Stress and coping in high-risk mothers: difficult life circumstances, psychiatric-mental health symptoms, education, and experiences in their families of origin.

A pilot study was conducted to test methods and measures used to assess factors related to stress and coping in high-risk mothers and their effect on parenting. Twenty mothers with 12-month-old toddlers were recruited from a WIC population; they came into an observational laboratory where they were interviewed about stressors in their lives and their symptoms of stress and were videotaped interacting with their children. Maternal difficult life circumstances, psychiatric-mental health symptoms, education, maternal experiences in their families of origin, and parenting stress explained 74% of the variance in maternal sensitive-responsiveness with their toddlers in the laboratory setting. The findings support the methods of the study. Clinical implications and implications for future research to assist in the development of interventions for this population are discussed. Increased attention to screening for maternal psychiatric-mental health symptoms and for negative experiences in mothers' families of origin may provide important opportunities for intervention with these mothers.

Maternal characteristics and maternal limit-setting styles.

In a longitudinal study of 126 mothers and toddlers during toddlerhood, maternal limit-setting styles were assessed at 12, 24, and 36 months in relation to selected maternal characteristics. Mothers using teaching-based limit-setting styles at 12 months reported more optimal relationship histories of care and overprotection/control in their own families of origin. The main contributor to a maternal teaching-based limit-setting style in this sample was years of formal education, followed by a more multicausal conceptualization of how children develop. Thus, while years of formal education appear to facilitate the use of a teaching-based limit-setting style, formal education is not the only way to develop these skills. Maternal conceptualization of development may be amenable to intervention through a number of alternative learning activities. Further research is needed to explore the effects of different types of educational and learning opportunities on current maternal behavior, with the goal of optimizing socialization skills related to the development of toddler self-regulation.

Mother-toddler interaction and the development of self-regulation in a limit-setting context.

The Prohibition Coding Scheme was used to longitudinally assess observations of maternal and toddler limit-setting interactions at 12, 24, and 36 months. The final sample consisted of 126 mother-toddler dyads. Toddler behavior in a limit-setting context exemplified progressing skill in self-regulation from 12 to 36 months. Specifically, toddlers exhibited less persistence, increasing autonomy, and increasing ability to inhibit their behavior, with half of the toddlers classified as "autonomous-compliant" by 36 months of age. As a group, mothers also adapted their socializing behavior during toddlerhood, decreasing their use of directive structure and distractions, and using more cognitive strategies. A maternal "teaching-based", limit-setting pattern was associated with more competent toddler response-to-limits patterns at each age, and more mothers used a teaching-based limit-setting style by 36 months of age. These findings provide validity for the Prohibition Coding Scheme and extend our knowledge base for guiding parents in their socializing strategies relative to developing self-regulation. Clinical implications and areas for further research are addressed.

Maternal limit-setting patterns and toddler development of self-concept and social competence.

In 126 mother-toddler dyads, the relationships between maternal limit-setting patterns at 12, 24, and 36 months were examined in relation to toddler self-concept and social competence at 3 years. Maternal limit-setting patterns differentiated toddler self-concept and social competence scores, demonstrating effects of socialization as well as cognitive maturation. Less optimal toddler outcomes at 36 months were associated with an inconsistent maternal limit-setting style and an indirect style. Children of mothers with a teaching-based pattern yielded the most positive outcomes. Although a power-based maternal limit-setting style was related to diminished self-regulatory behavior in a concurrent limit-setting context, outcomes for children of power-based mothers in terms of self-concept and social competence were not as negative as expected.