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child development ?
What is the child like?
Emotionate
(i-m-sh(-)nt):
Security of
Attachment
Age 4
Emotional
Competence
Age 4
Social
Competence
Age 5
Adapted from Denham, S., Blair, K., Schmidt, M., & DeMulder, E. (2002). Compromised emotional
competence: Seeds of violence sown early? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72, 70-82.
Verbal Ability
Emotional
Knowledge
Age 5
Age 5
Academic
Competence
Age 9
Izard C.E., Fine, S., Schultz, D., Mostrow, A., Ackerman, B., & Youngstrom, E. (2001). Emotion knowledge as a predictor
of social and academic competence in children at risk. Psychological Science, 12, 18-23
doesnt it?
You know, after you stopped the
0.35
0.3
Salivary Cortisol
0.25
0.2
Secure Attachment
0.15
Insecure Attachment
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
LOW
HIGH
Toddler Temperamental Fear
Nachnias, M., Gunnar, M., Mangelsdorf, S., Parritz, R. H., & Buss, K. (1996). Behavioral inhibition and stress reactivity: The
moderating role of attachment security. Child Development, 67, 508-522.
Conscience Development
Based on the development of a mutually
responsive orientation between mother and
child (also attachment security)
Enlists capacities for emotion understanding and
empathy, and moral emotions such as guilt
Temperamental individuality interacts with
maternal disciplinary approach, particularly
fearfulness and effortful control
Engages the childs moral self
This is not your preconventional child
Laible, D. J., & Thompson, R. A. (2002). Mother-child conflict in the toddler years: Lessons in emotion, morality, and
relationships. Child Development, 73, 1187-1203.
Discourse measures:"
Conflict themes
Resolution initiative
"
"
"
R2
R2
F
at final"
change change
step"
1. Gender "
.12** .12**
2. Mitigation
"
"
"
Justification/"
low aggravation
"
"
Ref. to emotions
Ref. to rules "
"
"
Ref. to consequences"
"
Initiative resolve .37** .25**
*
p < .05
**
p < .01"
8.54**
"
"
.39**"
.09"
"
.35**"
.35**"
.07"
-.15"
.07"
"
"
"
"
"
"
2.45*
Prosocial Motivation
"
"
"Sad
"
"
Variable
"
"B
SE B
!B
SE B
Emotion language
.31
.11
.41**
.08
.12
.12
Anxious support
seeking
"
.01
.01
.01
.01
.24
R2
.24
"
"
.06
4.99*
"
"
.99
F for change in R2
"
"
* p < .05
** p < .01!
"
-.34*
Neutral
Self-Awareness
These puppets are writing a story about children your age. They will
tell you about themselves, and then you can tell them about yourself.
I like to play by myself.
Dimensions of Self-Awareness
in Young Children
4- and 5-year-olds1
Timidity
Agreeableness
Negative affect
Positive self-concept
4 - to 7 -year-olds2
Depression anxiety
Aggression hostility
Social competence
Peer acceptance
Academic / Achievement
5 -year-olds3
Self-control
Self-acceptance via
achievement / affiliation
4- and 5-year-olds4
Self-concept in domains
1: Brown et al., 2008; Goodvin et al., 2008; 2: Measelle et al., 1998; 3: Eder, 1990; 4: Marsh et al., 2002
Sample:
33 children (mean age 4 years at time 1 and 5 years
at time 2) and their mothers"
Measures:"
At each age:"
Childrens Self-View Questionnaire"
Attachment Q-sort (home observation)"
Maternal emotional risks (self-reported depressive
symptoms and parenting stress via maternal
questionnaire)"
Goodvin, R., Meyer, S., Thompson, R. A., & Hayes, R. (2008). Self-understanding in early childhood:
Associations with attachment security, maternal perceptions of the child, and maternal emotional risk.
Attachment & Human Development, 10(4), 433-450.
R2
R2change
at final step
Step 1
Attachment (age 5)
Attachment (age 4)
.14
.36**
.36**
.53**
Step 2
.11*
* p<.05 **p<.01
-.33*
Social Cognition
. . . mental representations (are) a bridge between childrens
early experiences and their later (social) expectations and
behavior.
Dweck & London, 2004
Early
Social
Experience
Social
Representations
Social
Behavior
Sample drawn from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth
Development:
1,016 children and families from 10 sites nationwide, recruited
immediately after birth and followed to age 15.
Raikes, H. A., & Thompson, R. A. (2008). Attachment security and parenting quality predict children's problemsolving, attributions, and loneliness with peers. Attachment & Human Development, 10(3), 1-26.
Negative
Attributions
54 mos
Socially
Competent
Solutions
Loneliness
1st grade
Aggressive
Solutions
Negative
Attributions
1st grade
1st grade
54 mos.
