Table 2.

Four Global Mother-Infant Interactive Dimensions from the Naturalistic Observation of Mother-Child Interactions

Dimension	Variables	Definition
Mother attention I (alpha =.81 –.90)	Mother positive	Directs positive affect to infant (smile, praise, or affectionate touching)
	Mother look	Looks at the infant
	Mother talk	Speaks words to infant
	Mother interact	Touches, gestures toward, or plays with infant
	Reverse of caregiver uninvolved	Does not interact with the infant
Mother restrictiveness I	Mother negative	Directs negative affect to infant (frown, scold, hit)
Infant social behaviors (alpha =.61 –.74)	Child talk	Speaks words to mother
	Child look	Looks at the mother
	Child positive	Direct positive affect to mother (smile, affectionate touching)
	Child interact	Touches, gestures toward, or plays with mother
Infant negativism	Child negative	Directs negative affect to mother (grimace, cry, or whine)