Mother-child affect and emotion socialization processes across the late preschool period: predictions of emerging behaviour problems

Abstract

The current study examined concurrent and longitudinal relations between maternal negative affective behavior and child negative emotional expression in preschool age children with (n = 96) or without (n = 126) an early developmental risk, as well as the predictions of later behavior problems. Maternal negative affective behavior, child externalizing emotional expression, and child internalizing emotional expression were observed during a number of lab tasks at child ages 4 and 5, and child externalizing and internalizing behavior problems were assessed via maternal questionnaire at age 6. Path analyses using structural equation modeling were utilized to test the relations among the variables at ages 4, 5, and 6. A parent-driven model of emotion socialization emerged, wherein stronger relations were found among maternal negative affect and child externalizing emotions and behaviors than among maternal negative affect and child internalizing emotions and behaviors. Early child risk did not appear to alter the overall emotion socialization process, although higher levels of maternal and child negativity were observed for the children with a developmental risk. Results underscore the complexity of emotion socialization processes throughout the preschool period.

The transactional process between the relationships with caregivers and children's externalizing behavior

“…Instead, the results tend to replicate the effect from mothers to children that was found in one previous longitudinal cross-lagged study reviewed in the introductory section Table 3 Intercorrelations between the two constructs QR and EB for parents and teachers. (Newland & Crnic, 2011). Similar results were found for fathers.…”

“…In sum, both bidirectional and recursive effects in the mother-child dyad have been found in previous studies (Combs-Ronto et al, 2009;Larsson et al, 2008;Meunier et al, 2011). However, only a caregiver effect was identified by Newland and Crnic (2011) and a strong child effect was found in adolescence by Hale et al (2011).…”

“…Similar findings were made in a community sample, with children's EB at age 4 influencing the controlling behavior they received from mothers at age 5, and supportive behavior of mothers at age 4 influencing children's EB at age 5 (Meunier et al, 2011). In another recent study, bidirectional relations were not confirmed, but only a caregiver effect between mothers' behavior at age 4 and children's EB at age 5 (Newland & Crnic, 2011). In addition to these two-wave studies, longitudinal cross-lagged studies based on three waves of data collection have been helpful in studying both bidirectional and recursive relations.…”

“…As suggested by some previous findings, transactional processes could differ according to the age period. Previous studies have supported a mother effect for preschoolers (Newland & Crnic, 2011), but have reported a strong child effect during adolescence (Hale et al, 2011). It could be speculated that the direction of relations in the parent-child dyad is mainly parent-driven for preschoolers because of the strong emotional involvement of mothers or fathers in the first stage of their children's social development and the importance of their emotional sensitivity towards young children (De Wolff & van Ijzendoorn, 1997).…”

Emotion socialization and families of children with and without ADHD.

“…Emotional competence (EC), or the ability to experience, express, understand, and regulate emotions, plays an important role in children's social, behavioral, and mental health outcomes (e.g., Eisenberg, Losoya, Fabes, et al, 2001;Jones, Eisenberg, Fabes, & MacKinnon, 2002;Newland & Crnic, 2011). Research and theory suggest that EC develops in part from a process known as emotion socialization (ES).…”