Situational Modulation of Emotion Recognition Abilities in Children With Secure and Insecure Attachment: The Role of Gender

Abstract

Objective: Considering the role of attachment in the emotional development of children, the purpose of this study was to test the situational modulation of emotion recognition in children with secure/insecure attachment with regard to gender in Iranian students. Methods: this casual comparative study was done on a pool of 200 students aged 7-9 years from elementary schools of Tehran, Iran. The participants completed the Middle Childhood Attachment Scale (MCSA), of whom 60 children were assigned to two groups based on their scores on MCAS (secure vs. insecure). They read stories developed to manipulate the attachment schema, and after each story, they were tested for emotion recognition abilities (classification and intensity rating). Happy, sad, angry, and fearful faces were presented and reaction time was recorded using the AFFECT4.0 software. Results: All children irrespective of attachment style, were faster in the identification of others’ emotional expressions in attachment situations than in a neutral situation. Boys made more errors in attachment situations than in the neutral situation, while for girls it did not differ. Among children with secure attachment, boys were faster than girls in recognition of emotion. Conclusion: In terms of attachment theory, attachment styles could have an important impact on the development process of the child’s emotional skills.