The relationship between maternal sensitivity (MS) and child outcomes has been examined by earlier research. There is some evidence that MS plays a role in shaping temperament development in early childhood. Child temperament outcomes are a significant predictor for functioning in later life. The study is based on 952 mother-infant pairs from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). MS was observed at 12-months and temperament at 24-months. Linear regression was used to investigate the association between MS and temperament, adjusting for a range of confounders (temperament at 6 months, gender, SES, maternal mental health, maternal preconceptions of her child, parental conflict, gestation and maternal age). Multiple imputation was used to account for attrition. Mother-child interactions rated as “cool/moderate” were associated with more difficult temperament on the dimensions of “approach” (Coef 0.35, CI 0.09, 0.60),“rhythmicity”(Coef 0.43, CI 0.19, 0.68) and “adaptability” (Coef 0.24, CI 0.00, 0.49). The associations remained after adjusting for confounders in the imputed data set. There is evidence that maternal warmth may be influential in the development of child temperament, particularly positive affect, sociability and affect regulation. Further research is needed to replicate these findings.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The objectives of the present research were to study the correlations between the presence of risk to child development and the interference of socioeconomic, demographic, psychosocial and obstetric variables, and to investigate the association between the presence of risk to child development and children initial speech production from 13 to 16 months of age. The quantitative, descriptive study of comparative nature about the behavioral manifestations of the mother-infant interactive process consisted of the evaluation of an initial sample of 182 mother-child dyads who were followed for 18 months in a cohort study. The final sample for the study of socioeconomic, demographic, psychosocial, and obstetric variables consisted of 64 infants and for the initial speech production study, the sample consisted of 54 infants. The collecting procedures were based on an initial interview, during the first stage of collection (1-4 months), on the application of the Risk Indicators for Child Development Protocol (1-18 months) and on the collection of children speech production between 13 and 16 months of age, by spontaneous observation and maternal report. Statistical analysis was developed through the application of non-parametric tests. The results demonstrated that there is a significantly association between the presence of risk to infant development and socioeconomic, demographic, psychosocial and obstetric variables. It was also verified that the initial language acquisition correlates significantly with the presence of development risks, since infants at risk present initial speech output in numerical magnitude statistically lower compared to infants without risk. Therefore, the risk to child development is multifactorial, being necessary to observe the constitutional aspects of the infant and relational to the environment, especially in relation to who plays the maternal role, in order to analyze and decide on the clinical referral. Keywords: Infant care. Infant. Child development. Risk factors. Language. Socioeconomic factors / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivos analisar as associações entre a presença de risco ao desenvolvimento infantil e variáveis socioeconômicas, demográficas, psicossociais e obstétricas, e investigar a associação entre presença de risco ao desenvolvimento infantil e produção inicial de fala de crianças na faixa de 13 a 16 meses de idade. O estudo quantitativo, descritivo com caráter comparativo sobre as manifestações comportamentais do processo interativo mãe-bebê, constituiu-se da avaliação de uma amostra inicial de 182 díades mães-bebês que foram acompanhadas durante 18 meses em um estudo de coorte. A amostra final para o estudo de variáveis socioeconômicas, demográficas, psicossociais e obstétricas foi de 58 crianças e para o estudo de produção inicial de fala de 54 crianças. Os procedimentos de coleta constaram de uma entrevista inicial, na primeira etapa da coleta (1 a 4 meses), a aplicação do Protocolo de Índices de Risco ao Desenvolvimento Infantil (1 a 18 meses) e da coleta da produção de fala entre 13 e 16 meses, por meio da observação espontânea e relato materno. A análise estatística deu-se pela aplicação de testes não-paramétricos e pela estimação de modelos de regressão logística. Os resultados demonstraram que há uma associação significativa entre presença de risco ao desenvolvimento infantil e variáveis socioeconômicas, demográficas, psicossociais e obstétricas. Também se verificou que a aquisição da linguagem inicial apresenta associação de modo significativo com a presença de riscos ao desenvolvimento, visto que bebês com risco apresentam produção de fala inicial em magnitude numérica estatisticamente inferior em relação aos bebês sem risco. Portanto, o risco ao desenvolvimento infantil é multifatorial, sendo necessário observar os aspectos constitucionais do bebê e relacionais com o ambiente, sobretudo em relação a quem exerce a função materna, para analisar e decidir acerca do encaminhamento clínico.