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Maternal intrusiveness in infancy and child maladaptation in early school years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Byron Egeland*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Robert Pianta
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Maureen A. O'brien
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
*
Address reprint requests to: Byron Egeland, University of Minnesota, Institute of Child Development, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0345.

Abstract

Using longitudinal data, a subsample of 37 high-risk children whose mothers were observed to be intrusive in their interactions with their 6-month-old infants in feeding and play situations were compared to 145 children from the same environmental risk sample. The children of mothers judged to be intrusive were doing poorly academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally in first and second grades. The findings were robust even after covarying out the effects of a maternal social/affective interaction factor, IQ, and stressful life events experienced by the family. The relation between an intrusive style of caretaking in infancy and child maladaptation in the early school years is viewed as support for a mutual regulation model of social engagement.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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