Introduction to the Special Issue of Social Development: Emotion Socialization in Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

This Special Issue of Social Development focuses on social contextual influences that shape emotional repertoires for those in middle childhood and adolescence. Acknowledging a broad array of potential influences, the emphasis of this issue is on family emotional processes. Research advances over the past two decades have contributed considerably to our knowledge of maternal practices in shaping emotion in infants and young children (for recent reviews refer to Denham, Bassett, & Wyatt, 2006 and Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinrad, 1998; and a special issue of Marriage and Family Review edited by Fabes,Valiente, & Leonard, 2002).Yet, there continues to be a paucity of research examining parents’ role in socializing emotional behavior in older children, particularly during the adolescent years. The collection of manuscripts in this Special Issue represents a significant step in addressing this gap in our knowledge. In this Introduction we provide an overview of some of the central themes that unify this body of research including salient adaptive and maladaptive developmental processes relevant to emotion socialization with older children and the conceptual and methodological issues that are centrally relevant to this topic of inquiry. Recent empirical advances and conceptual developments in the field are highlighted with recommendations for future research integrated throughout.