Maternal antecedents of delay ability in young children

This study was designed to test the general hypothesis that maternal behavior influences the early development of children's delay ability. Mothers were observed interacting with their 16- to 19-month-old children (Time 1) in free play and in the context of several teaching-learning tasks. Children were followed up at 23 to 27 months (Time 2) when assessments were made of their delay ability and intellectual and developmental status. Children who were high in delay ability had mothers who, in free play, were relatively low in directiveness and who, in a formboard task, made relatively little use of ''takeovers'' and provided contingent-positive feedback at relatively high rates. Controlling for the children's intellectual and developmental status at Time 2, as well as for their personality (as perceived by their mothers) and compliance at Time 1, had little effect on the predictive relations found between the maternal interactional variables and children's delay ability. Additional results showed that the children's intellectual and developmental status were both predicted by the mothers' directiveness.