Parental emotion socialization and preadolescent adjustment, parent-child attachment security, and maternal depression

• In Event: Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Topic - Social, Emotional, Personality

Abstract

How parents approach and teach their children about emotions is a key determinant of children’s healthy adjustment (Denham, 2019). Most studies that tested this idea focused on preschool and early school age (Eisenberg, 1998; Denham, 2019). In preadolescence, children begin to individuate and parents shift expectations of children’s emotion competence (Cassano et al., 2007). Our study aimed to expand the literature by examining the relations of maternal emotion socialization strategies (ESS) with child adjustment (internalizing and externalizing behaviors, quality of peer relationships and prosocial behavior), maternal depression, and child attachment security in families with a preadolescent child.
In a preliminary study of 171 families, we identified, based on mothers’ open-ended responses to scenarios from the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES; Fabes et al., 1990), the original 6 ESS measured in the CCNES and three additional ESS used by preadolescents’ mothers: seeking more information, helping understand the situation, and encouraging self-regulation by the child (see Table 1). Our main sample was comprised of 226 mother-child dyads (Mage child= 11.03). Mothers completed the revised CCNES, including 3 additional subscales corresponding to the new ESS strategies. They also rated their child’s adjustment (SDQ) and reported on their own depression (CES-D, Radloff, 1977; DASS, Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). Children completed the Security Scale with Mothers (Kerns et al., 2015).
An exploratory factor analysis yielded a clear three-factor loading of the Revised CCNES: Maternal Collaborative Coping, Negative Reactions to Child’s Distress, and Low Expectation for Child’s Self- Regulation (Table 1). Correlational analyses showed that mothers who use more collaborative coping strategies rated their children as more prosocial (Table 2). Mothers who reported greater negative reactions to child’s distress had children with more internalizing and externalizing problems, less prosocial behavior, and less secure attachment. Mothers experiencing more depression showed more negative reactions to child’s distress reactions (r CES-D = .32, p < .01; r DASS = .22, p < .05, respectively). Partial correlations, controlling for demographic variables (e.g. child age), did not change results significantly.
Although low expectations for child’s self- regulation was not a significant correlate of child adjustment, maternal collaborative coping seems to promote prosocial behavior. Thus, mothers effectively addressing preadolescents’ distress teach them how to better engage in helping others who may be upset themselves. Further, maternal negative reactions to her preadolescent child’s distress emerged as an important correlate of multiple aspects of preadolescents’ maladjustment, suggesting that maternal minimization of the child’s negative emotions and expressing her own distress may undermine a child’s ability to learn how to effectively regulate their emotions and set up the child for experiencing difficulties across domains of functioning. The finding that more maternal negative reactions to child distress are related to less attachment security complements previous literature showing that maternal sensitivity and acceptance of children’s negative emotions is a predictor attachment security (Fearon & Belsky, 2016). Finally, our results suggest that greater maternal depression may impair mothers’ ability to engage in constructive emotion socialization strategies.

Authors

• Stephanie M Waslin, Adelphi University
  Presenting Author

• Logan Kochendorfer, Kent State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura E Brumariu, Adelphi University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kathryn A Kerns, Kent State University
  Non-Presenting Author