Personality Variables as Assessed by the MMPI and Their Relationship to Mother-Infant Interactional Behaviors at Age Three Months

Abstract

The present study examined whether maternal personality variables, as assessed on the MMPI, relate to early infant and maternal variables. The subjects were 14 low-risk, preterm and 24 full-term 3-mo.-old infants and their mothers. A female experimenter visited each infant at home where the mother and the experimenter each took turns and talked to the baby for 3 min. Subsequently, each infant was given a differential vocal response score by taking the amount of time spent in nondistress vocalizing in response to the stranger from the time spent in similar vocalizing in response to the mother. Following the 3-min. interactions, the mother and infant were observed for 30 min. and several mother-infant behaviors were recorded. Finally, the mothers were administered the MMPI. Analysis showed that high scores on Scales 3, 6, and Ego Control were related to less favorable mother-infant interactions and high scores on the Femininity and Ego Control Scales were related to infants' low differential vocal response scores.