A longitudinal examination of toddlers’ behavioral cues as a function of substance‐abusing mothers’ disengagement

In this study, we examined whether substance‐abusing mothers’ levels of disengagement from their relationship with their children (ages 2–44 months), operationalized in two different ways using parenting narratives (representational and linguistic disengagement), prospectively predicted children's engagement and disengagement cues during a structured mother–child interaction. Within a sample of 29 mothers, we tested the hypotheses that greater maternal disengagement at Time 1 would predict a decrease in children's engagement and an increase in children's disengagement at Time 2. Results indicated that representational disengagement predicted a decrease in children's engagement cues whereas linguistic disengagement predicted an increase in children's disengagement cues. Results provide partial support for a reciprocal, iterative process in which mothers and children mutually adjust their emotional and behavioral disengagement with one another. RESUMEN Como grupo, los progenitores que abusan de sustancias se encuentran bajo riesgo de crianzas inadecuadas. La asociación entre el abuso de sustancias y la crianza pudiera resultar, en parte, del estar desconectado emocionalmente de la relación progenitor‐niño, lo cual hace de la percepción y respuestas a las señales del niño un mayor reto. En este estudio, examinamos si los niveles de desconexión mostrada por madres que abusaban de sustancias, con relación a su relación con sus niños (edades de 2 a 44 meses), p...
Source: Infant Mental Health Journal - Category: Child Development Authors: Tags: ARTICLE Source Type: research