IntroductionHarrison and Magill-Evans (1999) sought to determine whether a child's interactions with his mother and father during the first year were more important than whether an infant is born preterm or full term with respect to early childhood development Researchers have reported decreased interactive behavior for preterm infants (Banard, Bee, & Hammond, 1984) and less responsive interactions in preterm infant-parent dyads. compared to full-term parent-infant dyads (Harrison & Magill-Evans, 1996), As Harrison and Magill-Evans (1999) suggest, many factors influence parents' interactive skills, including parent stress and resources and Magill-Evans hypothesized that child-environment transactions, as evidenced in both mother-child and father-child interactions in combination with parenting stress, would be significant predictors of child cognitive and linguistic development. The goal of this study was to use multiple tests that eliminated confounding variables, but still found significant support for increasing child cognitive abilities through parent-child interaction. Using a longitudinal study with multiple testing, Harrison and Magill-Evans (1999) propose that if parent-child interaction is a key factor in early childhood development, then there will be a strong positive correlation between positive parent-child interactions and the child's intelligence. The Experiments To gather more information about their hypothesis, Harrison and Magill-Evans (1999) paired premature infants with full-term infants based on sex, expected due date, and hospital of birth; the final sample included 49 preterm and 54 full-term children. This, in relation to the fathers' scores, the mothers' scores...... half of the paper ......P. Keating (Ed.), Applied developmental psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 39-80). New York: Academic Press.Bayley, N. (1969). Manual for the Bayley Scale of Child Development. New York: Psychological Corporation. Harrison, M. J., & Magill-Evans, J. (1996). Interactions between mother and father with full-term and premature infants in the first year. Research in Nursing and Health, 19, 451-459.Hedrick, D.L., Prather, E.M., & Tobin, A.R. (1984). Sequenced Communication InventoryDevelopment: Examiner's Manual. Seattle, WA: University of Washington. Magill-Evans, J., & Harrison, M. J. (1999). Parent-child interactions and development of children born prematurely. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 21(3), 292-312.Sumner, G., & Spietz, A. (Eds.). (1994). NCAST Caregiver/Parent-Child Interaction Instructional Manual. Seattle, WA: NCAST Publications, University of Washington School of Nursing.