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SUMMARY Interaction between mother and firstborn child before and after the birth of a second child was studied in 41 families, using home observations and interview techniques. Decreases in maternal attention and play, increases in confrontation, and changes in the balance of responsibility for initiating interaction were found. Changes in patterns of association between maternal and child variables after the birth of the sibling were primarily the result of changes in individual differences in child behaviour.
Dunn et al. (1980) studied this question.