PEDIATRIC CLINICAL-ASSESSMENT OF MOTHER-CHILD INTERACTION - CONCURRENT AND PREDICTIVE-VALIDITY

This study examines whether clinical assessments of mother-infant inte ractions collected at 8-month health supervision visits are associated with standardized measures of the home environment and mother-child i nteraction collected at later dates in other settings, and whether the se clinical assessments are associated with the child's future develop mental and behavioral status. The observation component of the Pediatr ic Review of Children's Environmental Support and Stimulation (PROCESS ) was collected on 46 consecutive mother-infant pairs during an 8-mont h health supervision visit. The Home Observation Measurement of Enviro nment (HOME) Inventory was collected on these infants' families at 12 and 36 months of age, and mother-child interaction was assessed in a l aboratory setting at 30 months. The Bayley Scales of Infant Developmen t were collected at 12 and 24 months, and the Stanford Binet Intellige nce Test and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist were collected at 36 months of age. The 8-month clinical ratings were strongly associate d with the measures of the home environment and mother-child interacti on and with child developmental and behavioral problem status at 36 mo nths. These findings attest to the power and usefulness of systematic observations of maternal behavior by the clinician during health super vision visits.