This study examined differences between premature and fullterm infants and their mothers in three areas: infant characteristics, early mother-infant interaction and mothers' emotional involvement when the child was 9 months old. Forty-nine low-income black mothers and their infants (26 prematures, 23 fullterms) participated in the study. In general it was found that maternal education was the best single predictor of maternal involvement at 9 months. However, when education and maternal persistence were controlled for, the condition of the baby at birth was the best predictor of maternal involvement at 9 months. Mothers of prematures were more persistent, emitting more behaviors in the absence of any response from their babies tham mothers of fullterms, but they were less emotionally involved with their babies at 9 months than mothers of fullterm babies. (MS)