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Participants were 32 families from Oxfordshire, predominantly from Oxford itself and the surrounding area. Socio-demographic details were collected by questionnaire at the start of each home visit. All mothers were English-speaking, complying with an inclusion criterion for the study, with four mothers speaking English fluently as a second language. Two of the bilingual mothers and their bilingual children often conversed in a language other than English at home but were able to speak fluently to each other in English in the play sessions. The participants were predominantly from an educated, middle-class background. Mothers who had participated at Time 1 were contacted again approximately eight months later to be asked if they would take part at Time 2. The gap between visits at Time 1 and Time 2 was

approximately 9 months (0 in weeks = 38.50, 6' = 2.15), and ranged from 35 to 43 weeks. Sample attrition was minimal between data collection time points: of the 32 mothers who had participated at Time 1, 30 mothers agreed to take part at Time 2. Of the mothers who did not take part at Time 2, one was unable to be contacted again and one was unable to schedule a visit. Of the families which participated at Time 1 and Time 2, sixteen of them had more than two children. The number of children in each family ranged from two to six children. The mean age gap between siblings in Time 1 was 27.66 months (6' = 11.65) and ranged from 0 (two sets of twins took part) to 56 months. In establishing the characteristics of the sample, mothers were asked if they had been separated from their children for a significant length of time (longer than a couple of months), and this was not found to be the case with any of the families.

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Age and gender

Demographic characteristics of the sample in terms of mothers’ and children’s age and children’s gender at both time points are given below.

Time 1

The mean age of the mothers was 38.63 years (6' = 4.68) and ranged from 24 to 45 years. The mean age of the older siblings was 75.19 months (6' = 14.35), corresponding to 6;3 years, and ranged from 4;10 years to 9;5 years. The older siblings comprised 19 male (59.4%) and 13 female (40.6%) children. The mean age of the younger siblings was 47.53 months (6' = 13.54), corresponding to 4 years, and ranged from 2;7 years to 6;4 years. The younger siblings comprised 19 male (59.4%) and 13 female (40.6%) children.

Time 2

The mean age of the mothers was 39.23 years (6' = 4.77) and ranged from 25 years to 46 years. The mean age of the older siblings was 83.90 months (6' = 15.02), corresponding to 7 years, and ranged from 5;6 years to 10;2 years. The older siblings comprised 18 male (60%) and 12 female (40%) children. The mean age of the younger siblings was 55.63 months (6' = 13.23), corresponding to 4;8 years, and ranged from 3;3 years to 7;2 years. The younger siblings comprised 19 male (63.33%) and 11 female (36.67%) children.

Maternal education

Mothers’ level of education was included as an independent variable since it was necessary to control for the possibility that maternal mind-mindedness might be related to the amount of time a mother had spent in education. Mothers were given a score which corresponded with their highest educational level, choosing from the following categories: 1, no examinations; 2, CSEs; 3, GCSEs or O-levels; 4, A- levels; 5, further qualification, not to degree level; 6, undergraduate degree; and 7, postgraduate qualification. At the time of recruitment, a very high proportion, 93.75% of mothers (Q = 30) had achieved educational qualifications beyond school level. The distribution of qualifications for the sample at Time 1 is shown in Table 4.1.

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Table 4.1. Mother’s highest educational qualification at Time 1

Educational qualification N %

No examinations 0 0

CSEs 0 0

GCSEs or O-levels 2 6.25

A-levels 0 0

Further qualification, not to degree level

2 6.25

Undergraduate degree 12 37.5 Postgraduate qualification 16 50

Socio-economic status by occupation

The Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC2000) was used to assess participants’ SES. Information on both mothers’ and partners’ occupations was collected due to the possibility that participants could have been stay-at-home mothers or full-time students at the time of the visits and only people in paid employment can be assigned to one of the nine occupational categories in the SOC2000. Accordingly, a tenth category, “other”, was available as an option on the questionnaire and this represented stay-at-home mothers or mothers in full-time education. If mothers did not have a partner, this was available as an option and labelled “not applicable” as a category. Mothers were asked to select one occupational category for themselves and one for their partners from one of the following major groups:

1) Manager and senior officials; 2) Professional occupations;

3) Associate professional and technical occupations; 4) Administrative and secretarial occupations; 5) Skilled trades occupations;

6) Personal service occupations;

7) Sales and customer service occupations; 8) Process, plant and machine operatives; 9) Elementary occupations;

10) Other.

At the time of recruitment, a high proportion, 43.7% of mothers (Q = 14) and 68.75% of mothers’ partners (Q = 22) were in the highest two groups (managers and senior officials, and professional occupations). Of the mothers, 34.4% were stay-at-home

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mothers and not in paid employment (Q = 11). No significant difference in

occupations was found between Time 1 and Time 2, therefore only Time 1 will be reported. The distribution of occupation by mother and by partner at Time 1 is shown in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2. Occupation by mother and partner at Time 1

Occupation Mother Partner N % N %

Manager and senior officials 5 15.6 7 21.9

Professional 9 28.1 15 46.9

Associate professional and technical 6 18.8 2 6.3 Administrative and secretarial 1 3.1 0 0

Skilled trades 0 0 4 12.5

Personal service 0 0 0 0

Sales and customer service 0 0 0 0

Process, plant and machine operatives 0 0 0 0

Elementary 0 0 2 6.3

Other 11 34.4 0 0

Not applicable - - 2 6.3

In order to assess SES for each household, the highest household occupation was taken from either mothers’ or partners’ occupations depending on which was allocated the highest group category. No significant difference in highest household occupation was found between Time 1 and Time 2, therefore only Time 1 will be reported. The highest household occupations are shown for Time 1 in Table 4.3.

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Table 4.3. Highest household occupation at Time 1

Occupation by household N %

Manager and senior officials 9 28.1

Professional 15 46.9

Associate professional and technical 4 12.5 Administrative and secretarial 0 0

Skilled trades 2 6.3

Personal service 0 0

Sales and customer service 0 0

Process, plant and machine operatives 0 0

Elementary 1 3.1

Other 1 3.1