The Unexpected Impact of Parental Emotional Socialization on Theory of Mind and Emotion Regulation: The Case of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Emilie Jacobs,Poline Simon,Stéphanie Mazzone,Nathalie Nader-Grosbois

doi:10.4236/psych.2019.109084

Abstract

Improving our understanding of contribution of environmental factors to Theory of Mind (ToM) and Emotion Regulation (ER) competences in children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) is crucial to helping them to boost their emotional and social abilities. Parental emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) have been shown to be favorable factors for the development of these competences in preschoolers. However, few studies have investigated links between mothers’ and fathers’ ERSBs and socio-emotional abilities in children with IDs. The goal of this study is to explore the share of the variance in ToM and ER abilities explained by individual characteristic and each parent’s reactions to the emotions of their children with IDs and emotion-related conversation. Twenty-seven mothers, 16 fathers, and their children with IDs participated. Direct and indirect measures of children’s ToM were used. Questionnaires about children’s ER competences and parents’ ERSBs were completed by parents. The results demonstrated that, at preschool developmental age, parents’ ERSBs had an impact on affective and cognitive ToM as well as on ER, depending on the parent’s gender, on children’s chronological and developmental age, and on the nature of ERSBs, namely reactions or conversations.

Highlights

IntroductionSocio-emotional competences, Theory of Mind (ToM) and Emotion Regulation (ER), are keys to positive so-
The goal of this study is to explore the share of the variance in Theory of Mind (ToM) and Emotion Regulation (ER) abilities explained by individual characteristic and each parent’s reactions to the emotions of their children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) and emotion-related conversation
To address the gap in the literature concerning the contribution of emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) to the development of ToM and ER abilities in children with IDs, this study investigates specific relations between these variables in children with IDs, and examines the extent to which variability in the ToM and ER could be explained with reference to individual characteristics and different ERSBs

Summary

Introduction

Socio-emotional competences, ToM and ER, are keys to positive so-. ToM refers to the ability to understand one’s own and other people’s mental states, including affective mental states such as emotions and desires, and cognitive ones such as intentions, beliefs, false beliefs, pretense, knowledge, thinking, visual perception and attention (Flavell, 1999). According to the heuristic model of social competences for atypical children, developed by Yeates et al (2007) and adapted by Nader-Grosbois (2011), the ToM skills have bidirectional links with social interactions including emotion regulation, and with social adjustment. What can we learn from the literature about ToM and ER in children with IDs?

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Conclusion