The relationship between maternal sensitivity and child social competence at four and twenty-four months

Abstract

This exploratory study examined the relationship between maternal sensitivity and infant and toddler social competence at 4 and 24 months. The variables were drawn from six previous studies which examined mother-child social interactions using this sample. Variables reflected both molar and microanalytic observations of 12 mother-child dyads in a laboratory and home setting at 4 and 24 month periods respectively.;Trends in the data indicated that relationships exist between maternal sensitivity and child social competence within the 4 and 24 month periods. The trends in the data contradicted the hypothesis that maternal sensitivity at 4 months can predict toddler social competence at 24 months, or that infant social competence at 4 months could predict maternal sensitivity at 24 months. Continuity of maternal sensitivity from 4 to 24 months was not found, but trends in the data lent support to the idea that infant social competence at 4 months could be an effective predictor of toddler social competence at 24 months.