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Poster #143 - Maternal Emotion Regulation, Context, and Infant Affect: Direct and Interactive Effects on Maternal Emotion-Related Parenting

Fri, March 22, 12:45 to 2:00pm, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 1, Exhibit Hall B

Integrative Statement

Research has identified parental and contextual characteristics that predict the quality of parenting. For example, adaptive parental emotion regulation (ER) strategies have been related to more positive parenting behaviors (Kohlhoff et al., 2016; Bridgett et al., 2015). In contrast, socioeconomic risk has been associated with greater negative parenting (Lengua et al., 2007; Deater-Deckard et al., 2016). A chaotic home environment has also been linked to less adaptive parenting (Coldwell et al., 2006). In addition, child characteristics may influence parenting. For example, heightened child negative affect (NA) has been related to less sensitive parenting over time (Lengua & Kovacs, 2004; Clark et al., 2000). Given these relationships, it is important to consider how parental and contextual characteristics interact. With this in mind, the current study examined whether infant NA moderates the association between maternal ER and parenting strategies. It was hypothesized that maternal reappraisal, an adaptive ER strategy, would be related to more sensitive coping with children’s negative emotions (i.e., using expressive encouragement, emotion-focused, and problem-focused reactions) only when child NA is low. Cumulative risk and home chaos were expected to be negatively associated with sensitive coping.

A community sample of 179 mother-child dyads participated, with 23% of the sample falling below the poverty line. Family cumulative risk was assessed at 4 months postpartum. Home chaos was assessed at 4 months using the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS; Matheny et al., 1995). Maternal reappraisal was assessed at 4 months using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003). At 6 months postpartum, mothers and infants participated in the Still Face Paradigm (SFP; Tronick et al., 1978). The task was audio and video recorded and subsequently coded for infant NA using a second-by-second procedure. At 18 months, maternal parenting in the context of negative emotions was assessed using the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES; Fabes et al., 1990). This measure, completed by mothers, contains scales assessing positive parenting strategies including expressive encouragement (e.g., validating children’s negative emotions), emotion-focused reactions (e.g., using strategies to help the child feel better), and problem-focused reactions (e.g., helping the child solve the problem).

After multiple imputation was conducted, a series of hierarchical regressions were conducted with maternal expressive encouragement, emotion-focused reactions, and problem-focused reactions as dependent variables (see Table 1). Infant sex was entered as a covariate, with cumulative risk, chaos, maternal reappraisal, infant NA and a reappraisal-by-NA interaction as independent variables. Reappraisal was positively and significantly related to expressive encouragement and problem-focused reactions. There was a negative trend between chaos and expressive encouragement, and between infant NA and problem-focused reactions. The reappraisal-by-NA interaction was significant for all three parenting strategies. At low levels of infant NA, reappraisal was positively associated with expressive encouragement (b = .41, p < .05), emotion-focused reactions (b = .20, p < .10), and problem-focused reactions (b = .27, p < .05) at low levels of infant NA. At high levels of infant NA, reappraisal was not significantly related to parenting. Implications and future directions will be discussed.

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