Abstract

The aim of this work is to observe the emotional involvement which characterizes the dyadic mother-infant interaction. The focus of the research is to assess the influence that the preterm birth variable has on the development of the mother-infant relationship. To this purpose dyads with preterm children and dyads with full-term children are compared through longitudinal observation. The preterm children reach the climax of their social competences with one/ two-month delay if compared with full term children. The mothers also seem to be influenced by this trend and a more positive range of maternal behaviours appear sensibly later than in the case of preterm infants.