Mother–Infant Person‐ and Object‐Directed Interactions in Latino Immigrant Families: A Comparative Approach

Abstract

Cultural variation in durations, relations, and contingencies of mother–infant person-and object-directed behaviors were examined for 121 nonmigrant Latino mother–infant dyads in South America, Latina immigrants from South America and their infants living in the United States, and European American mother–infant dyads. Nonmigrant Latina mothers and infants engaged in person-directed behaviors longer than Latino immigrant or European American mothers and infants. Mother and infant person-directed behaviors were positively related; mother and infant object-related behaviors were related for some cultural groups but not others. Nearly all mother and infant behaviors were mutually contingent. Mothers were more responsive to infants’ behaviors than infants were to mothers. Some cultural differences in responsiveness emerged. Immigrant status has a differentiated role in mother–infant interactions.

Mother–infant socioemotional contingent responding in families by adoption and birth

“…In agreement with other studies, we found that mothers were more responsive than infants in person-directed (Bornstein et al, 2011; Cote et al, 2008) and vocal interactions (Van Egeren et al, 2001), meaning that infants influence these kinds of exchanges. Although mothers are the more mature partner in the dyad (Kochanska & Aksan, 2004), these findings highlight the fact that infants also influence mother-infant interactions and mother-infant relationships more generally.…”

“…Mothers respond when their infants look at them or vocalize by encouraging social interaction (Bornstein, Cote, Haynes, Suwalsky, & Bakeman, 2011; Bornstein & Manian, 2011; Cote, Bornstein, Haynes, & Bakeman, 2008) and by speaking to the baby (Bornstein & Manian, 2011; Van Egeren et al, 2001). For their part, young infants have been shown to respond to maternal encouragement of social interaction by looking at mother (Bornstein et al, 2011; Cote et al, 2008), and they respond to maternal speech by vocalizing and by looking (Van Egeren et al, 2001). By 5 months of age infants actively participate in turn-taking exchanges (Belsky, Gilstrap, & Rovine, l984; Bornstein & Tamis-LeMonda, 1990; Kaye & Fogel, 1980).…”

“…By 5 months of age infants actively participate in turn-taking exchanges (Belsky, Gilstrap, & Rovine, l984; Bornstein & Tamis-LeMonda, 1990; Kaye & Fogel, 1980). Comparable patterns of mutual contingent responding have been identified in mothers and infants in multiple cross-cultural samples (Bornstein et al, 2011; Cote et al, 2008), suggesting that the synchronous meshing of core sets of infant and maternal behaviors is a universal component of early human development. Parental responsiveness to infant signals has been theorized to facilitate the development of a sturdy sense of self in the baby (Stern, 1985) and has been linked to a broad spectrum of positive developmental outcomes for children in social development, cognitive growth, intellectual achievement, and behavioral adjustment (Ainsworth et al, 1974; Beckwith, Rodning, & Cohen, 1992; Bornstein, 2002; Bornstein, Tamis-LeMonda, & Haynes, 1999; Coates & Lewis, 1984; Goldstein, Schwade, & Bornstein, 2009; Gunnar, 1980; van IJzendoorn, Dijkstra, & Bus, 1995; van IJzendoorn, Juffer, & Poelhuis, 2005; Watson, 1985).…”

Mothers' Verbal and Nonverbal Strategies in Relation to Infants' Object‐Directed Actions in Real Time and Across the First Three Years in Ethnically Diverse Families

“…Contemporary developmental theories build on this idea by demonstrating the dynamic nature of parental support: Adult caregivers continually adjust their behaviors in line with infants' changing needs and skills (Hirsh‐Pasek & Burchinal, ; Kochanska & Aksan, ). Moreover, mothers from different ethnic and cultural communities have been shown to rely on different behavioral strategies, highlighting the influences of broader sociocultural contexts in mother–child interactions (Bornstein, Cote, Haynes, Suwalsky, & Bakeman, ; Cote, Bornstein, Haynes, Bakeman, ; Kärtner, Keller, & Yovsi, ; Kermani & Brenner, ; Tamis‐LeMonda, Song, Leavell, Kahana‐Kalman, & Yoshikawa, ).…”

Attributions and Attitudes of Mothers and Fathers in the United States

“…There is little evidence regarding whether Latin American and African American parents differ from one another on parenting attributions and progressive versus authoritarian attitudes, but in related domains, Latin American parents have sometimes been found to be more similar to European American than African American parents (e.g., Hughes & Kwok, 2007; Zimmerman, Khoury, Vega, Gil, & Warheit, 1995). Furthermore, first-generation Latin American immigrant mothers have been found to interact with their 5-month-old infants in ways that are more similar to the ways that European American mothers interact with their infants than to the ways that mothers from their countries of origin interact with their infants (Cote, Bornstein, Haynes, & Bakeman, 2008). …”