Mother-infant socioemotional contingent responding in families by adoption and birth

► Contingencies of three maternal and two infant socioemotional behaviors that are universal components of mother-infant interaction were investigated at 5 months in 62 mothers (31 who had adopted domestically and 31 who had given birth) and their first children (16 males in each group). ► Patterns of contingent responding were largely comparable in dyads by adoption and birth, although the two groups of mothers responded differentially to the two types of infant signals. ► Mothers in both groups were more responsive than infants in social and vocal interactions, but infants were more responsive in maternal speech-infant attention interactions. ► Family type × Gender statistical interactions suggested a possible differential role of infant gender in establishing mother-infant contingencies in families by adoption and birth.