Attachment relationships serve as contexts within which children develop emotional capacities. This meta-analytic review assessed the strength of associations of parent-child attachment patterns with the experience and regulation of emotion in children under age 18 years. In a series of meta-analyses (k ϭ 72 studies, N's ranged from 87 to 9,167), we examined children's positive and negative affective experiences (assessed either globally or elicited in specific contexts), emotion regulation ability, and coping strategies. More securely attached children experienced more global positive affect and less global negative affect, expressed less elicited negative affect, were better able to regulate emotions, and more often used cognitive and social support coping strategies. More avoidantly attached children experienced less global positive affect, were less able to regulate emotions, and were less likely to use cognitive or social support coping strategies. By contrast, more ambivalently attached children experienced more global and more elicited negative affect, and were less able to regulate emotions. More disorganized children experienced less global positive affect and more global negative affect. These robust findings provide evidence that attachments to parents have implications for children's emotional development, although more research is needed on whether insecure attachment patterns are associated with distinct emotion profiles.

Over the last 3 years there have been notable developments in screening and treatment of perinatal depression. Most importantly, the DSM-V has made only minor changes in the diagnostic criteria for perinatal depression as compared to the DSM-IV; “perinatal”, as opposed to “postpartum”, is a specifier for depression with a requirement that the depression onset occurs during pregnancy or the first 4 weeks postpartum. Advances in the treatment of perinatal depression have been made over the last 3 years, including both prevention and acute interventions. Additional support has emerged confirming the primary risk factors for perinatal depression: a personal or family history, low SES, and poor interpersonal support. There is general agreement that universal screening be conducted for all perinatal women, both by the woman’s obstetrician and the baby’s pediatrician.

Understanding emotions serves as a critical foundation for several aspects of children's social development. Secure attachment relationships, which allow for open emotion communication between the parent and child, are hypothesized to foster emotion understanding. The goal of the current meta-analysis was to determine the strength of the relationship between emotion understanding and attachment security. We conducted an electronic search using PsycINFO and identified 10 studies (N = 564 children) examining this association in children younger than 18 years of age. The meta-analysis yielded a medium and significant overall effect size of r = .33 with no significant moderators. Thus, our results demonstrated that the association between emotion understanding and security of attachment is quite robust. (PsycINFO Database Record

Despite interest in human-animal interaction, few studies have tested whether the presence of a dog facilitates children's emotional responding. Preadolescents (N 5 99) were randomly assigned to complete the Trier Social Stress Test either with or without their pet dog.Children rated their positive and negative affect, and high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) was assessed throughout the session.Children reported higher positive affect when they completed the task with their pet dog, although there were no differences for negative affect or HF-HRV. Children who had more physical contact with their dog at baseline reported higher positive affect. The findings suggest contact with pets is associated with enhanced positive affect. K E Y W O R D Saffect, emotion, family relations, middle childhood, stress

Research on human-animal interaction in children has been studied in isolation rather than integrated with core theories of children’s relationships. This study is one of the first to examine how children’s relationships with pet dogs are related to their human relationships (parent-child attachments, friendships) and to child adjustment, and to include observational assessment of children’s interactions with their pet dog. Children (9 to 11 years old, n = 99) completed questionnaires regarding relationships with pet dogs, parents, and friends. Half the children were observed interacting with their pet dog. Children and teachers reported children’s adjustment. Children who felt closer to their dogs were more securely attached to mothers and fathers, and reported more positive qualities and less conflict with friends. Children with more secure attachments to mothers, and greater companionship with dogs, interacted more with their dogs. Parental attachment and friendship quality, but not the pet dog relationship, were related to child adjustment.