Mulroe,
Michelle (9/08) Symbolic abilities of mother and child (Rhiannon Allen, Ph.D.;
Christopher Christian, Ph.D.; Philip Wong, Ph.D.)
This study examined the relationship
between the symbolic abilities of mother-child dyads, as observed by mother's
symbolic use of language and her child's symbolic use of language and play.
Thirty mothers and their children, ages 5 to 61⁄2 years, were interviewed using
the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB)
respectively. All narratives were scored for Referential Activity (RA) (Bucci,
1995). The children's play narratives were also scored for Symbolic Ability
(SA), which was developed for this study and based on rater observation. No
significant correlation was found between mother's RA and child's RA, and no
significant correlation was found between the children's RA and SA scores. The
null findings are very surprising and raise important methodological questions for
studying symbolization. These concerns are addressed with regard to future
research, in order to improve our collective understanding of how to reliably
measure and compare symbolic abilities in children and adults.
