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Parent--child emotion communication, attachment, and affective narratives
Jill Leibowitz1, Fatima Ramos-Marcuse, William F Arsenio
1Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, New York, NY 10461, USA. DrJLeibow@aol.com
Attachment & Human Development
|June 18, 2002
Summary
Parent-child emotion communication influences preschoolers' attachment narratives. Positive interactions and parental scaffolding support secure attachment, while negativity is linked to less coherent stories.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Attachment Theory
- Childhood Social-Emotional Development
Background:
- Attachment security is crucial for child development.
- Parent-child communication shapes emotional understanding.
- Narrative assessments offer insights into attachment patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between parent-child emotion communication and preschoolers' attachment narratives.
- To explore how specific communication behaviors relate to attachment security.
- To understand the role of caregiver interactions in narrative coherence.
Main Methods:
- Forty-four preschoolers and caregivers participated.
- Children completed the Separation Anxiety Test (SAT) for attachment assessment.
- Parent-child emotion discussions were analyzed in the Emotion Communication Task.
Main Results:
- SAT coherence positively correlated with attachment and negatively with avoidance.
- Higher SAT coherence linked to greater parental scaffolding and less negativity.
- Parental scaffolding and child reciprocity were associated with reduced negativity.
Conclusions:
- Caregiver-child interactions during emotion discussions contribute to attachment narrative development.
- Effective scaffolding and reciprocity foster secure attachment narratives.
- Emotion communication quality impacts children's narrative coherence and attachment representation.