Belsky says they chose a homogeneous sample so that extraneous factors would not affect the comparisons. Families experiencing the most trouble during this developmental stage, the researchers found, were those in which parents practiced a type of simple control. Belsky says this kind of control is generally ineffective because it doesn't show respect for the child. Parents in the study who exercised control plus guidance scored higher in gaining a positive response. Keith Crnic, whose work has focused on stress processes in families, points out that even though there is considerable family stress during infancy, it doesn't affect the way parents think of or react to the baby.
Stress leads parents to become more irritated with the child, so that interaction is impaired.
The researchers identified three groups of families, ranging from less troubled to more troubled. The families having trouble in the second year all attempted to control their children 33 or more times during two hours of observation. They exercised the most simple or negative control of the three groups as well as the least control plus guidance. In return, they got the least compliance and the most defiance from their toddlers. The study analyzed characteristics of the child, the marriage, parents, work, and social support to see how they might collectively explain what was going on within the families.