1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The present study is a part of an ongoing investigation of disadvantaged and at-risk families who have been shown to exhibit an increased rate of a myriad of psychosocial problems […]. In the present four-wave longitudinal design using multilevel growth models, [the objectives of the authors] were to examine: […] intraindividual patterns of change in maternal (i.e., sensitivity, structuring and nonhostility) and child (i.e., responsiveness and involvement) EA [emotional availability] across the first years of life; […] the factors that predict the course of maternal EA (i.e., child gender, maternal education, and social support); and […] the within-dyad covariation between maternal and child EA across infancy and the preschool years.» (p. 78)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
L’échantillon est composé de 56 dyades mère-enfant (23 garçons et 33 filles). «The participants were comprised of a subsample from an ongoing prospective, longitudinal study: The Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project […].» (p. 78)

Instruments :
- Questionnaires
- Grille d’observation

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«[T]he results suggest that mothers as a group do not become more or less emotionally available during playful activities as their children become older. […] Thus, maternal sensitivity and structuring appeared to be relatively stable and to demonstrate continuity between infancy and the end of the preschool years […].» (p. 83) However, results «suggest that child behaviors are less stable than mother behaviors across time […]. [Thus, the authors] suggest that most children experienced an increase across time in their EA.» (p. 84) Also, the results «first showed that mothers of girls consistently showed higher levels of sensitivity than mothers of boys across time.» (p. 85) Moreover, this study «showed that higher mean levels of social support across infancy and the preschool years predicted persistently higher levels of maternal sensitivity and structuring.» (p. 85) Finally, «mothers were more likely to be sensitive and provide optimal structuring if their child involved her more in the interaction at the same time point. Likewise, children were found to be more involving of their mothers if their mothers were more sensitive and used more optimal structuring at the same time point. These results suggest that child and parent EA affect one another simultaneously.» (p. 85)