41⁄2 years 9. Toy Play at 41⁄2 years

1

Table 2. Variance and Covariance Matrix and Correlation Coefficients for Indicator Variables Used in Structural Modeling*

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provided information about the emotional tone during interactions (positive vs. negative), whereas warm acceptance provided information on mothers’ sensitivity to children’s cues and responsiveness to their needs. The variance estimates indicated that both measures contributed to the construct of Warm Sensitivity, with warm acceptance being the stronger contributor. The indicator variables for the construct of Maternal Maintaining were measured at 2 years of age in two different contexts (daily activities, r 2 ⫽ .38; toy play r 2 ⫽ .38). Indicators for the Maintaining construct were measured in two contexts to provide information on mothers’ attention to children’s needs both in structured learning situations as well as day-today activities. Both measures of maintaining contributed equally to this construct. Finally, the construct of Child Social Responsiveness was assessed at 41⁄2 years of age in two different contexts (daily activities, r 2 ⫽ .54; toy play r 2 ⫽ .64). The construct of Social Responsiveness used indicator variables from a structured learning situation and day-to-day interactions to provide a broader picture of children’s responding. Both measures of Child Social Responsiveness contributed equally to this construct. The measurement model revealed that the maternal and child variables accounted for a moderate to high degree of variance within each of the constructs. The analysis also revealed an adequate fit for the measurement model RMSEA ⫽ .05; ␹2(18) ⫽ 29.54, p ⫽ .04; ␹2 ratio ⫽ 1.64; GFI ⫽ .98. This measurement model served as the comparison model for the next stage of the analyses. Structural Models. The structural analyses were guided by a framework that allowed for testing whether paths from mothers’ complexity of thought to children’s social responsiveness were direct, indirect, or both. To test direct relations, the initial structural model for the total sample contained direct paths from mothers’ complexity of thought to children’s social responsiveness and from children’s developmental level to their social responsiveness (two direct paths; see Figure 2). To test the indirect hypothesis that complexity of thought influenced child social responsiveness through parenting behavior, it was necessary to have paths from complexity of thought to the parenting behaviors and paths from the parenting behaviors to social responsiveness. Indirect relations between child developmental level and social responsiveness were also examined. Therefore, there were direct paths from complexity of thought and child developmental level to mothers’ maintaining and warm sensitivity (four direct paths) as well as paths from maintaining and warm sensitivity to children’s social responsiveness (two direct paths). The initial structural model was equivalent to the measurement model and provided the same degree of fit for the data (see Figure 2). Results of this initial structural model indicated that the direct paths from complexity of thought to child social responsiveness and from child developmental level to child social responsiveness were not significant. Therefore, to examine the specific hypothesis of whether mothers’ complexity of thought had an indirect influence on child social responsiveness, this initial model was compared with a model containing only indirect effects for these variables (see Figure 3). Two paths were omitted for the reduced model. The direct path from complexity of thought to social responsiveness was dropped, as was the direct path from developmental level to social responsiveness. The comparison of the initial structural model with

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Figure 2. Longitudinal, structural model of direct and indirect effects of early maternal complexity of thought on later parenting behavior and child social responsiveness. Unstandardized path coefficients (standardized path coefficients) are presented. Significant paths are indicated by the asterisk.

the reduced model allowed for the examination of whether there was a better fit to the data when these direct paths were omitted. Figure 3 illustrates the results for the reduced model containing only the indirect path between mothers’ complexity of thought and child social responsiveness through parenting behavior. The model provided an adequate fit; RMSEA ⫽ .04; ␹2(20) ⫽ 31.47, p ⫽ .05; ␹2 ratio ⫽ 1.64; GFI ⫽ .98. Because the reduced model of indirect effects did not show a significantly worse fit when compared with the full model (␹2diff(2) ⫽ 1.93, p ⬎ .05), the indirect effects model is preferable because it is more parsimonious (i.e., specifies fewer paths). As hypothesized, mothers’ complexity of thought had a significant indirect influence on children’s later social responsiveness (z ⫽ 2.77, p ⬍ .05) through its positive relation with maternal warm sensitivity, which showed a direct, positive influence on children’s social responsiveness. When looking at the strength of relations among the constructs, it is necessary to examine the standardized path coefficients that are presented on

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Figure 3. Longitudinal, structural model of indirect effects of early maternal complexity of thought on later parenting behavior and child social responsiveness. Unstandardized path coefficients (standardized path coefficients) are presented. Significant paths are indicated by the asterisk.

