PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION AS MEANS OF CLARIFYING DIRECTION OF EFFECTS IN SOCIALIZATION - ANXIOUS-WITHDRAWN PRESCHOOLERS CASE

An indicated preventive intervention research program integrating atta chment, attributional, and behaviorist perspectives was conducted to t est the hypothesis that parent-child relationship disturbances directl y effect the child's adjustment to the preschool. Anxious-withdrawn pr eschool children and their mothers were divided equally into treatment and control groups, and assessed on maternal self-report of parenting stress, behavioral ratings of mother-child interaction, and teacher r atings of the children in the preschool classroom. Results showed sign ificant changes in the treatment group: mothers in the treatment group moderated their level of control to a more appropriate, less intrusiv e level, while children in the treatment group showed an increase in c ooperation and enthusiasm during a problem solving task with mother. T eacher-rated social competence and anxious-withdrawn behavior indicate d improvement, although only the former was significant. The demonstra tion of effects of this home intervention for the mother on the child' s behavior in the preschool confirm the transactional model underlying this study and demonstrate the utility of a parent-child interaction training component for the prevention of behavioral-emotional problems in young children.