Parental Support and the Development of Competence in Children

The transactional relation between parental support and the development of competence in children was investigated in a longitudinal study. Sensitivity of the parent is assumed to be a prerequisite for the ability to provide adequate social support. Subjects were 100 children, aged 9 months to 12 years, and their primary caretakers. For both boys and girls, parental responsiveness was found to have an effect on the competence of the child at the age of 9 months, at that age measured by exploration and contingency analysis. Interindividual differences in competence remained stable in boys from age 9 months to 7 years, and between the ages 7 and 10, and 10 and 12. For girls, interindividual stability in competence was only found during the elementary school years. In both boys and girls the competence of the child (as indicated by their ego-resiliency) was related to later social support given by the parent. For boys, parents were more consistent in their approach and only their respect for the child's autonomy was related to earlier competence of the child. For girls, more dimensions of parental support were related to earlier competence of the child. These results thus indicate a strong effect of parental support on a child's competence in infancy, then a genderdifferentiated stability of competence from infancy to the end of elementary school, and a relation between the competence of a child and later parental support.