Maternal directiveness is, usually, described as a uniform concept in literature and it has been causing a lot of discussion according to its implications to child development. This work tries to verify the presence of directive behavior on developmentally delayed children's mothers and the meaning of this variable in the interactive process of dyads mother - child. Four pairs were observed in daily routine situations and also in free playing, during a twelve months period. The results show that, generally, the mothers are directive, although individual differences among the patterns were noticed. The children have show raising levels of opposition, reaching an apex around twenty-four months old. It was concluded that directiveness can be a variable that promotes children development according to its meaning in the mother-child relationship, but it cannot be the only responsible dimension for the quality of the maternal interactive stile.
mother-child relationship; maternal directiveness and developmental delays
