Examines reciprocity in caregiver-child interactions by assessing 24 infants and their mothers with regard to temperament and maternal behavior, respectively. Results suggested that the more difficult the child temperamentally, the less the maternal responsiveness. (JMB)

Examines whether mothers modify their actions in response to infant facial expression or gaze direction. Subjects were seven pairs of mothers and infants (four to eight months old). Mothers were instructed to induce their infants to smile. (CM)

The social interactions of 60 mother-infant pairs were observed for 25 minutes in a seminaturalistic setting when the infants were 6 months old and again at 20 months. Forty-six of the infants were termed at high risk for later school failure due to the socioeconomic situations of their families. (Author)

The effects of an observer's presence on maternal interactive behavior were examined through observation of mother-child pairs under informed and uninformed conditions. Results indicate mothers played with their children more, were more positive in their verbal behavior, and structured their children's activities more during the informed than…

Children's activities with their mothers and the techniques used by mothers while interacting with their child were examined in older (30-46 month) and younger (12-27 month) low socioeconomic status preschool children from high risk (in terms of cultural-familial retardation) and contrast homes. (JMB)

Observational data collected in the homes of 17 abuse, 17 neglect, and 19 control families indicated that abusive and neglectful parents demonstrated lower rates of interaction overall and were more likely to emphasize the negative in their relationships with their children. (JMB)

Twenty-two mothers whose physiologic responses to infant signals had been recorded at an earlier date were videotaped with their infants during a feeding session when the infant was 9 months of age. Infants' development of the object concept was assessed at 15 months. (JMB)

Families were compared at one, three, and nine months to examine the effects of active or passive exposure to the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment. Either the mother or both parents were the target of the intervention. Assessments of interaction behavior between parents and infants revealed no effects of the experimental intervention.…

A total of 134 mothers and their newborn infants were studied in order to evaluate the relationship between neonatal characteristics and mother-infant interaction. (SB)

Results suggested that preschool age siblings may facilitate mastery of the object environment by infants. (Author/JMB)

Examines how conversations between parents and their 2-year-old children change as a function of the number of family members interacting. Results indicate that parental speech to their young children is influenced by the gender of their offspring and the number of family members interacting in the situation. (Author/RH)

Showed that Chicano mothers who had completed at least an eleventh-grade education used more inquiry and praise when teaching their five-year-olds, while mothers with less than an eleventh-grade education tended to use more modeling in their teaching strategies. (JMB)