Abstract

PENA RAMOS, Martha Olivia; AGUILAR RODRIGUEZ, Celene  and  VERA NORIEGA, José Ángel. Parents, Stimulation and Development in an Extremely Poor Rural Zone. RMIE [online]. 2005, vol.10, n.25, pp.559-576. ISSN 1405-6666.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the mother’s subjective evaluation of the father’s participation in the control and promotion of child development, and to evaluate the effect of actions associated with stimulation in child development. The analyzed variables were perceived support, stimulation and child development. The sample included 115 mothers with a child between one and five years old, in rural communities in the southern part of the state of Sonora. The instruments utilized were the integral development scale (EDIN), home observation for measurement of the environment (HOME) inventory, and the paternity alliance inventory (PAI). The results indicate that the mother’s perception of the father’s support is related to the HOME dimensions and especially to the following dimensions: a) parental interaction with children, b) the opportunity for variety, and c) the organization of the environment. In the dimensions of stimulation and development, a relationship was found only in the dimension of the parents’ emotional and verbal response and the child’s integral development, and specifically in development, in the area of language.

Keywords : mother/child relationship; father’s role; stimulation; child development; parenting styles; rural environment; Mexico.