Maternal Emotion Socialization in Maltreating and Non‐maltreating Families: Implications for Children's Emotion Regulation

Abstract

This study investigated the socialization of children's emotion regulation in physically maltreating and non-maltreating mother-child dyads (N = 80 dyads). Mother-child dyads participated in the parent-child emotion interaction task (Shipman & Zeman, 1999) in which they talked about emotionally-arousing situations. The PCEIT was coded for maternal validation and invalidation in response to children's emotion. Mothers were also interviewed about their approach to emotion socialization using the meta-emotion interview-parent version (Katz & Gottman, 1999). The meta-emotion interview-parent version was coded for maternal emotion coaching. Mothers also completed measures that assessed their child abuse potential and abuse-related behaviors as well as children's emotion regulation. Findings indicated that maltreated children demonstrated fewer adaptive emotion regulation skills and more emotion dysregulation than non-maltreated children. In addition, maltreating mothers engaged in less validation and emotion coaching and more invalidation in response to children's emotion than non-maltreating mothers. Finally, maternal emotion socialization behaviors mediated the relation between maltreatment status and children's adaptive emotion regulation skills.

Emotion Coaching - A Strategy for Promoting Behavioural Self-Regulation in Children/Young People In Schools: A Pilot Study

“…Randomised Control Trials in America have demonstrated that emotion coaching enables children to have better emotional regulation, more competent problem-solving, higher selfesteem, better academic success, more positive peer relations and fewer behavioural problems (Gottman et al, 1997). Emotion coaching has been used to support children with conduct behavioral difficulties ( Havighurst et al 2013;Katz & Windecker-Nelson, 2004), depression (Katz & Hunter, 2007) and those exposed to violent environments, including inter-parental violence, maltreatment and community violence (Shipman et al, 2007, Katz et al, 2008Cunningham et al, 2009). Emotion coaching has also been positively correlated with secure attachments (Chen et al, 2011), and used effectively to improve the psychological functioning of children who have experienced complex trauma (Murphy et al, forthcoming), as well as reduce the externalising behaviours of children with ASD .…”

Expressividade emocional da criança e expressividade emocional atribuída às personagens nas narrativas das crianças maltratadas e não maltratadas

“…Apresentam mais dificuldade em descodificar as emoções negativas (Shipman & Zeman, 2001), bem como uma hipervigilância aos estímulos agressivos, o que as leva a expressar mais agressividade (Ayoub et al, 2006) e, por conseguinte, a evidenciar dificuldades na regulação emocional. Desta forma, a hostilidade, a inconsistência nas respostas emocionais e a negligência que pautam a parentalidade maltratante parecem funcionar como entrave ao desenvolvimento das competências de regulação emocional (Cicchetti & Rogosch, 2001;Maughan & Cicchetti, 2002;Shipman et al, 2007).…”

“…Considerando as dificuldades das crianças maltratadas no primeiro eixo, relativo à regulação emocional (Cicchetti & Rogosch, 2001;Shipman et al, 2007), e no segundo eixo, relativo à descodificação emocional (Koizumi & Takagishi, 2014;Pears & Fisher, 2005;Sullivan, Carmody & Lewis, 2010), é expectável que estas crianças expressem mais emoções inconsistentes face à emocionalidade que atribuem às ações das personagens.…”

Positive and Negative Peer Interaction in 3- and 4-Year-Olds in Relation to Regulation and Dysregulation

“…However, some investigators have distinguished conceptually and empirically between regulation and dysregulation. Dysregulation has been defined as loss of behavioral and emotional control, especially in anger-or frustration-inducing contexts (Bridges, Denham, & Ganiban, 2004;Cole, Michel, & Teti, 1994;Denham et al, 2003;Dodge & Garber, 1991;Rubin et al, 2003;Shields & Cicchetti, 1997;Shipman et al, 2007). Shields and Cicchetti, for example, characterized regulation as "situationally appropriate" behavior and emotion, including "empathic toward others," or "can say when s/he is feeling sad, angry or mad, fearful or afraid" (p. 910).…”