COMMUNICATIVE STYLES OF MOTHERS INTERACTING WITH THEIR PRESCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN - A FACTOR-ANALYTIC STUDY

The aim of this study was to determine if mothers display identifiably different communicative styles in their interaction with their normal ly developing two- to five-year-old children. In order to investigate this issue an extensive coding system was developed, which assessed th e structural organization and the communicative function of the speech of 71 mothers as they interacted with their children. By means of fac tor analysis three maternal communicative styles were distinguished: n on-intervening, explaining and directing. In the non-intervening style there is no direct pressure from the mother on the child to respond v erbally. The explaining mother is primarily concerned with providing i nformation to her child in a way that gives the child little opportuni ty to take the speaking turn. The directing mother is mainly engaged i n directing the child's behaviour by means of verbal control. The inte rnal consistency of the three communicative styles appeared to be both satisfactory and related to relevant child and mother features.