Distancing strategies in child-mother dyads: effect of mother’s education and children’s sex

This study on mother–child interactions is in line with Sigel’s theoretical approach to distancing. The current study aimed at analyzing the distancing postures used by mothers with their young child in school-like tasks, according to their level of education and children’s sex. The main hypothesis was that mothers with higher levels of education would make higher-level distancing demands (open-ended questions, inferences, etc.) and would sequentially maintain them longer in the interaction than mothers with lower levels of education. The second hypothesis was that mothers developed more high distancing strategies with their daughters than with their sons. Thirty-two mothers (18 with a high level of education and 14 with a low level of education) interacted with their 2-year-olds in a complex task of picture discrimination. Unsing hierarchical analysis, three distinct clusters of distancing have been found: low level, medium level and high level. Results supported our main hypothesis. Moreover, only mothers with high levels of education developed more high distancing strategies with their daughters than with their sons, and vice versa for low distancing strategies. These mothers may be aware of gender stereotypes in our society. Thus, in family interactions, depending on the mother’s sociocultural level, family education may or may not include a preparation component for learning at school, creating inequalities in learning from the very beginning of schooling.