Video observations of maternal sensitivity in urban and rural Iran.

There is evidence that rural versus urban residence is a salient factor in predicting parenting practices. In what is most likely the very first video-observation study of parenting ever to come out of Iran, mothers and their 18-60-month-old children were observed for 30 min of free interaction at their homes in urban (n = 11) and rural (n = 15) Iran. None of the mothers made any comments about being filmed, none expressed insecurities about what to do, and only four mothers looked at the camera more than once or twice. Compared to rural mothers, urban mothers showed significantly higher levels of verbal expression, warmth, and doing chores as an activity during the observations. However, this did not translate to significant group differences mothers in sensitivity, non-interference, and general involvement with the child. The discussion focuses on different modalities of expressing sensitivity in urban versus rural mothers in Iran.