Fig 1.
Mother-child interaction was assessed with the Child-Adult-Relationship Experimental Index (CARE-Index, Crittenden, 2010). The setup of the CARE-Index is displayed separately for infants (up to 15 months) and toddlers (15 months and older). The numbers specify the duration of the different parts (play, frustration, and repair) of the CARE-Index procedure. Toddler’s cognitive development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess maternal personality, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and emotional experience.
Fig 2.
Maternal characteristics and mother-child interaction.
(A) In mothers of infants (n = 34), there is a trend suggesting that higher maternal conscientiousness scores are associated with lower unresponsive maternal behavior. (B) A trend indicates higher maternal neuroticism scores to be linked with more display of compulsive behavior in toddlers (n = 61). (C) Among mothers of toddlers (n = 62), there was a trend indicating that higher maternal depression scores were correlated with more maternal controlling behavior. (D) Additionally, a trend was observed suggesting that lower overall self-esteem (MSWS Global) was associated with more difficult behavior in infants (n = 35). Abbreviations: BFI = Big Five Inventory; ICI = Infant CARE-Index; TCI = Toddler CARE-Index. BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; MSWS = Multidimensional Self-Esteem Scale. The shaded area in grey represents the standard deviation.
Fig 3.
Maternal characteristics, mother-child interaction and toddler cognitive development.
(A) A trend is suggesting that mothers who are more attuned to their bodily signals (higher “somatization” in SEE) exhibit higher dyadic interaction quality with their child (n = 25). (B) Higher maternal agreeableness is associated with superior cognitive development in toddlers (n = 41) with cognitive development being around the norm (range 8–12) at that age. Abbreviations: SEE = questionnaire on the experience of emotions; ICI = Infant CARE-Index. The shaded area in grey represents the standard deviation.