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Published on: September 19, 2019
Children's Narratives of Sad Events: Attachment Security and Psychopathological Symptoms
Edoardo Saija1, Susanna Pallini2, Roberto Baiocco1
1Sapienza University of Roma (Italy).
Background:
This study aims to explore how children's experiences of sadness are related to their coping strategies, attachment, and psychopathology.
Method:
A sample of 517 children described a sad event and related coping strategies. Events included bullying/quarrelling, frustration, accidents/illness, experienced/anticipated separation, and loss. Coping strategies included constructive coping, disengagement, and absence-of-coping.
Results:
Constructive coping was associated with secure attachment. Secure children used constructive and disengagement strategies for frustration, constructive coping particularly for bullying situations, and absence-of-coping for loss. Children reporting absence-of-coping during episodes of frustration exhibited more externalizing symptoms.
Conclusions:
The results highlight relationships between circumstancialdimensions and specific emotional experiences, and the importance of context-specific coping strategies in promoting emotional well-being.
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