Carer-child interaction and maternal attitudes

(14 studies ^1-14)

• The commonest interaction observed was a lack of interest / involvement by the mother ^1-4,8,10-13.  Hostility was also frequently observed ^{2,5,7,9,13,14}
• Neglectful mothers showed a reduced number of utterances than controls and when they did speak, they tended to give instructions ⁶

0-3 year

(10 studies ^1-10: 1882 cases, 263 controls)

• Mothers of neglected and emotionally abused infants exhibited lower maternal sensitivity than controls ²
• Neglectful mothers spoke less to their infants and, when they did speak, they used commands.  Four out of ten neglectful mothers failed to talk to infants at all during four one to two hour sessions ¹
• Neglectful mothers tended to be withdrawn and uninvolved, initiating few activities with their children ^3,4
• Neglectful mothers showed less positive social interaction than controls ⁵
• During unstructured play, neglectful mothers were less positive in their responsiveness to their children in comparison to controls. They were less competent in developmentally appropriate play, either overwhelming their children with quick responses or being too slow to respond to their cues ⁷
• Neglectful mothers showed more controlling behaviour in playing with their children than controls, which was linked to greater internalisation in the children ⁸
• Parental depression was significantly associated with neglectful parenting; neglectful parenting was significantly associated with a risk of psychopathology in the children ⁹
• Emotionally abusive mothers found fault with the children, criticising them harshly, and in performing problem-solving tasks, the children were met with insults and hostility when asking for help.  In problem-solving situations, neglectful mothers were unavailable to their child and looked comfortable when their children were frustrated by the task ¹⁰
• Verbally aggressive discipline was associated with mothers reporting that the child is anxious / depressed, has attention problems, exhibits delinquent and aggressive behaviours and has somatic complaints.  These features were not verified by direct observation ⁶

3-6 year

(four studies ^1-4: 70 cases, 83 controls)

• Neglectful and emotionally abusing mothers spoke less to their child and used less complex sentences ¹
• On using the story-stem battery, the neglected children portrayed their parents as less likely to help ^2,4
• The neglectful mothers were less affectionate than control mothers, who used more praise and positive verbal instruction.  Controls had twice as many positive interactions as neglected children ³