Emotion Regulation in At‐Risk Preschoolers: Longitudinal Associations and Influences of Maternal Histories of Risk

Emotion regulation is a key challenge of early childhood. The present study examined emotion regulation behaviour longitudinally from infancy to preschool. The continuity of emotion regulation was explored within the larger ecological context of maternal childhood histories of aggression and social withdrawal and maternal use of constructive and non‐constructive behaviours. Forty‐five mothers with childhood histories of aggression or social withdrawal from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a prospective, longitudinal, intergenerational study, participated with their preschool children. Infants' emotion regulation behaviour was observed during interactions with their mothers when they were 5½ months of age. Emotion regulation in these same children as preschoolers was coded during an interference task using the Preschooler Self‐Regulatory Scheme. Longitudinal findings demonstrated continuity in children's use of emotion regulation behaviours from infancy to preschool. Higher maternal childhood histories of risk, specifically social withdrawal, contributed to the prediction of preschoolers' increased attention‐seeking behaviours. Mothers' use of non‐constructive verbalizations predicted more maladaptive styles of emotion regulation in their preschoolers. The findings highlight the importance of helping children develop adaptive emotion regulation skills from a young age and have implications for the design of preventive intervention programmes to help parents foster children's emotion regulation abilities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Task‐related interactions between kindergarten children and their teachers: the role of emotional security

This study examined the emotional security of kindergarten children in dyadic task‐related interactions with their teachers. In particular, it examined the interrelations between security, task behaviours (persistence and independence), social inhibition, and teachers' support. Participants were 79 kindergartners (mean age=69.7 months) and their 40 regular teachers. Children were selected to approach a normal distribution of social inhibition. Children and teachers were filmed during a dyadic interaction task outside the classroom. Three groups of independent observers rated children's emotional security and their task behaviours, as well as teachers' supportive behaviours. Multilevel modelling revealed a positive link between teachers' support and emotional security. This link suppressed a negative relation between social inhibition and emotional security. In addition, emotional security was positively associated with children's task behaviours and mediated part of the positive link between these behaviours and teachers' support. Finally, security moderated the relation between support and persistence, such that the effect of teachers' support on persistent behaviours was amplified for relatively insecure children. These results highlight the importance of considering emotional security when examining the interactions between kindergarten children and their teachers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in externalizing and internalizing behaviours over a school‐year: differences between 6‐year‐old boys and girls

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in externalizing and internalizing problem behaviours in 6‐year‐olds with a focus on sex differences. Teachers rated problem behaviours at the beginning and at the end of the school year, 8 months apart, in 370 children (197 boys and 173 girls) attending 22 school preparatory classrooms. Although the majority of the children were quite stable, considerable negative and positive changes for both boys and girls in problem behaviours were found. The results showed that girls were more likely to change their externalizing behaviours in a positive direction than boys, whereas a tendency to the opposite pattern was found for internalizing behaviours. Boys were also found to be more prone to a negative change in problem behaviours of both types than girls were. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two‐year‐olds’ understanding of self‐symbols

This study investigated 48 2.5‐year‐olds’ ability to map from their own body to a two‐dimensional self‐representation and also examined relations between parents’ talk about body representations and their children's understanding of self‐symbols. Children participated in two dual‐representation tasks in which they were asked to match body parts between a symbol and its referent. In one task, they used a self‐symbol and in the other they used a symbol for a doll. Participants were also read a book about body parts by a parent. As a group, children found the self‐symbol task more difficult than the doll‐task; however, those whose parents explicitly pointed out the relation between their children's bodies and the symbols in the book performed better on the self‐symbol task. The findings demonstrate that 2‐year‐old children have difficulty comprehending a self‐symbol, even when it is two‐dimensional and approximately the same size as them, and suggest that parents’ talk about self‐symbols may facilitate their understanding.     

