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Expressing negative emotions to children: Mothers' aversion sensitivity and children's adjustment
Anat Moed1, Theodore Dix1, Edward R Anderson1
1Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin.
Mothers' rapid increases in negative emotion when children misbehave predict child adjustment problems. General maternal negativity, however, does not impact children's well-being.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Family Studies
- Child Adjustment
Background:
- The impact of maternal negative emotional expression on child adjustment is complex.
- Distinguishing between general negativity and aversion-sensitive negativity is crucial for understanding its effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the "aversion sensitivity hypothesis" regarding maternal negative emotional expression.
- To determine if mothers' rapid increases in negativity, in response to child behavior, uniquely predict child adjustment issues.
Main Methods:
- Recorded 12-minute mother-child interactions over 2 years with 284 divorcing families.
- Observed and ranked 47 child behaviors by aversiveness.
- Analyzed within-dyad changes in maternal negativity relative to child behavior aversiveness.
Main Results:
- Mothers' general negativity was unrelated to children's adjustment.
- Mothers' aversion-focused negativity predicted poorer child social competence, emotion regulation, and increased externalizing behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Maternal affective sensitivity to aversive child behavior is uniquely problematic.
- This pattern may foster maladaptive interaction patterns and increase child risk for adjustment problems.
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