Children's Emotion Research Articles

Interparental and Parent-Teen Relationships during Adolescence as Predictors of Intra- and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in Young Adulthood.

Parents' contributions to their children's emotion regulation during adolescence has been a relatively understudied interpersonal context of development, even though parents' roles as sources of social and emotional learning persist from childhood into adolescence and the complexity of teens' lives grows during this time. This study aims to investigate the differential predictive utility of qualities and behaviors in interparental and parent-teen relationships during adolescence for predicting youths' development of intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation over a 13-year period. To assess these hypotheses, data were obtained from a longitudinal, multi-method, multi-informant study of 184 adolescents (107 Caucasian, 53 African American, and 24 mixed/other ethnicity; median family income of USD 40,000-60,000/year in 1999, equivalent to about USD 75,000-112,000/year when accounting for inflation) and their parents. The results provide support for a differential pattern of prediction; qualities of interparental relationships in early adolescence were significant predictors of young adult interpersonal emotion regulation, whereas behaviors in interparental and parent-teen relationships in late adolescence were significant predictors of both young adult positive intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation. Notably, some father-reported relationship predictors during late adolescence had unexpected relations with later intrapersonal emotion regulation. The results are discussed in terms of the helpfulness of these specific relationship factors during each part of adolescence for supporting positive intra- and interpersonal emotional regulation development.

Understanding Parenting Stress in Adoptive Parents: A Longitudinal Multilevel Study of Parents' Self-Criticism, Child Negative Emotionality, and Child Age at Placement.

Research on parenting stress in adoptive parents during the early years post-placement reveals significant variability, yet few studies examine both parent- and child-related factors. This study investigates the role of the personality dimension of self-criticism and perceived negative child emotionality in relation to parenting stress during the first four years after transnational adoption. Additionally, it explores the moderating effect of child age at placement, a key factor associated with early adversity. Drawing upon a longitudinal five-wave dataset in the first 4 years after the child arrived in the adoptive family, this study used multi-informant data of 96 adoptive mothers and fathers of transnationally adopted children (mean child age at placement = 13.48 months). Data were analyzed using a multilevel structural equation modeling approach. Parents' self-criticism was positively associated with parenting stress at the between-parent level. At the within-parent level, year-to-year fluctuations in both parents' self-criticism and perceived child's negative emotionality were positively associated with corresponding fluctuations in parenting stress. Child age at placement did not moderate any of these associations. Overall, this study yielded convincing evidence for the dynamic nature of parenting stress in the first years after child placement, the role of parental self-criticism, and the child's perceived negative emotionality herein.

The Influence of the Traditional Lemon Nipis Game on Children's Cognitive and Social-emotional Development at Paud Mawar FKIP Unpati Ambon

This study aimed to find out the impact of traditional game “Lemon Nipis” toward the development of the cognitive and social emotions of children at PAUD Mawar FKIP Unpati Ambon. The type of this study used was experiment. The participants of this study were 12 children. The instrument are applied as instrument research are observation and documentation. Based on the result of this study, it shows that the ability of cognitive and social emotion of children at PAUD Mawar Unpatty, Ambon before the study obtained an average pre-test score of 15.46, while the post-test average score was 46.31. While, the results of t test is the significance value (2-tailed) 0.000 < 0.05. If the significant value is < 0.05 it means that Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. Based on the t test results, it shows that the traditional game “Lemon Nipis” have an impact toward the development of the cognitive and social emotion of children at PAUD Mawar FKIP Unpati. Keywords: traditional game, children cognitive, social emotional development

Bidirectional Relations Among Maternal Positive Emotion, Infant Positive Emotionality, and Infant Physiological Regulation Across the First 18 Months of Life.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a marker of self-regulation, has been linked to developmental outcomes in young children. Although positive emotions may have the potential to facilitate physiological self-regulation, and enhanced self-regulation could underlie the development of positive emotions in early childhood, the relation between positive emotions and physiological self-regulation in infancy has been relatively overlooked. The current study examined the bidirectional associations among maternal positive emotion, infant positive emotionality, and infant resting RSA across the first 18 months of life. We used data from the Longitudinal Attention and Temperament Study (LanTs; N=309 in the current analysis) to test the within- and between-person relations of study variables over time using a random-intercepts cross-lagged panel model. We found that infants with higher overall levels of positive emotionality also displayed greater resting RSA, and their mothers exhibited higher levels of positive emotion. However, there were negative cross-lagged associations within-person; higher than average infant positive emotionality predicted lower levels of infant resting RSA at the subsequent timepoint during early infancy, whereas higher than average infant RSA subsequently predicted decreased levels of infant positive emotionality later in infancy. Results highlight the importance of considering transactional relations between positive emotion and physiological self-regulation in infancy.

