The effects of mother's style of interaction on children's engagement: Implications for using responsive interventions with parents

This study examined the effects of mothers' style of interaction on children's interactive engagement. The study consisted of a sample of 30 children from Korea, including chronologically age-matched groups of children with disabilities (n = 13) and children without disabilities (n = 17). Parents were videotaped while playing with their children with a standard set of developmentally appropriate toys. These observations were coded with the Child Behavior Rating Scale to assess children's engagement and the Maternal Behavior Rating Scale to assess mother's style interaction. Results are described in terms of (a) factors that contribute to children's developmental growth and (b) the kinds of intervention objectives that should be targeted with responsive teaching strategies.