The Contribution of Maternal Involvement to Mastery Performance in Infants with Cerebral Palsy

The purpose of this study was to consider maternal contributions to the development of spontaneous mastery. Thirty infants with cerebral palsy and 31 normally developing infants were videotaped in solitary free play and developmentally assessed at 18 months of age. Mastery behavior was assessed using the spontaneous mastery measure (Hmcir, Speller, & West, 1985) an adaptation of the Belsky and Most (1981) play scale, and scores were calculated from the free play situation. Maternal involvement was observed using the Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale (PCIS) (Farran, Kasari, Comfort, & Jay, 1986). Mothers' ability to adapt their interactions to the developmental needs of their children was assessed. The results showed that mothers in the two groups did not differ in the quality and appropriateness of interaction with their infants. Matemal involvement scores contributed significantly to both sponanteous mastery and developmental level regardless of risk status. Implications for service providers are to focus their intervention not only on risk factors but also on protective factors, including parental adaptability and competence, that may influence the infant's developmental outcomes.