Mother and child characteristics and involvement in dyads in which very young children have eczema

The purpose of this study was to verify statements made in the literature concerning the personality characteristics of mothers of children who have eczema, those of the children, and their dyadic interaction. Three observers made five 2-hour home visits to 14 mother-child dyads when the children were 29, 33, 37, 41, and 45 weeks old. Seven dyads included a child who had eczema. The results showed these dyads to be significantly different from the control dyads, in that they were less aware and less involved with each other, and less mutually positively reinforcing. However, neither the mothers nor the children, nor the interaction between them fit the descriptions made of them in the literature. The authors therefore caution against making generalizations about the psychological contributions to or psychomaintenance of childhood eczema.