Mother-child interactions with nonretarded and mentally retarded preschoolers.

Comparisons of mother-child interaction patterns exhibited during free-play sessions were made between 8 mother-mentally retarded child dyads and 8 mother-nonretarded child dyads. Mothers' perceptions of randomly selected interactions were also examined. The children were matched for cognitive level on the basis of play behavior. The mean age of the retarded children was 46.5 months; of the nonretarded children, 27.2 months. Results indicated that mothers of retarded children dominated the play sessions more than did the comparison mothers. In addition, they perceived themselves as trying to change their children's behavior more often than did the comparison mothers. The retarded children responded less frequently to their mothers' initiations than did the nonretarded children, and they initiated less than half as many interactions. Findings were discussed within the framework of symbolic interaction theory, and suggestions for future research were outlined.