Maternal support in preschool and child behavior problems: The mediating role of childhood emotion knowledge.

Children's emotion knowledge encompasses abilities to recognize and label emotions in the service of positive adaptation. Drawing on a sociodemographically diverse sample of 250 children (50% female sex assigned at birth; Mage_W1 = 49.02 months, SD = 2.99) and their maternal caregivers (55.6% Latina; 37.6% poverty), this study evaluated a multiple mediation model to integrate heretofore distinct bodies of research examining (a) parenting effects on the development of emotion knowledge and (b) emotion knowledge effects on socioemotional adaptation. Observations of maternal supportive presence at age 4 predicted increases in children's emotion recognition and labeling from ages 4 to 8. However, only emotion labeling skills explained children's behavioral adjustment outcomes with a significant pathway from supportive parenting at age 4 to fewer externalizing and internalizing behavior problems at age 10 via improved emotion labeling skills. These findings suggest that emotion knowledge, particularly labeling skills, partially explains the protective impact of supportive parenting on behavioral adaptation across childhood. Prevention and intervention efforts should target both supportive parenting practices and emotion knowledge skill development to support children's socioemotional functioning and reduce behavior problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy as Applied to Turkish Families: Effectiveness for Children with Behavior Problems and Their Caregivers

This study assessed the impact of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) on caregiver and child outcomes in Türkiye using a non-concurrent multiple baseline design (N = 3). Improvements in child disruptive behavior frequency were observed, with a large effect across participants (Tau-U = −0.74) and perceived problematic child behaviors (Tau-U = −0.87). School refusal, anxiety symptoms, and child emotion regulation improved with reliable change indices indicating clinically significant improvements (>1.96). Clinically significant decreases (RCI >1.96) in parenting stress and parent emotion regulation difficulties were also observed. Parents demonstrated improvements in parenting skills, as outlined by the PCIT protocol. This study highlights PCIT’s efficacy within a novel cultural context.

Relationship between early traumatic experiences and emotional regulation skills in major depressive and bipolar disorders.

Childhood trauma can cause deficits in emotional regulation. However, few studies have investigated childhood trauma and emotional regulation skills in patients with mood disorders. We aimed to investigate how childhood trauma and Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ERSQ) scores are associated with mood disorders.This study included 779 patients with mood disorders (major depressive disorder [MDD, n = 240], bipolar I disorder [BDI, n = 121], and bipolar II disorder [BDII, n = 418]). We used their Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ) and ERSQ scores for the evaluation.The between-group differences in CTQ and ERSQ scores were examined. The CTQ and ERSQ total scores were negatively correlated. Among the CTQ subscales, emotional neglect showed a significant correlation with the ERSQ total score, whereas acceptance and tolerance showed higher negative correlations with the CTQ than with the other ERSQ subscales. The negative relationship between emotional regulation and childhood trauma varied significantly depending on the group, with the BDI group showing a more prominent association than the other groups.Based on various mood disorders, we observed associations between childhood trauma and emotional regulation skills. Consequently, our study offers notable insights for future research on the impact of childhood trauma on ERSQ.

Pilot study of a parent-based intervention for functional somatic symptoms in children.

Functional somatic symptoms are associated with significant distress and impairment for children and their families. Despite the central role that families play in their children's care, there is little clinical research to guide how parents can support their children with functional somatic symptoms and promote better functioning. To address this gap, we developed a parent-based intervention for functional somatic symptoms in children and obtained preliminary data on acceptability, feasibility, treatment satisfaction, and clinical outcomes. The intervention was adapted from SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), an evidence-based treatment for anxiety and related disorders in children. The intervention, SPACE-Somatic, was delivered to parents of 16 children (Mage = 14.50 years; 75% girls) with a range of functional somatic symptoms. Parents participated in seven weekly group sessions conducted via telehealth. We found that SPACE-Somatic was acceptable, feasible, and satisfactory to parents. There were significant improvements in several clinical outcomes from baseline to posttreatment, including children's level of functional impairment, with some gains maintained at 3-month follow-up. Parents also reported improvements in their own stress and their accommodation of children's symptoms. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence that a parent-based intervention is viable and beneficial to children with functional somatic symptoms and their parents.

