The role of spousal communication patterns on maternal sensitivity

20th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), Würzburg, Almanya, 13 - 17 Temmuz 2008

Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
Basıldığı Şehir: Würzburg
Basıldığı Ülke: Almanya
Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

XX. ISSBD, Würsburg, 13-17 July 2008

The Role of Spousal Communication Patterns on Maternal Sensitivity

Ahu Öztürk¹, Melike Sayıl¹, & Nebi Sümer²

¹Hacettepe University, Turkey

²Middle East Technical University, Turkey

Abstract

We aimed to explore the antecedents of maternal sensitivity which are associated with couples’ relationship dynamics. The quality of the interaction within the family, specifically the communication patterns between the spouses are assumed to predict maternal sensitivity. A total of 45 children (mean age = 32.36 months, SD= 13.67) and their mothers (mean age= 29.22 years, SD= 5.27), with an education level equal or lower than high school, participated in the study. We assessed maternal sensitivity with the home-based observation using Maternal Behavior Q-Set (MBQS; Pederson & Moran, 1995) and mothers’ self-reported conflict communication patterns using Communication Patterns Questionnaire (Christensen, 1988). Factor analyses on the MBQS items yielded two culture specific patterns representing responsiveness and restrictive behaviors. Regression analysis in predicting the total maternal sensitivity from the factors of communication patterns indicated that destructive communication is the only significant predictor of sensitivity after controlling for child’s age and maternal education. Separate regression analysis predicting domains of sensitivity revealed that the destructive communication predicts restrictiveness dimension of maternal sensitivity, but not the responsiveness dimension. We discussed the implications of the findings considering both the proximal family context and broader cultural environment.