Maternal facilitation of children's problem solving: Relation to disruptive child behavior and maternal characteristics

Examined the relation between mother-child interactions behaviors, disruptive child behavior, and maternal characteristics within the context of maternal facilitation of children's problem solving. In a group comparison analysis, mothers of disruptive children took over the task more and provided fewer closed-ended questions than mothers of nondisruptive children. Subsequent regression analyses found higher levels of mothers' taking-over behavior predicted children's off-task behavior in the analogue tasks; lower frequency of mothers' closed-ended question behavior predicted higher teacher and parent ratings of disruptive behavior at school and home; and higher maternal depression predicted fewer mothers' closed-ended questions during the analogue.