Date Presented 03/27/20
Maternal caregiving, reflective functioning, and support during joint play were examined in an explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods study. Maternal caregiving predicated reflective functioning, which in turn predicted maternal support during joint play. Balancing of task-oriented and process-oriented behaviors framework explained dyadic synchrony observed during joint play. This study deepens our understanding of family relations and their effects on children’s emotional and social development.
Primary Author and Speaker: Amiya Waldman-Levi
Additional Authors and Speakers: Ricky Finzi-Dottan
Contributing Authors: Amber Cope
PURPOSE: Maternal care-giving system and reflective functioning are essential in promoting supportive parenting especially during middle-childhood period when child’s social skills and reflective functioning are further developing. This study aims were to explore whether maternal care-giving and reflective functioning predict the support a mother provides to her child during joint play; and (b) to explain the phenomenon of joint play experience among mothers and their children.
DESIGN: This study utilized an explanatory sequential mixed method design consisting of a quantitative grounded-theory approach and a quantitative cross-sectional design. First, we collected data (convenient sampling) for the quantitative aspect of this study. The qualitative method was secondary in the sequence and utilized a random selection of mother-child pairs.
METHOD: 70 mother-child dyads of typically developing children were sampled, of which 20 observations were selected for the qualitative analysis. Instruments included: background questionnaire, Care-giving System Function scale (CSF; Shaver et al., 2010), and Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999). A criterion referenced observation scale was used to quantify maternal supportive behavior during 15-minutes video-recorded joint play, the Parent’s/Caregiver Support of Children’s Playfulness (PCSCP; Waldman-Levi & Bundy, 2016). Qualitative analysis consisted of constant comparative approach to analyze joint play observations.
RESULTS: Mother’s age ranged from 31 to 49 years (M=39.83, sd=5.59) and their average level of education was 15 years (sd=3.18). Children’s age ranged from 6 to 11 years (M=8.78, sd=1.38). Three simple linear regression analyses were performed to explore whether maternal care-giving and reflective functioning predict the support a mother provides to her child during joint play. The first model was significant and explained 13% of the variance (R2=.15, F(1,69)=11.70, p<.001), avoidant care-giving significantly predicted maternal reflective functioning (β= -.38, t= -3.42, p<.001). The second general model was found significant and explained 15% of the variance (R2=.16, F(1,69)=13.40, p<.001), anxious care-giving significantly predicted maternal rumination (β= .41, t=3.66, p<.001). The third model predicated maternal support towards her child’s playfulness during joint play and explained 6% of the variance (R2=.27, F(1,69)=5.48, p<.05), maternal reflective functioning significantly predicted maternal supportive behavior (β= .27, t=2.34, p<.05). The qualitative analysis resulted in the formation of the Balancing between task-oriented and process-oriented framework, a continuum of behaviors and states during joint play. The framework encompass four behavioral profiles observed during joint play: verbal and task-oriented behaviors, verbal and process-oriented behaviors, non-verbal and process-oriented behaviors, and non-verbal and task-oriented behaviors.
CONCLUSION: Findings confirm that maternal care-giving dispositions predicted reflective functioning, which in turn predicted the support provided to the child during joint play. The qualitative analysis framework illustrates how maternal reflective functioning and support provided to child impact child’s behavior and contributed to their synchronous in the joint play experience.
IMPACT STATEMENT: OT clinicians are involved in supporting child’s social-emotional development and sustainable relationships with their parents. This study can assist OT clinicians in identifying their unique role in supporting joint play during middle childhood period as part of an interdisciplinary team.
References
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