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Abstract
Attitudes and child-rearing practices of French mothers of twins with regard to the differentiation of their children were studied for a sample of 68 families with 1-year-old twins (MZ, same-sex DZ, and different-sex DZ). Observations of the twins' physical environment (clothes, bedroom furniture, bedroom arrangement and decoration, toys) were compared to the mothers' approaches to twin-raising (purchase and assignment of clothes and toys to twins), assessed by interview. Findings show a significant relationship between the type of twins and the mother's child-rearing practices, and between the mother's level of education and the maternal attitudes she expressed during the interview. In addition to showing that monozygosity has a specific status for mothers, this study points out the relevance of distinguishing same-sex twins from different-sex twins. Results are discussed in reference to early sex-linked differentiation, and to the consequences of twinning-oriented parental practices on the development of identity in twins.
