Longitudinal analysis of the presence, efficacy and stability of maternal scaffolding during informal problem‐solving interactions

The use of contingent instruction by parents and a related positive outcome for subsequent child behaviours have been documented in past research. In the current study the scaffolding paradigm was used to investigate patterns of maternal instructional behaviours and related child behaviours during informal problem‐solving interactions and during independent problem‐solving tasks. Forty‐five mother‐child dyads were observed at four time points across a 3‐year period (children aged 16, 26, 44 and 54 months). In general, mothers showed systematic decreases in the amount of support offered and systematic increases in their use of contingent instruction, whereas children became more successful in their behaviours during the parent‐child interactions. Surprisingly, there was little or no stability across time for each mother‐child dyad. Mothers and children became more successful at working together during the problem‐solving tasks, but each parent and each child was not consistent from one period to the next. In addition, when predicting children's success during independent tasks at the earlier ages there was an indirect link between parent behaviours and child success, whereas at 54 months there was a direct effect for both parent behaviours and children's previous abilities.