Parent–Child Talk About Past Emotional Events: Associations With Child Temperament and Goodness-of-Fit

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine associations between children's temperament, parent–child goodness-of-fit, and the emotional content of parent–child conversations about past events. Fifty one New Zealand 5- and 6-year-old children and their parents discussed 4 emotional past events. Parents rated children's temperament along 15 dimensions associated with effortful control, extroversion, and negative affect. Parents then rated their own expectations of children's temperament, from which parent–child goodness-of-fit was assessed. Children rated as higher in effortful control were involved in more emotional past-event conversations. Children whose negative affect ratings corresponded more closely with parental expectations were also involved in more emotional conversations. Our findings provide preliminary support for an association between temperament and narrative content.