the paths in parentheses. For example, the standard path coefficients between complexity of thought with maternal warm sensitivity indicates that a 1 standard deviation change in maternal complexity of thought is associated with a .26 change in warm sensitivity, thus indicating a moderate effect. Parents with more complex levels of thought displayed higher levels of warm sensitivity in interactions with their children. This behavior, in turn, predicted greater levels of social responsiveness from the child. Complexity of thought predicted mothers’ use of maintaining, but there was no significant relation between maintaining and child social responsiveness. Maternal maintaining and warm sensitivity significantly related to one another. Results from the initial model indicated that variability in children’s early developmental skills did not directly influence their later social responsiveness. However, there was not a significant indirect relation between early developmental skills and social responsiveness through parenting behavior. Early child develop-

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mental skills did significantly relate to mothers’ use of maintaining such that children with higher developmental levels at 1 year of age had mothers who used greater amounts of maintaining behaviors at 2 years of age. Effects of Medical Risk. To ensure that these results would not differ by risk group, the measurement and structural models were tested for both preterm and full-term groups. We first examined the variance and covariance matrices for preterm and full-term children to determine if it was appropriate to combine these two groups into one model. The pooled estimate of the variance and covariance matrix was compared with the individual matrices, and a significant difference was found, ␹2(45) ⫽ 72.42, p ⫽ .006; RMSEA ⫽ .065. Examination of the standardized residuals indicated that the variances and covariances of the mental and motor scores, which comprised the child developmental level construct, were being underestimated for the preterm group and overestimated for the full-term group. To test further whether differences across groups in the developmental construct would contribute to difficulties in model testing, we next examined for the fit of the measurement model when the parameter estimates were allowed to differ by group versus when they were constrained to be the same for the two groups. An acceptable fit was found under both conditions: parameter estimates varied by group, ␹2(36) ⫽ 37.64, p ⫽ .39; RMSEA ⫽ .018, p ⫽ .92; coefficients relating to the constructs were constrained to be the same for the two groups, ␹2(40) ⫽ 42.79, p ⫽ .35, RMSEA ⫽ .022, p ⫽ .92. The fit for the structural model depicted in Figure 1 was then examined both for when the parameter estimates were allowed to vary by group and when the coefficients relating to the endogenous and latent constructs were constrained to be the same for the two groups. Acceptable fit was found under both conditions: parameter estimates varied by group, ␹2(36) ⫽ 37.81, p ⫽ .39, RMSEA ⫽ .018, p ⫽ .92; coefficients relating the constructs were constrained to be the same for the two groups, ␹2 ⫽ 44.38, p ⫽ .37, RMSEA ⫽ .020, p ⫽ .93. Except for preterm children showing greater variance than full-term children on the child developmental level construct, ␹2(1) ⫽ 32.84, p ⬍ .01, none of the other modification indices suggested major differences. Most importantly, there were no significant differences among preterm and full-term groups in terms of the relation among the constructs. These results strengthened the decision to combine the two groups for testing the models, because the use of separate models for each risk group would reduce the sample size and power. DISCUSSION The present study supports the theory that parental thoughts about children’s development provide a broader framework in which to understand parental behavior and its impact on child development. The results demonstrate that mothers are better able to display sensitive and appropriate parenting if they think about children as separate individuals whose development is impacted by multiple influences. As hypothesized, the influence of mothers’ complexity of thought at 1 year on social responsiveness at 41⁄2 years was indirect through its influence at 2 years on warm, sensitive parenting behaviors. This process may occur because a parent who thinks

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about a child as a separate individual is more likely to attend to the child’s cues and respond in a sensitive manner. Parents who consider that children’s development may be impacted by multiple influences (e.g., environmental) are also more likely to take children’s interests and needs into account when making requests. Parents with complex thinking may generate multiple hypotheses about the cause of the child’s behavior and consequently be more able to identify a response that is supportive to the child’s needs. The direct path between warm sensitive parenting to children’s later social responsiveness may be explained by the greater support provided by this style of parenting. Warm sensitivity may convey the message that children’s interests are important, thus promoting a greater willingness to engage in positive social interactions. Because these mothers understand the importance of being attuned to their children’s needs and point of view, they use an interactive style that may have a motivational effect on children to cooperate (MacDonald, 1992). Effectance model theories hypothesize that flexible, sensitive parenting assists children in learning that they can have an effect on their environment (Bornstein & Tamis-LaMonda, 1989). Learning that they can affect their environment may have specific implications for motivation for children at 2 years of age, because this is a time when children seek more autonomy. Also, parents who are emotionally available, as is evident in warm, sensitive parenting styles, may provide children with a model for appropriate interactions as well as assist in establishing a secure emotional base that supports greater social involvement (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters & Wall, 1978; Emde, 1985). At 2 years, modeling appropriate social responses may be particularly important given the increase in noncompliance in children at this age. Moreover, the identification of factors that impact children’s social responsiveness at 41⁄2 years of age may consequently relate to peer interactions, which increase around this age as children enter preschool and kindergarten. Children who are able to respond more appropriately with their peers are noted as having better outcomes in school adjustment, academic performance, and behavioral development (Mills & Rubin, 1993; Parker & Asher, 1987). In addition to the implications of the present model for understanding parenting and child development, the current findings also provide important information on thought and behavior relations. Few studies have found associations between parents’ thinking and their behaviors. The current study supports the theoretical orientation that parental thoughts have an indirect influence on children’s development through their significant relation with parenting behavior. The nature of the parental thought measure that was used may be one reason why indirect influences were detected. The CODQ considers parents’ overall cognitive skills with regard to sophistication in reasoning. This may provide a measure of parental thought that is less subject to variability because the underlying assumption is that as soon as a parent achieves a certain reasoning level, he or she continues to use that level and does not regress (Sameroff & Feil, 1985). The present findings illustrate that parents’ complexity of thinking at an early age influences parenting and child development at later ages, thus suggesting that complexity of thinking may be a more stable construct as compared with other parental thought constructs. An alternative explanation may be that this form of thinking at a critical point in children’s development

