Birth Order and Sex of Sibling as Determinants of Mother-Infant Interaction

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Abstract
Mother-infant interaction was assessed on 32 1st and 2nd born siblings when each was 3 mo old. Data were collected during two 6 hr naturalistic home observations using a modified time-sampling technique. The sample consisted of 4 equal-size subgroups of same and opposite sex sibling pairs. Interaction between a mother and her infant apparently varied depending on the birth order and gender of the infant. Mothers spent significantly less time in social, affectionate, and caretaking interaction (except for feeding activities) with their 2nd borns than they had with their 1st borns; this difference was greater if the 2nd born was female. Certain patterns of maternal behaviors appeared to be stable from 1 sibling to the other. Different types of interaction between the mothers and their younger infants were related to attention-seeking behavior in the 1st born male and female siblings.

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