Patterns of noncompliance among 18, 30, and 42 month old children

This study examines the factors associated with noncompliance among 72 children in three age groups (18, 30, and 42 months) and attempts to differentiate age-related noncompliance from noncompliance related to child specific factors such as child temperament and maternal behavior. Mother-child interaction within two (naturalistic and semistructured) situations was videotaped and subsequently reviewed by independent raters who assessed the frequency of and affect accompanying maternal behavior and four descriptive dimensions of child noncompliance: (a) frequency, (b) child affect, (c) intensity, and (d) persistence (endurance). Mothers were also asked to rate their perception of child temperament. Analyses revealed that: (a) while 18 month olds exhibited levels of frequency and persistence of noncompliance in the semistructured situation which were significantly higher than levels of 42 month olds, in the naturalistic setting, 30 month olds actually exhibited levels of noncompliance (frequency and persistence) significantly higher than those exhibited by 42 month olds, (b) each of the four dimensions of noncompliance was predicted by a different set of factors which, in turn, varied according to the situation in which the maternal-child interaction occurred, (c) the consistency of noncompliance across situations across situations (as measured by frequency and persistence) increased with age, and (d) significant differences between boys and girls were found only in the naturalistic situation as measured by the persistence dimension. While the current study should be considered exploratory, these findings indicate that negativism involves a complex and dynamic set of behavioral characteristics linked closely to child development. Whereas 18 month olds appear to exhibit high levels of noncompliance frequency and persistence in those situations which tax their limited cognitive skills, 30 month olds may exhibit high levels of noncompliance frequency and persistence in a more arbitrary fashion, presumably related to issues in socio-emotional development. In addition, the results of this study suggest the existence of a pattern of child noncompliance, characterized by high levels of intensity or accompanying affect, which appears closely linked to child temperament and maternal behavior. These findings point to valuable areas of future investigation.