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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
Maternal Behavior and Children's Early Emotion Regulation Skills Differentially Predict Development of Children's
P A Graziano1, S P Keane, S D Calkins
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, FL, USA.
Infant and Child Development
|February 11, 2011
Summary
Maternal behavior and early emotion regulation influence children's developing self-control. Positive parenting supports reactive control, while maternal overcontrol hinders its growth, impacting future effortful control abilities.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Understanding the developmental trajectories of children's self-control is crucial.
- Reactive control (impulsivity) and effortful control are key components of executive functions.
- The influence of early maternal behaviors and child emotion regulation on these control systems requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how maternal behavior and children's early emotion regulation skills impact the development of reactive and effortful control.
- To investigate the specific roles of maternal overcontrol/intrusiveness and emotion regulation at age-2 on control development.
- To assess the predictive relationship between early maternal behaviors and children's effortful control at age 5.5.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study involving 435 children.
- Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analyses were employed.
- Data collected on maternal behaviors and children's emotion regulation at age-2, and control abilities at toddlerhood and age 5.5.
Main Results:
- Significant growth in reactive control was observed from toddlerhood to early childhood.
- Child emotion regulation at age-2 positively predicted initial reactive control, whereas maternal overcontrol negatively predicted its growth.
- Maternal behaviors at age-2 predicted children's effortful control at age 5.5, but early emotion regulation did not.
Conclusions:
- Maternal behavior and early emotion regulation skills differentially influence the development of reactive and effortful control.
- Supportive maternal behaviors and early emotion regulation are vital for developing children's behavioral impulsivity and self-control.
- Findings highlight distinct pathways through which parenting and child characteristics shape executive functions.
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