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plays an important role in influencing ongoing development. Future studies are needed to examine the extent to which the influence of this parental thought process is the result of its stability over time. Another reason that significant thought and behavior relations were found may be because of the similar conceptual underpinnings of the parental thought, maternal behavior, and child outcome constructs. An important dimension of parental thought, as measured in the present study, is that parents with more complex thinking attribute their children’s behaviors to multiple sources (both intrinsic and extrinsic to the child), indicating a flexibility in understanding children’s actions. We included mothers’ use of warm sensitivity and maintaining because these behaviors examine mothers’ acceptance of children’s interests, appreciation of children’s changing needs, and their ability to shift their own behavior in response to those needs. Our results suggest that a more flexible way of thinking about children is required to understand the importance of using sensitive and responsive parenting behaviors such as maintaining and warm acceptance. We also expected that characteristics of the child’s early birth history and developmental levels at 1 year of age would influence the extent to which parents used maintaining and displayed warm sensitivity. Children’s early developmental levels were examined, because they were expected to predict significantly parenting behaviors and children’s social responsiveness. As hypothesized, children with higher developmental levels elicited more maintaining behaviors from their mothers at 2 years, perhaps because these children were better able to signal when they were interested in an object or activity. In the case of maintaining, mothers’ interactive behaviors were influenced by both the complexity of their thinking about children as well as their own child’s specific characteristics. Contrary to our expectations, children’s early development did not predict mothers’ use of warm sensitivity at 2 years. Because warm sensitivity represents a more qualitative style of interaction, it may not be as influenced by the child’s abilities (i.e., signaling interest) as maintaining. Medical risk was also examined to determine if any differences existed in the relations among the constructs for preterm versus full-term children. The relations among the constructs were found to be comparable for the two groups suggesting that the relation of parental thoughts with child social development is similar across these groups. One unexpected finding of the present study is the lack of a significant relation between maternal maintaining and children’s social responsiveness. Although complexity of thought directly related to mothers’ maintaining, there was not a significant direct influence of maintaining on children’s later social responsiveness. One explanation for this inconsistent result may be that maintaining relates to concurrent rather than later measures (i.e., 41⁄2 years) of children’s social responsiveness. Findings from a recent study note that mothers’ maintaining related to children’s social skills at the same point in time (i.e., 31⁄2 years) and that these social skills predicted children’s social competence at a later age (i.e., 41⁄2 years; Landry et al., 2000). Instead of a direct influence of early maintaining on children’s later social responsiveness, the influence of maintaining may occur through the support it provides children at younger ages for being able to respond in an appropriate manner. Although our model was guided by specific hypotheses, a potential limitation

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of the present study comes from the use of structural modeling. In structural modeling, there may be multiple models that fit the data equally well. There also may be additional psychosocial factors (e.g., stress, social support) that are impacting the relation of complexity of thought to parenting behaviors (Miller-Loncar et al., 1997). Testing models that include these variables may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the socialization process for young children. In addition to the information afforded by the present results for understanding social competence, complexity of thinking may provide a framework for designing parenting intervention programs. Research on early intervention indicates that changes in parental thoughts and beliefs may occur over the course of treatment (Barnett, 1997; Taylor & Beauchamp, 1988) and may have importance for parental compliance with treatment goals. Intervention curriculum that teaches parents how to consider multiple causes for their child’s behavior as well as ways to be more flexible in their thinking about child development may be advantageous for helping parents consistently use sensitive and responsive strategies. Additional research is needed to determine the merit of including this aspect of parental thinking into parenting programs as well additional factors that influence parents’ use of more complex thought processes. Acknowledgments: This study was supported by National Institutes of Health grant no. HD24128. The authors are grateful to the research staff of the University of Texas for their assistance in data collection.

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