Findings from an earlier phase of this research project clearly pointed to the mother's psycological adaptation inherent to the specificities of triadic interaction. Mothers' attitudes were classified in a typology ranging from “early twinness” where the two babies are treated as though they were a single unit, to attempts to create two dyadic relationships. The current program deals with the effects of the type of parent-child relationship at one year on the emergence of twin bonding. Sixty-eight families of twins (26MZ, 24DZ same sex, 18DZ different sex) are followed up from birth to the age of 3 using a method based on clinical interviews, videotaped observations, and questionnaires. The data cover mothers' rearing attitudes towards organization of babycare and outward signs of twinness, maternal representations of the relationship between the twins and observation of the children's interaction in a standardized game situation. The findings are discussed in terms of zygosity, and parental SCS.