Color perception and its relation to dental anxiety in children.

One of the major causes of dental anxiety in children is their first impression of the dental environment. Even minor details, such as the choice of color in a dental setting and the color of dental equipment, can positively influence a child's behavior. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between the emotions in children and color combinations in a pediatric setting. The study involved 200 children (99 boys and 101 girls) aged between 6 and 12 years who visited the dental clinics at the College of Dentistry, Jazan University, for the first time between November 2017 and January 2018. The participants were divided into 2 groups based on age. The younger children group included participants aged from 6 to 9 years, while the older children group included participants aged from 10 to 12 years. Anxiety levels were recorded using the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale. Colored pencils and images of emoticons were provided to all children, who were instructed to color the negative and positive emoticons with their preferred colors. The analysis of anxiety levels among children in both groups revealed statistically significant differences across sexes in the younger age group, with girls being more anxious than boys (p = 0.003). Additionally, a statistically significant difference was observed in the choice of colors by children of both sexes in 2 age groups (p = 0.001). Most children were inclined towards bright colors and used them to express their emotions. The incorporation of colors in a dental setting could invoke positive emotions in children. Hence, the use of colors in the workplace has the potential to ease anxiety.

Parental lying to children: A systematic review

AbstractParents lie to their children, for example, to influence children's behavior and emotions (parenting by lying). The aim of this systematic review was to describe the current scientific literature on parental lying, including its prevalence, correlates, conceptualizations, and operationalizations. Through an extensive literature search using PRISMA guidelines, 23 eligible peer‐reviewed empirical papers on parental lying have been found. Many parents are found to lie to their children. However, existing research is characterized by a heterogeneous and narrow conceptualization and operationalization of parental lying, and a focus on problems. Following this, the current empirical evidence points mostly toward associations with maladaptive development. Following a critical analysis of the studies, future research should implement broader conceptualizations and operationalizations of parental lying in non‐retrospective, experimental, or prospective longitudinal research designs on maladaptive and adaptive correlates, to determine the significance of parental lying for children.

Everyday reality of children in rural Catalonia (Spain): experiences and emotions

ABSTRACT The pandemic has been the catalyst for many families with young children to leave the urban environment and settle in rural areas, attracted by discourses that are in tune with the imported and classic ‘ideal of rural childhood’: natural environment, freedom, autonomy, mutual help, peace and quiet. However, we do not know to what extent this ideal construction of childhood in rural areas corresponds nowadays to the everyday reality of children. In this article we analyse the daily experiences and emotions of children in rural areas of Catalonia (Spain). By applying a qualitative methodology that allows children to express themselves, we provide a critical reading of the current rural areas based on children’s lived experiences. The use of the relief map as a methodological tool makes possible to graphically capture children’s emotions related to places. The research fills a gap on the current rural childhood experiences in non-Anglo-Saxon contexts, places the concept of the rural ideal in the Catalan environment and provides insight into the diversity of rural childhoods based on children’s experiences and emotions.

Cognitive and affective links between childhood adversity and psychological adjustment in emerging adults with chronic medical conditions.

Childhood adversity has been linked to poor psychological adjustment and decreased emotion regulation (ER) abilities. The extended process model of ER outlines the pivotal role of cognitive appraisals in the generation and expression of emotion as well as the pursuit of ER. The aim of the current study is to examine whether illness-related cognitive appraisals (i.e., illness uncertainty and illness intrusiveness) and emotion dysregulation serially mediate the relationship between childhood adversity and psychological adjustment for emerging adults with chronic medical conditions (CMCs). Participants included 557 undergraduate college students (Mage= 19.53 years, SD = 1.34) enrolled in a Midwestern public university with self-reported CMCs. Participants completed measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), illness uncertainty, illness intrusiveness, emotion dysregulation, anxious symptoms, and depressive symptoms. A path analysis was conducted examining ACEs → cognitive appraisals (i.e., illness uncertainty, illness intrusiveness) → emotion dysregulation → depressive and anxious symptoms. The overall model was significant and predicted 63.5% of the variability in anxious symptoms and 60.2% of the variability in depressive symptoms. All anticipated direct and indirect paths were significant. The current study indicates that greater childhood adversity is indeed associated with negative appraisals of one's CMC, such as greater perceived uncertainty and intrusiveness. Negative illness-related cognitive appraisals thus may limit one's ability to effectively employ adaptive strategies to regulate emotions, which could contribute to greater depressive and anxious symptoms.

