Abstract
Mother-infant pairs (N=38) were observed at home when infants were three months old; mothers also completed a questionnaire measure of infant temperament. Infants who were rated as irregular in biological functioning received somewhat less responsive mothering. A subgroup of infants rated as difficult, that is, extremely irregular, nonadaptable, and negative in mood, were then compared with matched controls; mothers interacted less and were less responsive to the social bids of infants they rated as difficult. This pattern of lowered maternal responsiveness was still in evidence at an eight-month follow-up observation, suggesting that negative perceptions of infant behavior can be persistent effects on the quality of caretaking.
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Campbell, S.B.G. Mother-infant interaction as a function of maternal ratings of temperament. Child Psych Hum Dev 10, 67–76 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01433498
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01433498