INFANT MENTAL DEVELOPMENT AND MOTHER'S RESPONSIVENESS

Abstract

Studies in the U.S. have reported that maternal interaction is more important for early infant development than maternal education or economic status. To assess the influence of maternal behavior in a developing country, 30 poor urban Guatemalan mothers and their 1-year-old infants were observed. We dictated detailed narratives of mother-infant interaction in the home during 60 minutes of infant waking time, scheduled to avoid feeding and bathing. From these, episodes of crying and social interaction were quantitatively analyzed. A researcher who did not participate in home observations evaluated infant abilities with the Bayley Scales. Although from a poor section of a developing country, the children were not delayed; in fact, their mental development indices (MDI) were higher than published U.S. norms (MDI X̄, p<.001). Two important dimensions of maternal responsiveness were related to infant performance; infants with higher scores had mothers who 1) Initiated social exchange (p<.02), 2) responded to crying effectively and quickly (p<.05). Mothers who were successful in terminating crying ignored their babies' crying less (p<.001) and were less likely to end social interaction (p<.01). Residential stability (p<.05) and maternal working (p<.05) were also associated with higher scores, whereas maternal education, socioeconomic status, duration of nursing, and infant sex did not affect mental development testing. Thus, among the urban poor of Guatemala infant development related not to socioeconomic factors but to qualitative aspects of the mother-infant relationship.

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