This study investigated the contribution of early maternal autonomy support in the prediction of developmental patterns of change in child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems from 2 to 7 years of age. The participants were 130 mother-child dyads drawn from a community sample. Data were collected at four-time points. Maternal sensitivity and autonomy support were assessed observationally at 12 and 15 months, respectively, child temperament was reported by both parents at 2 years, and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors were reported by both parents at 2, 4, and 7 years. The results indicated that, over and above child temperament and maternal sensitivity, mothers who supported their child's autonomy to a greater degree had children whose trajectories of internalizing behavior increased less and trajectories of externalizing behavior decreased more. These findings suggest that maternal autonomy support may be an important target for prompt intervention to promote healthier child behavioral and emotional adjustment trajectories.

中文翻译：

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早期母亲自主支持作为儿童早期儿童内化和外化行为轨迹的预测因子

本研究调查了早期母亲自主支持在预测 2 至 7 岁儿童内化和外化行为问题的发展模式变化中的贡献。参与者是从社区样本中抽取的 130 对母子。在四个时间点收集数据。母亲敏感性和自主支持分别在 12 个月和 15 个月时进行了观察评估，父母双方在 2 岁时报告了孩子的气质，在 2、4 和 7 岁时父母双方都报告了孩子的内化和外化行为。结果表明，除了孩子的气质和母亲的敏感性之外，支持孩子的母亲 更大程度的自主性使儿童的内化行为轨迹增加较少，而外化行为轨迹减少较多。这些研究结果表明，母亲自主支持可能是及时干预以促进更健康的儿童行为和情绪调整轨迹的重要目标。