The relationship between parental ratings of child behaviors, interaction, and the home environment.

Abstract

Problem: What is the relationship between child behaviors as perceived by the mother and father, mother-child interaction, and the home environment?

Subjects: A subsample of 28 families of healthy, full-term newborns recruited from a larger longitudinal study.

Methods: Mothers and fathers completed the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory when their child was 24 months old. NCATS and HOME Inventory were administered. The Neonatal Perception Inventory was previously completed by the mother within 72 hours of birth and at 1 month postpartum.

Findings: Significant interparent correlations for intensity of child behaviors; however, the association for behaviors considered to be problematic was not significant. Fathers tended to report fewer behavior problems and less frequent occurrences. Several significant relationships were found between child behavior ratings, interaction, and the home environment. Gender of child and maternal employment status did not significantly influence parental perceptions of child behavior. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: While parents may share perceptions of child behaviors, they may differ in interpretation of whether those behaviors are problematic. Administering behavior inventories to both parents may help them identify and respect each other's differing opinions. These same inventories can be used to measure effects of interventions, and are adjuncts to direct behavioral observations of parent-child interaction.