Abstract
Maternal rates of child internalising behaviour were compared across children's emotion attributions (neutral, fear, anger, sadness and happiness) to others in a discipline situation, after controlling for socio-demographic covariates. Sixty-five Brazilian mothers provided socio-demographic information and rated their preschool children's internalising behaviour. Children attributed emotions to a protagonist in a story facing maternal discipline. Analysis of covariance showed that children from homes with absent fathers, low-income or less-educated mothers received significantly higher internalising rates. Attribution of a neutral emotional state was linked to significantly lower child internalising behaviour, relative to attributions of anger, sadness or fear, independently from disciplinary tactics. Paternal absence was related to maternal rates of child internalising behaviour independently from diminished income, against a stereotype of Latino fathers as ‘uninvolved’. Children's attribution of a neutral emotional state to others facing maternal discipline may be rare but seems to play an adaptive role in internalising behaviour.
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