Assessment of psychopathology in 2‐ to 5‐year‐olds: Applying the Infant–Toddler Social Emotional Assessment

The information provided by parents is indispensable for the early identification of psychopathology; for this reason, developmentally appropriate, reliable, and valid questionnaires are needed to gather their information. This study was designed to examine the utility of the Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (ITSEA), a parent‐report questionnaire covering a wide range of behavior and emotional problems and competencies, in preschoolers referred for child psychiatric evaluation. The fathers and mothers of 85 children (23.2% girls; age 15–57 months) with autism spectrum, externalizing, or internalizing disorders completed the ITSEA, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/2–3 and 4–18 versions), and the child domain of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). The ITSEA showed good interrater reliability between parents, and validity was supported by significant correlations with corresponding CBCl and PSI domains. Evidence supporting the validity of the ITSEA for psychopathology was mixed across scales, with good diagnostic accuracy at the level of the broader psychiatric syndromes being achieved by the combination of subscales within the Externalizing, Internalizing, and Competence domains. The value of the ITSEA lies in the ability to systematically evaluate a wide range of problem behaviors and competencies. The ITSEA may be useful to create profiles of children's functioning in preschoolers referred for psychiatric assessment.     

Understanding response patterns in dyadic conflict: An interactive approach combining self‐construal and opponent's dominance‐submissiveness

Previous works on the effect of self‐construal in interpersonal behaviours tend to adopt a main effect approach. The present research proposes an interactive approach in understanding two response patterns in dyadic conflict by combining self‐construal and the stance of the opponent. Independent self‐construal was hypothesised to be associated with a self‐centred pattern of conflict response, which is characterised by taking contending responses regardless of whether the stance of the opponent is dominant or submissive. Relational self‐construal was hypothesised to be associated with a tuning‐in pattern of conflict response, which is characterised by showing contending responses when the opponent is submissive but yielding responses when the opponent is dominant. With trait self‐construal measured and opponent's stance manipulated, Study 1 provided initial support for the hypotheses. Study 2 showed a three‐way interaction effect between trait self‐construal, manipulated self‐construal and the opponent's stance on actual conflict responses during discussion of a scenario. The effect of self‐construal manipulation was only observed among people who were low in trait independent self‐construal and average in trait relational self‐construal. The results pinpoint the importance of considering personal and opponent factors simultaneously in understanding the dynamics of dyadic conflict processes.     

Child Adjustment and Parent Efficacy Scale: Development and Initial Validation of a Parent Report Measure

This study examined the psychometric characteristics of the Child Adjustment and Parent Efficacy Scale (CAPES). The CAPES was designed as a brief outcome measure in the evaluation of both public health and individual or group parenting interventions. The scale consists of a 30‐item intensity scale with two subscales measuring children's behaviour problems and emotional maladjustment and a 20‐item self‐efficacy scale that measures parent's self‐efficacy in managing specific child problem behaviours. A sample of 347 parents of 2–12‐year‐old children participated in the study. Psychometric evaluation of the CAPES revealed that both the intensity and self‐efficacy scales had good internal consistency, as well as satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. Potential uses of the measure and implications for future validation studies are discussed.     

Self‐ambivalence and reactions to success versus failure

People differ in the extent to which their self‐evaluations fluctuate in response to positive and negative events. This research tests whether self‐ambivalence predicts this self‐evaluative reactivity. Participants first completed measures of self‐ambivalence and baseline self‐esteem. Next, they were induced a success or failure experience in a cognitive task and finally rated their cognitive self‐evaluations (task‐specific ability, state self‐esteem) and affective reactions (self‐feelings, mood). Self‐ambivalence was associated with stronger effects of the success/failure manipulation on cognitive self‐evaluations but not on affective reactions, with baseline self‐esteem controlled. Possible underlying mechanisms are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contributions of Observed Parent Socialization of Coping and Skin Conductance Level Reactivity to Childhood Adjustment

This research examined the longitudinal association between parent socialization of coping and child adjustment, as well as the moderating role of children's skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR). Participants were a community sample of children (n = 64, M age = 9.02, 54.5% females, 93.2% Caucasian) and their parent(s). Parent coping suggestions were observed while their child engaged in a stressful challenge task, during which the child's SCLR, a measure of children's physiological reactivity to stress, was also measured. Parent(s) completed the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) at baseline and a 6‐month follow‐up to assess internalizing and externalizing problems. Results revealed that secondary control engagement suggestions predicted fewer internalizing problems over time. In addition, disengagement suggestions predicted fewer externalizing problems over time among children with high SCLR. This study provides evidence that parent coping suggestions serve as a resource that protects youth from developing adjustment problems.     

