Interactions of African American Infants and Their Mothers

Abstract

The relationships between aspects of mother-infant interaction and both communication and cognitive skills at 1 year of age were examined in 92 African American dyads, of whom 64 (70%) fell below the poverty line. Ratings of warmth, sensitivity, responsiveness, encouragement of initiative, stimulation, and elaborativeness during a semistructured play interaction were correlated with measures of global cognition, expressive and receptive communication, and communication use. The overall quality of the home environment and maternal ratings of stimulation and elaborativeness were the most consistent correlates of infant communication measures. Relationships were stronger in middle-income than lower-income dyads. These results support the linkage of didactic and functional aspects of maternal behavior to cognitive and communication skills at 1 year of age for African American infants.

Family relationships during infancy and later mother and father vocabulary use with young children

“…The finding regarding father sensitivity supports some previous research demonstrating positive associations between parental sensitivity and parental language input (Keown et al, 2001;Wallace et al, 1998). Previous work on the impact of parental directiveness on child language development has had mixed findings (Akhtar et al, 1991;Barnes et al, 1983;Hampson & Nelson, 1993;Tomasello & Farrar, 1986).…”

“…Specifically, maternal sensitivity during infancy has been positively correlated with measures of maternal verbal stimulation (Keown, Woodward, & Field, 2001;Wallace et al, 1998). Guzell and Vernon-Feagans (2004) found that parents of infants who used more directive parenting strategies were less sensitive in their interactions with young children, and that for fathers, low perceived control over caregiving outcomes was associated with more directive parenting.…”

“…Research has linked parent sensitivity and directiveness to numerous early childhood outcomes. Parental sensitivity can be understood as an awareness of the child's verbal and nonverbal cues (Wallace, Roberts, & Ladder, 1998). Research has consistently indicated that maternal and paternal sensitivity is positively linked to young children's language development during the infant and toddler years (Baumwell, Tamis-LeMonda, & Bornstein, 1997;Fish & Pinkerman, 2003;Tamis-LeMonda et al, 2004).…”

Low‐income Canadian Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal parent–child interactions

“…One of the most commonly employed measures of parent–child interaction is the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS, Sumner & Spietz 1994, e.g. Wallace et al. 1998; Letourneau 2001; Magill‐Evans & Harrison 2001; Wacharasin & Barnard 2001; Koniak‐Griffin et al.…”

Socio-emotional climate of storybook reading interactions for mothers and preschoolers with language impairment

“…Qualities of maternal interactive behaviors when engaging in structured or spontaneous activities with their young children have been consistently linked to children's cognitive, linguistic, social, and behavioral achievements (e.g., HubbsTait, Culp, Culp, & Miller, 2002;Morrison, Rimm-Kaufman, & Pianta, 2003;Pianta, Nimentz, & Bennett, 1997;Tamis-LeMonda, Bornstein, & Baumwell, 2001;Tamis-LeMonda, Shannon, Cabrera, & Lamb, 2004;Wallace, Roberts, & Lodder, 1998). Qualities of maternal behaviors that appear to hold special developmental significance to their children include emotional support/supportive presence (e.g., Hubbs-Tait et al, 2002), linguistic responsiveness (e.g., Akhtar, Dunham, & Dunham, 1991;Fewell & Deutscher, 2004;Tamis-LeMonda et al, 2001), linguistic complexity (e.g., Hoff-Ginsberg, 1986;Huttenlocher, Vasilyeva, Cymerman, & Levine, 2002), and cognitive complexity (e.g., Diaz, Neal, & Vachio, 1991;Roberts & Barnes, 1992;van Kleeck, Gillam, Hamilton, & McGrath, 1997).…”