Judith L. Rubenstein

Infant Development in Father-Absent Families.

In a sample of 55 black infants (age 5-6 months) living in the inner city in lower socioeconomic circumstances, 27 infants were being reared by their mothers in single-parent families. Male infants who had experienced minimal interaction with their fathers were significantly lower on the Bayley Mental Developmental Index and in measures of social responsiveness, secondary circular reactions, and preferences for novel stimuli. Female infants in this sample appeared unaffected by the fathers presence or absence. After weighing alternative interpretations of the findings, we conclude that the father is a significant component in the early environment and that both observational studies and conceptual development of the role of the father in infancy are needed.

Determinants of toddlers' experience in day care: Age of entry and quality of setting

Seventy-eight toddlers (mean age=19.2 mo.) enrolled in center or family day care or at home with their mothers were observed in order to examine determinants of individual experiences of caregiving. Three clusters of caregiver-child interaction were identified: talk and play, restrict and cry, and touch and laugh. Children at home and in day-care settings with more adults per child had higher talk and play scores than children in day-care settings with fewer adults per child. Children at home and in day-care centers with fewer adults per child had higher restrict and cry scores. Children in day-care centers with more adults per child had the highest touch and laugh scores.

Toddler peer behavior in two types of day care

Peer social behaviors and interaction were observed in day care centers and family day care homes. The naturally occurring behaviors of forty toddlers and their peers were time sampled in day care settings. Day care facilities were community based and varied in group size, age composition, and the number and type of play objects. Toddler-peer social interaction was similar in the two environments.

Second order effects of peers on mother-toddler interaction*

The influence of adult and toddler peers on mother-toddler interaction was investigated in the natural home environment. Toddlers and mothers were observed in four circumstances on four different days: (1) at home by themselves; (2) with a toddler peer; (3) with an adult peer; and (4) with a toddler peer and an adult peer. In the presence of a toddler peer, toddlers made fewer instrumental and distal social bids to their mothers. Presence of an adult peer or mother without a toddler peer increased toddler tactile and proximal bids to mother. Maternal affect expression, both positive and negative, was intensified in the absence of the peers. Higher level reciprocal toddler peer play was more frequent in the absence of the adult peer. These findings were interpreted in terms of different types of second order effects.