Decoding dyadic interactive nonverbal behaviour in Chinese and Australian cohorts: A novel dyadic puzzle‐solving task

The current study used a novel problem‐solving task in which the solution could only be reached via interactions between members of dyads. The study aimed to systematically examine how nonverbal interactive behaviour was related to the cultural background of the dyads, the participant's role in the dyad (viz., instructor, problem solver) and task repetition. Twenty‐one Australian dyads and 32 Chinese dyads performed the dyadic puzzle‐solving task while their interactions were video‐recorded. In each dyad, one instructor and one problem solver worked together to solve a seven‐piece puzzle. Six trials, each comprising a different puzzle, were completed. Results indicate that the Australian instructors engaged in significantly more eye gazing and displayed more hand gestures but smiled less than the Chinese instructors. The Australian problem solvers maintained longer eye gazing, displayed more hand gestures and more echoing than their Chinese counterparts. Over trials, the Chinese instructors reduced their total talking time, hand gestures, nodding behaviour and smiling during self‐talking more than the Australian instructors. Moreover, the problem solvers in the dyads from both countries significantly reduced their smiling across trials. The current study shows that nonverbal behaviours during dyadic interactions are related to one's cultural background, role in the task and task repetition.     

A Model‐Based Cluster Analysis of Maternal Emotion Regulation and Relations to Parenting Behavior

In a diverse community sample of mothers (N = 108) and their preschool‐aged children (M_age = 3.50 years), this study conducted person‐oriented analyses of maternal emotion regulation (ER) based on a multimethod assessment incorporating physiological, observational, and self‐report indicators. A model‐based cluster analysis was applied to five indicators of maternal ER: maternal self‐report, observed negative affect in a parent–child interaction, baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and RSA suppression across two laboratory tasks. Model‐based cluster analyses revealed four maternal ER profiles, including a group of mothers with average ER functioning, characterized by socioeconomic advantage and more positive parenting behavior. A dysregulated cluster demonstrated the greatest challenges with parenting and dyadic interactions. Two clusters of intermediate dysregulation were also identified. Implications for assessment and applications to parenting interventions are discussed.     

Understanding the limits of self‐control: Positive affect moderates the impact of task switching on consecutive self‐control performance

Performing consecutive self‐control tasks typically leads to deterioration in self‐control performance. This effect can be explained within the strength model of self‐control or within a cognitive control perspective. Both theoretical frameworks differ in their predictions with regard to the impact of affect and task characteristics on self‐control deterioration within a two‐task paradigm. Whereas the strength model predicts decrements in self‐control performance whenever both tasks require a limited resource, under a cognitive control perspective, decrements should only occur when people switch to a different response conflict in the second task. Moreover, only the cognitive control model predicts an interaction between task switching and positive affect. In the present research, we investigated this interaction within a two‐task paradigm and found evidence that favored a cognitive control interpretation of the results. Positive affect only benefitted consecutive self‐control performance if response conflicts in the two tasks were different (resisting sweets followed by a Stroop task). If they were the same (two consecutive Stroop tasks), positive affect impaired self‐control performance. These effects were partially replicated in the second study that also examined negative affect, which did not affect self‐control performance. We conclude that drawing on cognitive control models could add substantially to research on self‐control. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development of a scale for tuned‐in parenting

