Utilization of an interrogative model to evaluate mothers' use and children's comprehension of question forms

A study was conducted to determine the efficacy of utilizing Leach's interrogation model as a means for analyzing question types used by mothers and their children's responses to various interrogative forms. Data analyzed consisted of language samples obtained from three preschool children and their mothers during mother-child interactions plus each child's responses to a 90-item probe containing questions representing the 15 question forms delineated by the model. The interrogation model was an effective and reliable tool in the analysis of data. The question forms most frequently used by the mothers were (1) wh- interrogative nominal segment, (2) auxiliary + no infinitive, and (3) tag questions. All three subjects displayed similarities of performance in response to wh- interrogative nominal segment and auxiliary + no infinitive questions. Two of the subjects appeared capable of appropriately answering all of the question forms tested during the interrogative probe. Similarities of performance during the mother-child interaction and the interrogative probe were found to exist for two of the three subjects in certain categories. A high percentage of the questions posed by the mothers during the mother-child interactions were of forms which their children consistently answered appropriately during the interrogative probe.