Poster #208 - Parent-child interactions, negative emotionality and social competencies in clinic referred preschoolers

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Social, Emotional, Personality

Integrative Statement

Children’s individual differences in social competencies have shown to be simultaneously influenced by their negative emotionality (Eisenberg et al., 2000), an important temperament dimension (Liew et al., 2004) considered as a neuro-biological marker (Rothbart et Bates, 1998), and the quality of their parent-child relationship (England et Sroufe, 1992). In particular, studies have shown that child negative emotionality, moderates the association between the caregiving environment and social competencies, such that children with higher negative emotionality are at greater risk of social difficulties when exposed to negative parent-child interactions (Fabes et al., 2001; Paulussen-Hoogeboom et al., 2007; Cha, 2017). However, this interplay of within-child characteristics and risk factors from the caregiving environment for child development of social competency has not been examined in clinic-referred preschoolers, while most of these children are likely to present a psychopathology disorder and show biological vulnerabilities (Kochanska, 2009, 2011, 2015). More research is needed to better understand the risk and protective factors associated to social competency in these biologically vulnerable children (Raver et Zigler, 1997; Belsky et Pluess, 2013). The objective of this study is to examine the moderating role of negative emotionality in the association between the quality of parent-child interaction and social competencies in clinic-referred preschoolers. The sample included 42 preschoolers aged 1 to 5 (M= 46.6 months, S.D = 11.34; 74% boys), recruited through a child psychiatric clinic at a children’s hospital in Canada (see Table 1). To assess emotional negativity in children, mothers completed the Temperament Assessment Battery for Children-Revised (Martin, 1998). Quality of parent-child interaction was assessed by independent observers with the well-validated Parent-Child Interaction Scale for preschoolers and school-aged children (9 likert subscales 1 to 7; Dubois-Comtois et al., 2013). Child social competency was assessed with the Social-affective Profile (La Frenière et al., 1990) and completed by childrens’ daycare educator. A hierarchical regression (see Table 2) showed no main effects of mother-child interaction quality or negative emotionality on children’s social competencies. An interaction effect of Mother-child interactive quality X Negative emotionality was found (B = -.32). Post-hoc analyses indicated that higher levels of mother-child interactive quality were associated to higher levels of social competencies in children with a lower level of negative emotionality (t=2.77, p=.008), but not for those with a higher level of negative emotionality (t=-0.21, p=.831). This study supports a diathesis model of risk and suggests that efforts oriented on the parent-child relationship for clinic-referred children with an easier temperament may improve social competencies. The discussion will focus on potential clinical leverages for children with a more difficult temperament.

Authors

• Houria Benard, Université du Québec à Montréal
  Presenting Author

• Valérie Langlois, Université du Québec à Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Aliya Mubarak, Université du Québec à Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Chantal Cyr, University of Quebec at Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daniel Paquette, Universidade de Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Claud Bisaillon, Université Sherbrooke
  Non-Presenting Author

• Irena Stikarovska, CHU Ste-Justine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mutsuko Emond-Nakamura, CHU Ste-Justine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Martin St-André, CHU Ste-Justine
  Non-Presenting Author