Child behavior ratings: the influence of maternal characteristics and child temperament.

This study investigated the extent to which maternal characteristics, such as psychological health problems, marital adjustment and confidence in mother/wife roles, influenced how mothers rated the behavior of their first-born children (n = 100) on the Pre-school Behavior Questionnaire. Results showed that these characteristics were powerful predictors of behavior ratings. In contrast, the independent contribution of child temperament ratings was relatively small. It was concluded that child behavior problem and temperament measures may be confounded. Maternal ratings constitute a valuable source of information concerning parent-child interaction which deserve further investigation, especially of their influence on generally accepted measures of child behavioral adjustment.