This article examined the effects of maternal depression during the postpartum period (Time 1) on the later behavior problems of toddlers (Time 3) and tested if this relationship was moderated by paternal psychopathology during toddlers’ lives and/or or mediated by maternal parenting behavior observed during mother–child interaction (Time 2). Of the 101 mothers who participated in this longitudinal study with their toddlers, 51 had never experienced an episode of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 50 had experienced an episode of MDD during the first 18 months of their toddlers’ lives. Maternal depression at Time 1 was significantly associated with toddlers’ externalizing and internalizing behavior problems only when paternal psychopathology was present. As predicted, maternal negativity at Time 2 was found to mediate the relationship between maternal depression at Time 1 and toddlers’ externalizing behavior problems at Time 3.

The relation of mothers' personal and maternal networks to the quality of their play interactions was examined. Personal networks consisted of all persons the mother deemed important in her life at the present time; her maternal network consisted of those who were important in her role as a mother. 44 mothers were $$ extensively about their social networks and kept a logdiary for 1 week of their contacts with networks members. They were also observed during a play session with their 4‐year‐old child. Intercorrelations among network variables supported the conceptualization of social networks as multifaceted with major distinctions between personal and maternal networks and between structure and satisfaction. Mothers who were more satisfied with their personal networks and mothers with larger maternal networks demonstrated more optimal maternal behavior: they praised their children more and they were less intrusively controlling. Mothers with less cohesive networks also demonstrated this pattern.

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Thirty-five children who had participated in an intensive study of mastery motivation at 1 year of age were reevaluated at 32 years. At each age, the children's level of mastery motivation and cognitive functioning were assessed with both global and differentiated measures. Several structured tasks were developed to assess mastery motivation. In addition to the assessments at 1 year and 32 years, Bayley scores from 6 months of age were available for nearly half the children. The findings differed for boys and girls. For boys, some continuity was found in mastery motivation between 1 and 32 years; for girls, no continuity in mastery motivation was found but early mastery motivation predicted later cognitive functioning. Early vocalization (at both 6 and 12 months) was significantly related to later verbal abilities for boys. These findings indicate that developmental continuities can be found in the early years of life but only when a wide range of behaviors in the cognitive-motivational domain is examined.

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Research on the development of self-regulation has focused primarily on the roles of maternal behavior and attention, but cognitive understanding of the self is also likely to contribute, as is exposure to maternal depression. In this study toddlers' understanding of self-as-object and understanding of agency were assessed behaviorally at both 20 and 27 months ( N = 100). Maternal warmth during interactions was also observed at both ages. Half of the toddlers had been exposed to maternal depression. At 34 months toddlers' self-regulation was assessed behaviorally. As expected, toddlers' early understanding of the self (both self-as-object and agency) as well as maternal warmth predicted self-regulation later in toddlerhood. Maternal depression, however, was not associated with self-regulation. These findings provide empirical support for the theoretical construct of the self-system and suggest that early cognitive understanding of the self enables toddlers to better regulate their behavior.

This study asked how mothers' style of interaction related to their children's competence-both competence on traditional cognitive tests and competence during play. Forty-four mothers and their 3-year-old children were observed in their homes while engaged in structured and unstructured tasks and unstructured play. Maternal directiveness and affective tone were assessed, as well as maternal perceptions of their children's intrinsic motivation. At school the children were given the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, and their play was observed. Results indicated that both maternal directiveness and affective tone related to children's cognition, particularly nonverbal cognition; in addition, maternal affective tone related to children's play. Theoretical models of the development of children's competence were evaluated by means of path analysis. For perceptual performance ability, direct paths of influence were found for maternal directiveness and socioeconomic status (SES); whereas for children's verbal ability, direct paths were found for maternal affective tone, maternal perceptions, and SES. Direct paths of influence were also found from maternal affective tone and directiveness to children's play.