Adult Responses to Child Communications

Abstract

TEYBER, EDWARD C.; MESSE., LAWRENCE A.; and STOLLAK, GARY E. Adult Responses to Child Communications. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 1577-1582. Oral responses of 180 male and female undergraduates to scenarios containing positive-loving, neutral-informational, and/or negative-rejecting (male) child communications were obtained and scored along 25 specific categories, as well as a global rating of acceptance/rejection of child. A factor analysis generated 6 factors which, along with the global rating, were examined in terms of possible differences as a function of varying child comunications. Results supported the hypothesis that adults would respond with communications whose affect matched that of the child's. Further, males were found to be more rejecting and punitive than females, and subjects, in general, appeared unable to respond in an empathic, child-centered manner to any type of child communication.