Some problems of inconsistent mothering or "Damned if you do, damned if you don't"

This study was conducted with 52 mother-child dyads taking part in a parent-training program aimed at modifying coercive, antisocial child behavior. Prior to any therapeutic intervention, scores on 14 measures of mother-child interaction and on an index of maternal community contacts (known as "insularity") were obtained for each dyad. This index was used to divide the sample into two groups (noninsular n=21; insular n=31). The interactional measures were then compared between the groups. Results indicated that insular mothers were significantly more aversive and inconsistent in their use of aversive behavior toward their children than noninsular mothers, while their children were significantly more aversive than noninsular children, especially in response to aversive maternal behavior. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed. It is concluded that they imply that research should go beyond the narrow limits of the immediate dyadic interactions generally reported in the literature and consider these interactions within the social setting in which they take place, using this setting to account, at least in part, for their outcome.