MATERNAL ACCOMMODATION: A QUANTITATIVE LOOK AT A QUALITATIVE PHENOMENON
Abstract
The problem addressed in this research was the validity of several approaches to quantifying mother-infant interaction as measures of the theoretical construct of maternal accommodation, i.e., the mother's ability to provide stimulation individually appropriately to the immediate and specific needs of her infant. Five different approaches to defining maternal behavior in the context of face-to-face interaction were reviewed in detail. All of the methods are similar in that they attempt to analyze the interaction in terms of "units" based on classes of behavior rather than analyzing the relationships between specific behaviors. Twelve teenage mothers (mean age 16 years) and twelve adult (mean age 29 years) mothers and their three month old infants were videotaped in face-to-face play. The three minute interactions were coded in detail, then the detailed coding was reduced according to operational definitions of maternal accommodation based on the five approaches. The interrelationships among the separate measures of maternal accommodation were examined by factor analysis. The measures best representing the three factors resulting from this analysis were then compared in terms of theoretically predicted relationships with infant behavioral measures. The results are discussed in terms of methodological issues that need to be addressed to elucidate the nature of the appropriateness of maternal behavior.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Developmental psychology
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