This study investigated the relationship between individual differences in mother-newborn interactional contingency and individual differences in three month postpartum measures of infant competence, perceived maternal role attainment and interactional contingency for a group ($n$ = 72) of disadvantaged adolescent and young adult mothers. Mother-newborn interactional contingency was rated from videotaped episodes using the AMIS scale (Price, 1983), the Aten Summated Rating Scales (Aten, 1983) and a behavior count derived measure created for the study. Perceived maternal role attainment at three months was measured with the revised What Being the Parent of a New Baby is Like (Pridham & Chang, 1985) Evaluation subscale. During a home visit at three months, infant competence was measured with the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (Barnard, 1978) and interactional contingency was measured by the Nursing Child Assessment Scale, the Aten Summary Rating Scales, and two subscales of the HOME scale (Bradley & Caldwell, 1977).

The assessment of differences in mother-newborn interaction did not allow unique prediction of perceived maternal role attainment or infant competence, over and above the prediction possible from factors representing the maternal resource base for parenting. Individual differences in mother-newborn interaction were, however, unique predictors of three month interactional contingency, over and above maternal resource base factors. Results were compared to a model derived from social competence theory and the implications discussed.

The variables representing different aspects of the maternal resource base for parenting could be clustered into factors with different relations to the outcome variables. The factor related to the mother's own social competence--age, education and emancipation--predicted infant competence and subsequent interactive contingency measures. The factor associated with the mother's satisfaction with her social support predicted maternal perceived role attainment.

At three months, subjects rated themselves quite favorably on perceived role attainment; however, the group mean for their demonstrated role attainment, as rated during a structured interaction, was within the worrisome range for the rating scale. Particular deficits were noted in the areas of using language as a means of teaching and rewarding successful infant performance with positive feedback.