Early
Maternal
Depression
Early
Maternal
Sensitivi t y
Later
Maternal
Depression
Later
Maternal
Sensitivi t y
15 month
Attachment
24 month
Attachment
36 month
Attachment
Avoidant
>
Secure
Avoidant
<
Secure
Resistant
>
Secure
Note: All associations reported in this chart were significant at or lesser than the p<.05 level.
Resistant
>
Secure
Interim summary . . .
Early experiences of emotion particularly in close
relationships contribute to the development of
dynamic representations of self, other people, and
social interactions that are affectively colored,
relationally guided, and integrative.
Child: "
"
Mother:
"
"
Child: "
"(pretends to cry)"
(from Dunn & Brown, 1991)"
-- Attachment Q-sort
-- CESD (maternal depression)
-- Maternal report of emotional risks in the family
(e.g., substance abuse; domestic violence)
-- CESD
-- Denham affective perspective-taking task
-- PPVT
-- parent-child conversations
(shared recall of past emotional events)
* frequency of maternal references to emotion
* childrens emotion labeling
* childrens use of negative emotion words
at 3 years:
"
"
""
Preliminary findings . . .
Childrens spontaneous use of emotion labels and use of
negative emotion words were significantly correlated, so
they were combined to create an index of emotion
language.
Maternal depression scores were significantly correlated
over time, but only depression scores from the first
assessment (at age 2 ) were associated with childrens
emotion understanding.
The security of attachment was positively associated
with performance on the Denham task. Secure children
were stronger in emotion understanding.
Raikes, H. A., & Thompson, R. A. (2006). Family emotional climate, attachment security, and young children's
emotion understanding in a high-risk sample. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24(1), 89-104.
Raikes, H. A., & Thompson, R. A. (2008). Conversations about emotion in high-risk dyads. Attachment & Human
Development, 10(4), 359-377.
linking
events
causes
outcomes
requests for
information
total emotion
references
definitions
p < .01
p < .005
p < .001
Ontai, L. L., & Thompson, R. A. (2002). Patterns of attachment and maternal discourse effects on children's
emotion understanding from 3- to 5-years of age. Social Development, 11(4), 433-450.
Elaborative discourse
Autonomy
support
Validation
Constructive emotion
regulation coaching
p < .05
p < .01
Interim conclusions . . . !
A secure attachment is a relational context for young children
to comprehend their (negative) emotions and learn about their
regulation in the context of a psychological secure base.
Both the content (knowledge about emotion causes and
outcomes) and the quality (conveying constructive support) are
important; the latter is associated with attachment security.
A caregivers capacity to provide this secure base is based, in
part, on supports and stresses in her own life, including
emotional demands and representations of her own emotions.
Early conversations about emotion have broader significance
for psychological growth. Conscience development, for
example, is not predicted by mothers references to rules but
instead by references to others feelings.
Thanks!
rathompson@ucdavis.edu
Study 3"
Parent Expressivity
and Reactions to
Childrens Emotions
Childrens
Emotion
Regulation
Parent Emotion
Representations
Parent Discourse
about Emotions &
Emotional Events
Parent Expressivity
and Reactions to
Childrens Emotions
Parent Emotion
Representations
Childrens
Emotion
Regulation
3.57 *
0.97 - 13.04
TMMS Clarity
1.17
0.35 - 3.88
CES-D Depression
1.04
0.96 - 1.14
Security of Attachment
87.20 *
2.70 - 2817.54
___________________________________________________________________
for model, 2 (4) = 12.50 *
* p < .05
Childrens
Emotion
Regulation
Parent Emotion
Representations
Parent Discourse
about Emotions &
Emotional Events
Security of attachment
Maternal validation
Attachment x Validation
R2
F for change in R2
.29**
.33**
14.57**
5.60**
4.40*
_______________________________________________________________________________________
* p < .05
** p < .01
Summary thoughts . . .
There are multiple ways that secure attachment contributes to
the growth of emotion regulation in children:
-- maternal sensitivity in secure relationships to childrens
feelings and efforts to manage challenging emotions,
-- secure childrens capacities for emotion understanding,
particularly of negative emotions that require regulation,
-- the conversational context of secure dyads that facilitates
emotional communication and emotion understanding
Relational contributions to the growth of emotion regulation
are overlapping and sometimes compensatory
-- maternal conversational style may be especially important
for children in insecure relationships
Final thoughts
The content and quality of adult conversation is
influential in the growth of emotion understanding,
particularly during the period when young childrens
representations of emotion are developing most
significantly.
Emotion understanding is multifaceted, and may also
be associated with early conscience development,
self-regulation, and perhaps aspects of selfunderstanding. Understanding of negative emotions is
particularly important.
The content and quality of conversational discourse is
one means by which relational security is created and
maintained in early childhood.