Interaction Behaviour of Preschool Children from Single and Two Parent Families

Subjects of this study were 30 children, 19 boys and 11 girls, three to six years of age and their mothers. Fourteen children came from mother-child and 16 from two parent families. The children and their mothers were videotaped while doing a puzzle. An observation system for measuring parent-child interaction was developed and the perceived stress of the mothers was rated. There were no significant differences between the interaction behaviour of children from two and single parent families, but there were significant differences depending on the degree of maternal stress.