Mother-child and father-child mutually responsive orientation in the first 2 years and children's outcomes at preschool age: mechanisms of influence.
Mechanisms accounting for the effects of mutually responsive orientation (MRO) at 7, 15, and 25 months in 102 mother-child and father-child dyads on child internalization and self-regulation at 52 months were examined. Two mediators at 38 months were tested: parental power assertion and child self-representation. For mother-child relationships, the causal pathway involving power assertion was supported for both outcomes. Diminished power assertion fully mediated beneficial effect of mother-child MRO on internalization and partially mediated its effect on self-regulation. For father-child relationships, MRO predicted self-regulation, but the mediational paths were unsupported. Paternal power assertion correlated negatively with both outcomes but was not a mediator. Although MRO with both parents correlated with child self-representation, and it correlated with self-regulation, this mediational path was unsupported.
Kochanska
Grazyna
G
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1407, USA. grazyna-kochanska@uiowa.edu
Aksan
Nazan
N
Prisco
Theresa R
TR
Adams
Erin E
EE
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003068:Coercion; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007389:Internal-External Control; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010553:Personality Development; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012649:Self Concept; D012951:Socialization; D013223:Statistics as Topic