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Mother‐Child Interaction and the Cognitive and Behavioural Development of Four‐Year‐Old Children With Poor Growth
Author(s) -
Puckering C.,
Pickles A.,
Skuse D.,
Heptinstall E.,
Dowdney L.,
ZurSzpiro S.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1995.tb02315.x
Subject(s) - psychology , nonverbal communication , developmental psychology , cognition , cognitive development , negativity effect , child development , population , failure to thrive , strange situation , clinical psychology , pediatrics , psychiatry , medicine , attachment theory , environmental health
A whole population inner‐city survey identified 23 stunted, otherwise healthy, children with persistently poor growth from infancy to 4 years. Their cognitive development was significantly retarded relative to a matched comparison group. Unstructured home observations were used to create transcripts of verbal and nonverbal mother‐child interactions. In both groups child behavioural adjustment was linked to maternal negativity, and cognitive performance was correlated with quality of stimulation. The developmental delay associated with chronic failure to thrive appeared more likely to arise from other influences, perhaps a previous biological insult, than to contemporaneous parenting practices.