Mechanisms Mediating Children’s Perceived Maternal Nonsupportive Reactions to Sadness and Children’s Social and Emotional Functioning

Abstract

This study examined whether children's perceptions of maternal nonsupportive reactions to sadness (active discouragement and non-response) influenced children's loneliness and classroom popularity indirectly through their effects on children's sadness inhibition and self-perception of social competence. Participants were children in grades 3-6 from a university affiliated public elementary school (N = 175; 53 % females; 37 % racial/ ethnic minority). Children reported on the frequency of their mother's active discouragement and non-response of their sadness, as well their own sadness inhibition, selfperceived social competence, and loneliness. Classroom peers reported on children's popularity. Results indicated that perceived maternal non-response to sadness was indirectly related to classroom popularity and loneliness through the effect on children's self-perception of social competence. In contrast, perceived maternal active discouragement of sadness was indirectly related to children's classroom popularity through the effect on children's sadness inhibition. These results support the consideration of active discouragement and non-response as distinct constructs and indicate the likelihood of different pathways of influence in predicting emotional and social outcomes such as loneliness and classroom popularity.

Factor structure of the Emotions as a Child Scale in late adolescence and emerging adulthood.

“…The Emotions as a Child Scale (EAC; Magai & O’Neal, 1997) is a commonly used measure assessing parental emotion socialization (Kehoe, Havighurst, & Harley, 2014; Sharp, Cohen, Kitzmann, & Parra, 2016; Silk et al, 2011). Across four emotions (anger, fear/anxiety, sadness, and shame), the scale assesses five dimensions of emotion socialization strategies that either encourage or discourage children’s emotional expressions: Reward, Punish, Override, Neglect, and Magnify.…”

Maternal alcohol dependence symptoms, maternal insensitivity to children’s distress, and young children’s blunted emotional reactivity

“…Suppressive strategies have consistently been linked with emotion dysregulation and subsequent emotional and psychological disorders such as depression (Dryman & Heimberg, 2018), anxiety and stress-related symptoms (Hosogoshi et al, 2020;Moore et al, 2008;Seligowski et al, 2015), and suicide and non-suicidal self-injury (Forkmann et al, 2014;Turner et al, 2012). Hiding or masking emotions has also been linked with impairments in interpersonal functioning and may interfere with an individual's ability to forge or strengthen emotional or social bonds with others, partially because a core component of these relationships involve empathy, trust, emotional reciprocity, and feelings of connectedness (Howard Sharp et al, 2016;Jacob et al, 2014). Thus, hiding emotions may not only increase children's risk for mental health challenges but they may also undermine children's ability to build social network that could provide emotional support especially during times of psychological distress (Calkins et al, 1999).…”

“…Thus, hiding emotions may not only increase children's risk for mental health challenges but they may also undermine children's ability to build social network that could provide emotional support especially during times of psychological distress (Calkins et al, 1999). During childhood, this may increase feelings of loneliness, isolation, diminished sense of belonging or worthiness, and/or sense of security or safety in interpersonal relationships (Howard Sharp et al, 2016;Qualter & Munn, 2002).…”