Mothers' directiveness in their interactions with their children with and without Down syndrome

Abstract

Preschool-aged children (11 with and 11 without Down syndrome), individually matched for communicative ability, mental age, and demographic variables, were videotaped while interacting with their mothers during 15-minutes of free play in a simulated playroom. Maternal responsiveness and three components of maternal directiveness were examined in the context of the child's interactional behavior. Both groups of mothers used a high frequency of controls, but used them primarily to support and encourage the child's participation in interaction. Although mothers of children with Down syndrome exerted greater control in most of the aspects of directiveness, they were not less responsive. Mothers of children without Down syndrome were more likely to silently watch their children who, in turn, were more likely to initiate topics than were the children with the syndrome.