Caregiver-child interaction in a rural village in South Africa.
The aim of this study was to describe the caregiver-child interaction in a South African rural village. A social interactional approach was adopted and a triangulation of methods was used. The interaction of nine caregiver-child dyads was observed during a semi-structured play situation, and the caregivers were interviewed concerning their beliefs about, and attitudes towards their child's communication. Interactions were rated according to an interactional profile and common themes found during the interviews, were identified. Interview results showed that although the majority of caregivers assigned importance to interacting and playing with children, their reported actions were not congruent with this. Caregivers played a dominant role during the social play interactions. Support was found for the utilisation of the social interactional approach and a triangulation of methods. Results obtained have important implications for the South African speech-language pathologist.
Seeff
B K
BK
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of the Witwatersrand.
Bortz
M A
MA
D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002654:Child Care; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012424:Rural Population; D013019:South Africa; D014705:Verbal Behavior