Enlisting toddler cooperation through structure and autonomy support: The amplifying role of suboptimal relationship mutuality

Abstract

Regular repair of normative mother-toddler conflict is required for relational health; yet, we still need improved delineation of regulation strategies that can promote child cooperation. Contemporary conceptualizations of positive parenting propose that structure and autonomy support each facilitate children's optimal engagement; however, toddler studies rarely address their joint impact and conditional moderation. This observational study examined both dimensions in predicting cooperation among 106 U.S. 30-month-olds and their primarily European–American mothers during a demanding request situation. We also assessed mutuality, an indicator of mother-child relationship quality, from two situations with minimized power differentials to explore whether it moderated associations. Regression analyses confirmed the unique and additive impact of both maternal behavioral dimensions in predicting toddler cooperation and also an interaction effect such that the positive association between maternal autonomy support and toddlers’ level of cooperation was accentuated depending on the dyads’ mutuality. Results suggest that maternal structure and autonomy support may serve as effective approaches for enlisting or maintaining child cooperation during hierarchical negotiations, and that suboptimal relationship mutuality magnifies toddlers’ responses to maternal levels of autonomy support. Findings are likely relevant to parenting programs that advance mother-child relational health during the transition from infancy to early childhood.