Promoting competence in preschool children of low-income single mothers: The impact of maternal social support.

Abstract

This study examined intercorrelations among measures of maternal social support, perceptions of coping, mother-child interactions, and child competence in a sample of 50 low-income single mothers and their preschool children. Families were observed and interviewed in their homes on two occasions. Mothers' perceptions of social support and coping were assessed through the Social Network Form developed by Weinraub and Wolf (1983). The Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (HOME; Bradley & Caldwell, 1979) was used to assess mother-child interaction. Child competence was assessed through children's scores on three subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - Revised (WPPSI-R; Wechsler, 1989), children's scores on the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Harter & Pike, 1983), and mothers' ratings of children's behavior problems on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1976). Results indicated that mothers who were satisfied with their child care supports reported high coping, demonstrated developmentally facilitative interactions with their children, and had children who scored high on measures of cognitive competence and low on maternal reports of child behavior problems. In addition, mothers who reported experiencing frequent distressing social interactions reported low levels of coping and had children who scored high on maternal reports of behavior problems. Results indicated that maternal experiences of social supports have both direct and indirect effects on child competence. It was suggested that interventions which increase the number of high-quality formal and informal child care resources available to low-income families may have important and lasting effects on maternal perceptions of coping, mother-child interactions, and child competence.