This article provides preliminary evaluation for a new and easy to use parental sensitivity scale, which is rated from a short videotaped play session with the parental figure. The five Tuned‐In Parent Rating Scales (TIP‐RS) have been developed for use with identified dyadic problems in infant–parent relationships and provide a window on the micro‐behaviours that may contribute to the dyadic disjunctions. A sample of 88 mothers who contacted a community early parenting unit was filmed in interaction with their infants and completed surveys including the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Six trained coders rated the videos. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensionality of the TIP‐RS. The TIP‐RS total score was negatively correlated with both the EPDS (r[N = 42] = ?.34, p = .024) and the DASS (r[N = 42] = ?.43, p = .029), providing evidence for its concurrent validity. Inter‐rater reliability across the six raters for each of the TIP‐RS sub‐scales and total score ranged from .68 to .83. The present results warrant continued investigation of the psychometric properties of the TIP‐RS as a tool for intervention with targeted parent–child relationships.     

Social problem‐solving skills following childhood traumatic brain injury and its association with self‐regulation and social and behavioural functioning

This study examines social problem‐solving skills following childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its association with self‐regulation, and social and behavioural functioning. Participants included 65 children with moderate to severe TBI and 65 children without TBI, all between 6 and 11 years of age. Social problem‐solving, self‐regulation, and social and behavioural functioning were assessed 2–5 years following injury. Children were administered a newly developed semi‐structured task to assess their solutions to hypothetical situations involving social problems or dilemmas. When compared with uninjured children, those with TBI suggested avoidant and aggressive solutions more often and assertive solutions less often in response to the hypothetical situations. Children's self‐regulatory skills, as measured by the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA‐Ch) and the Delay of Gratification Task (DGT), collectively accounted for significant variance in their solutions to social problems, such that better self‐regulation predicted more assertive solutions and fewer aggressive solutions. Assertive solutions were positively related to parent‐ and teacher‐rated social and behavioural outcomes, whereas aggressive solutions were negatively related to the outcomes. The difficulties in social problem‐solving skills demonstrated by children with TBI may help account for their poor social and behavioural functioning.     

Relationships among parenting practices,parental stress,child behaviour,and children's social‐cognitive development

The present study included observational and self‐report measures to examine associations among parental stress, parental behaviour, child behaviour, and children's theory of mind and emotion understanding. Eighty‐three parents and their 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children participated. Parents completed measures of parental stress, parenting (laxness, overreactivity), and child behaviour (internalizing, externalizing); children completed language, theory of mind, and emotion understanding measures. Parent–child interactions also were observed (N=47). Laxness and parenting stress predicted children's theory of mind performance and parental usage of imitative gestures and vocalizations accounted for unique variance in emotion understanding. Associations also were found between child behaviour and emotion understanding. Results provide support for direct and indirect associations between parent–child interactions and early social‐cognitive development. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parasympathetic Regulation and Inhibitory Control Predict the Development of Externalizing Problems in Early Childhood

The current report examined the longitudinal relations between cognitive self-regulation, physiological self-regulation, and externalizing problems. At age 4 (n = 98; 49 girls) and 6 (n = 87; 42 girls), children completed the Day-Night task, which taps the inhibitory control dimension of executive function. During the task, cardiac activity was measured and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was derived as an index of parasympathetic activity. Mothers reported on externalizing problems. A cross-lagged path model was used to estimate longitudinal predictions while controlling for stability in all constructs over time. Earlier inhibitory control negatively predicted later externalizing problems, but not vice versa. However, RSA reactivity moderated this link; better inhibitory control predicted fewer externalizing problems only when reactivity to the Day-Night task ranged from mild RSA suppression to RSA augmentation. Externalizing problems at 6 years were highest among preschoolers who augmented RSA but showed poor inhibitory control performance, suggesting that risk for psychopathology may be better delineated by viewing self-regulation from an integrated, multi-system perspective.     

