Children's dispositions and mother-child interaction at 12 and 18 months: A short-term longitudinal study

57 children were seen, in interaction with their mothers, at 12 and 18 mo of age. The observational sessions included a teaching-learning task in which aspects of the mother's teaching style and the child's task orientation could be assessed. Child's "difficultness" and activity level were also assessed. At 12 mo there was little or no relationship between the mother's teaching behavior and the child's task orientation, but by 18 mo, significant correlations had appeared, indicating the development of coordination between the pair in their teaching-learning functions. Maternal teaching and child task orientation were also essentially unrelated to the children's more general dispositions at 12 mo, but by 18 mo, the mother's teaching effort was related to whether her child was difficult or easygoing. Mothers of difficult 12-mo-old boys reduced their teaching effort subsequently, and the sons of mothers who exerted high teaching effort at 12 mo became less difficult during the subsequent 6 mo. The relationships for girls were different and nonsignificant. Findings are discussed in terms of the mutual influence between mother and child, the possibility that sex stereotypes lead mothers to be less assertive toward sons than daughters, and sex differences in child temperament. (30 ref)