This study investigated the relations between the child's temperamental characteristics assessed when the infant was eight months old and maternal childrearing practices assessed when the child was 18 months old. Participants were 28 mother-child dyads consisting of healthy, male infants and their mothers of low socioeconomic status living in the city of Salvador. The Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire and the Structured Interview about Maternal Childrearing Practices were used. Content analysis allowed the maternal childrearing practices to be classified into practices facilitating social development and non-facilitating practices. There were moderate correlations between the threshold of response and the approach-withdrawal dimensions and the total score of temperament and maternal childrearing practices. However, regression analysis did not confirm any of these relationships. The relevance of moderator and mediator variables in this relationship and the peculiarities of the instrument used for assessing temperament are discussed.
Child development; Maternal child-rearing practices; Child temperament
