Poster #69 - Reward or Punishment: Consequences of Parental Conditional Regard for Children’s Reflective Functioning

• In Event: Poster Session 13

Abstract

Reflective functioning (RF) is the ability to recognize mental states (e.g., attitudes, desires, beliefs) and interpret how these mental states influence behavior (Fonagy et al., 1991). Parental supportive behaviors that encourage children to explore their emotions are essential for the development of children’s self-focused RF (i.e., children’s understanding of how their own mental states are associated with their behavior; Borelli et al., 2017; Suchman et al., 2010). In contrast, parental controlling behaviors that dictate what emotions children should be feeling can preclude the child’s accurate identification of their mental states and ultimately their self-focused RF development (Borelli et al., 2017). In the current study, we analyzed a form of controlling parenting – parental conditional regard – in which parental approval and disapproval of child behavior is communicated to the child by either giving love to (positive) or withdrawing love from (negative) the child, thereby compelling the child to abide by parental expectations (Assor et al., 2004). Children who perceive parental conditional regard may feel coerced into expressing emotions that represent their parent’s preferences rather than the child’s actual mental states (Soenens & Vansteenkiste, 2010). Therefore, the use of conditional regard may provide confusing information to the child about their mental states, potentially reducing their capacity for self-focused RF. To our knowledge, no study has investigated the associations between parental conditional regard and child RF, so we aimed to examine whether child-perceived parental conditional regard is negatively related to child self-focused RF.

Our sample included 126 children between the ages of 8 to 12 (Mage = 9.75, SDage = 1.48). Children reported on their perception of negative and positive conditional regard by mothers and fathers in the academic domain, and completed the Child Attachment Interview (Target et al., 2003), which was later coded for self-focused RF using the Child Reflective Functioning Scale (Ensink et al., 2013, 2015). Lower RF scores reflect children’s limited ability to describe emotions or connect behaviors to emotions.

We conducted four separate hierarchical linear regressions on child-focused RF scores, with positive maternal, positive paternal, negative maternal, and negative paternal conditional regard as independent variables, controlling for child gender, child age, and parent age. Results indicated significant negative associations between negative maternal (b = -.15, p = .01) and negative paternal (b = -.22, p = .01) conditional regard and child self-focused RF. No significant associations emerged between positive maternal (b = -.03, p = .51) or positive paternal (b = -.10, p = .06) conditional regard and child self-focused RF.

Our results suggest that negative parental conditional regard may pose a more significant threat to children’s development of self-focused RF than positive conditional regard. Our findings call for further study of parental conditional regard as a form of insensitive, controlling parenting that may contribute to deficits in the child’s understanding of their own mental states. As the first study to link parental conditional regard and child RF, our findings are a valuable contribution to the understanding of parenting practices and children’s emotional development.

Authors

• Alison Goldstein, University of California - Irvine

• Nicole Marie Froidevaux

• Phoebe Tu-Phi Pham, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Patricia A Smiley, Pomona College

• Jessica L Borelli, University of California - Irvine

• Phoebe Pham, University of California - Irvine