Parental Guidance and Children's Executive Function: Working Memory and Planning as Moderators During Joint Problem‐Solving

Cognitive aspects of children's executive function (EF) were examined as moderators of the effectiveness of parental guidance on children's learning. Thirty‐two 5‐year‐old children and their parents were observed during joint problem‐solving. Forms of guidance geared towards cognitive assistance were coded as directive or elaborative, and children's responses were recorded. Children were then assessed on an independent version of the same task. A parent‐rated composite of working memory and planning was used as a measure of EF. Directive guidance by parents was associated with more child errors during the joint activity, whereas elaborative guidance was associated with better performance. Parent‐rated EF moderated the relation, such that the relation between elaborative guidance and better performance was only significant for children with low EF. During the independent task, EF again moderated the relation between parent guidance and children's performance, such that children with low EF did worse when parents had provided more directive guidance; for children with high EF, directive guidance was associated with better independent performance. These findings suggest that the extent to which children's performance relates to different forms of parents' guidance varies, and elaborative assistance may be more helpful for children with low EF. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mother–child interaction and sleep regulation in one‐year‐olds

The regulation of sleep–wake states is controlled not only by biological mechanisms but by care‐giving context as well. In this study the association between mother–child relationship and the infant's sleep was examined. Thirty‐seven 12‐month‐olds and their mothers participated in a 10‐minute laboratory play episode. The dyadic interaction was coded with the Early Parent–Child Relational Assessment (Clark, 1985) and with the Emotional Availability scales (Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1993). The child's sleep was measured at home with a small‐computerized activity monitor. Although mothers' behavior was not related to the child's sleep, infants who were more responsive in the play episode woke up more frequently compared to infants who were less involved in the interaction. The link between social‐emotional competency and fragmented sleep, among nonrisk infants, could be an age‐related phenomenon. ©2001 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Externalizing shame responses in children: The role of fragile‐positive self‐esteem

When faced with shame, children can either respond in submissive ways to withdraw from their environment or in externalizing ways to oppose their environment. This study tested the hypothesis that fragile‐positive views of self predispose children to respond in externalizing ways to shame situations. Narcissism, actual and perceived social preference, global self‐worth and propensity towards externalizing shame responding were measured in 122 pre‐adolescent children. As expected, results revealed that narcissism, in contrast to global self‐worth, was associated with externalizing shame responding. In addition, actual but not perceived social preference was inversely related to externalizing shame responding, suggesting that the social self‐perceptions of children prone to employ externalizing shame responses may be inflated. Discussion focuses on the self‐regulatory function of externalizing shame responses.     

Trust in organization as a moderator of the relationship between self‐efficacy and workplace outcomes: A social cognitive theory‐based examination

Drawing on a social cognitive theory perspective, we contend that an employee's trust in oneself, or self‐efficacy, will interact with the individual's trust in the system, or trust in organization, to predict job attitudes and behaviours. Specifically, we expected that self‐efficacy would have stronger effects on job attitudes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions) and behaviours (task performance and organizational citizenship behaviours) to the degree to which employees perceive high levels of trust in organization. Using data collected from 300 employees and their respective supervisors at a manufacturing organization in Turkey across three waves, we found that self‐efficacy had more positive effects on job satisfaction, task performance, and citizenship behaviours when trust in organization was high. Interestingly, self‐efficacy had a positive effect on turnover intentions when trust in organization was low, indicating that high trust in organization buffered the effects of self‐efficacy on intentions to leave. The results suggest that the motivational value of trust in oneself is stronger to the degree to which employees also have high trust in the system, whereas low trust in system neutralizes the motivational benefits of self‐efficacy.

Practitioner points

• Practicing managers should not only invest in increasing self‐efficacy of their employees, but also invest in building trust to improve employees’ attitudes, behaviours, and performance. This is because when employee trust in organization is high, employee self‐efficacy has greater potential to have a positive influence over job satisfaction, task performance, and organizational citizenship behaviours.
• Self‐efficacy may actually increase an employee's desire to leave the organization when organizational conditions are unfavourable, such as in the case of low trust in the organization. Practicing managers should be aware that employees who have high levels of confidence may be at higher risk of turnover when they are unhappy with the organization.