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Gender differences in emotional reminiscing in a Scandinavian sample
Riikka Pauliina Svane1, Widaad Zaman2, Natalie Merrill3
1Department of Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences, Center on Autobiographical Memory Research (CON AMORE), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|March 15, 2022
Summary
Children discuss emotions more with mothers than fathers during reminiscing, regardless of gender. This study explored gender differences in emotional memory sharing in Danish families.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Cultural Psychology
Background:
- Emotional reminiscing is crucial for children's cultural understanding and autobiographical memory development.
- Parent-child conversations scaffold the interpretation of past emotional experiences.
- Investigating gender differences in this context is important, especially in egalitarian societies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine potential gender differences in emotional reminiscing between parents and children.
- To explore how mothers and fathers engage children in discussing past emotions in Denmark.
Main Methods:
- 88 Danish families with 4.5-year-old children participated.
- Parents and children reminisced about a happy and a sad event.
- Parental and child contributions were coded for emotion words, attributions, and explanations.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were found in emotional content based on parent or child gender.
- Children discussed emotions more frequently overall with their mothers compared to their fathers.
- Socio-cultural practices may influence these interaction patterns.
Conclusions:
- While emotional content is similar, interaction dynamics in reminiscing may differ based on parent gender.
- Children's engagement with mothers in emotional reminiscing is more pronounced in this Danish sample.
- Findings highlight the role of socio-cultural context in parent-child emotional communication.
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