Deaf Child-Hearing Mother Interaction: Extensiveness and Reciprocity

Abstract

Groups of 15 deaf and 15 hearing preschool children, matched on several demographic variables, were observed interacting with their mothers during free play and teaching periods. Although the quantity of mother-child interaction and the use of maternal verbal controls did not differ between groups, there were substantial between-groups differences in mother-child responsivity. The deaf children were less compliant and responded less appropriately to maternal directives and questions than the hearing children. Similarly, mothers of deaf children were less responsive to requests from their children than mothers of hearing children. These findings were discussed in light of Bell's longitudinal model of reciprocal mother-child effects.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 43 citations exist upstream.