Maternal responsiveness to young children at three ages: longitudinal analysis of a multidimensional, modular, and specific parenting construct.
Responsiveness defines the prompt, contingent, and appropriate reactions parents display to their children in the context of everyday exchanges. Maternal responsiveness occupies a theoretically central position in developmental science and possesses meaningful predictive validity over diverse domains of children's development, yet basic psychometric features of maternal responsiveness are still poorly understood. In this prospective longitudinal study, the authors examined structure, individual variation, and continuity of multiple dimensions of responsiveness in 40 mothers to their infants' activities at 10, 14, and 21 months during natural home-based play interactions. Both age-general and age-specific patterns emerged in maternal responding. The study's developmental results support the multidimensionality, modularity, and specificity of this central parenting construct.
Bornstein
Marc H
MH
Child and Family Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Marc_H_Bornstein@nih.gov
Tamis-Lemonda
Catherine S
CS
Hahn
Chun-Shin
CS
Haynes
O Maurice
OM
D000367:Age Factors; D001288:Attention; D002657:Child Development; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D007804:Language Development; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010988:Play and Playthings; D011446:Prospective Studies