Mutually responsive orientation between parents and their young children: toward methodological advances in the science of relationships

Nazan Aksan; Grazyna Kochanska; Margaret R Ortmann

doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.833

Back

Mutually responsive orientation between parents and their young children: toward methodological advances in the science of relationships

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Mutually responsive orientation between parents and their young children: toward methodological advances in the science of relationships

Nazan Aksan, Grazyna Kochanska and Margaret R Ortmann

Developmental psychology, Vol.42(5), pp.833-848

09/2006

DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.833

PMID: 16953690

View Online

Abstract

The authors captured mother-child and father-child relationships when children were 7 and 15 months old by coding 4 explicitly dyadic components of mutually responsive orientation (MRO): coordinated routines, harmonious communication, mutual cooperation, and emotional ambiance. These components were coded in 102 families in naturalistic contexts at home and in the laboratory. Using confirmatory factor analytic methods, the authors demonstrated that MRO (a) is a unidimensional latent construct, (b) can be distinguished from and is not reducible to the 2 interacting individuals' qualities (responsiveness and positive affect), and (c) has remarkable measurement equivalence from ages 7 to 15 months for both mother-child and father-child relationships and has remarkable measurement equivalence across both parent-child relationships at both child ages. This study represents an effort to advance the science of relationships by moving away from individual-based measures to dyadic measures and by using contemporary data analytic strategies.

Affect

Age Factors

Communication

Cooperative Behavior

Father-Child Relations

Female

Humans

Infant

Male

Marriage - psychology

Mother-Child Relations

Object Attachment

Parenting - psychology

Personality Development

Prognosis

Psychology, Child

Social Environment

Details

Title: Subtitle: Mutually responsive orientation between parents and their young children: toward methodological advances in the science of relationships
Creators: Nazan Aksan - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. nazan-aksan@uiowa.edu
Grazyna Kochanska
Margaret R Ortmann
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Developmental psychology, Vol.42(5), pp.833-848
DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.833
PMID: 16953690
ISSN: 0012-1649
eISSN: 1939-0599
Grant note: R01 HD069171 / NICHD NIH HHS K02 MH01446 / NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH63096 / NIMH NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 09/2006
Academic Unit: Neurology; Psychological and Brain Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984213262102771

Metrics

14 Record Views

87 Times Cited - Web of Science

See more details