Transformation and development of simulation-based education and child first aid skills training

Background: Simulation-based medical education is a complex learning methodology in different fields. Exposing children to this teaching method is uncommon as it is designed for adult learning. This study aimed to develop and implement simulation-based education in first aid training of children and investigate the emotions of children in post-simulation scenarios that replicate emergency situations. Methods: This was a phenomenological qualitative research study. The participants attended the modified “Little Doctor” course that aims to train children in first aid and, subsequently, completed simulation scenarios. The children attended focus groups and were asked about their experiences of the course and how they felt during the simulation scenarios. Results: 12 children (Age 8–11 years old) attended the course, and 10 completed the simulation scenarios and focus groups. The major theme derived from was the simulation experience’s effect, which was divided into two subthemes: the emotion caused by—and the behavioral response to—the simulation. The analysis revealed shock and surprise toward the environment of the simulation event and the victim. The behaviors expressed during the simulation scenarios ranged from skill application and empathy to recall and teamwork. Conclusions: Simulation scenarios were successfully implemented during the first-aid training course. Although participants reported mixed feelings regarding the experience, they expressed confidence in their ability to perform real-life skills.

The Spiritual Education Value and Practical Approaches of Early Childhood Dance

Early childhood dance is an art activity for young children created according to the characteristics of their physical and mental development, which is characterized by intuitive image, sociality, and children's fantasy. It is characterized by intuitive image to show the form of all things for young children, which shows the knowledge of truth; young children shape their good character in the collective dance environment of cooperation and communication, which is for the sake of goodness; and young children experience the charm of dance art in the dance world of children's fantasy, which is for the sake of cultivating beauty. The truth, goodness and beauty it contains can nourish young children's hearts and promote the formation of positive psychological qualities in young children, which is an important way to educate young children. In this sense, educators should fully explore the value of early childhood dance according to the level of physical and mental development of young children, so as to achieve the dance wisdom - to promote the development of young children's cognitive ability, to dance ideology - to enhance the quality of young children's will, to dance and express their feelings. --Cultivate young children's positive emotions and feelings, nurture children's personality, and guide children's pro-social behavior. To realize dancing to nurture the heart and dancing to nurture people, and to promote the comprehensive and harmonious development of young children's body and mind.

Sharing and Allocation in Preschool Children: The Roles of Theory of Mind, Anticipated Emotions, and Consequential Emotions.

This study investigates the impact of theory of mind, anticipated emotions before actual behavior, and consequential emotions following the behavior on sharing and allocation behavior in 4-6-year-old children. In Experiment 1, 95 children were randomly assigned to three conditions (external emotion expectancy condition, internal emotion expectancy condition, and control condition) to explore the role of cognition and emotions in children's sharing and allocation behaviors. Experiment 2 employed a dictator game to further validate the influence of theory of mind and consequential emotions on behavior. The findings indicated that both anticipated and consequential emotions influence sharing behavior, but neither serves as a key predictor of allocation behavior. Theory of mind influences children's sharing behavior and is related to the fairness of allocation. Children with higher levels of theory of mind tend to rate consequential emotions more positively, while those with lower ratings of consequential emotions are more likely to reconsider sharing after reflection. Notably, theory of mind and emotional factors demonstrate distinct motivational effects on children's prosocial sharing and resource allocation, with negative emotions exhibiting a more pronounced impact on decision-making processes.

Parental control and adolescent social anxiety: A focus on emotional regulation strategies and socioeconomic influences in China.

An individual's social adaptation, which is influenced by both internalizing and externalizing factors, depends on social anxiety. We proposed that the connection between parental psychological control and social anxiety among middle school students was mediated by negative emotion response-focused strategies and moderated by socioeconomic status (SES). We collected data from 1343 Chinese students from 12 to 16 years old (M = 13.3, SD = 0.96) by applying the questionnaire of parental psychological control scale, social anxiety scale and negative emotion response-focused strategies scale. The findings demonstrated that parental psychological control, including father and mother psychological control, was positively associated with social anxiety and that the relationship between parental psychological control and children's social anxiety was mediated by negative emotion response-focused strategies. Meanwhile, SES played a moderating role in the relationship between children's negative emotion response-focused strategies and social anxiety. The findings also suggest that we should pay more attention to the psychological status and social interaction of children with lower SES.

Overview of Student’s Mental Health with Broken Home Background

The purpose of this study was to determine the mental health of students from broken home backgrounds. The method used in this study was qualitative descriptive research with a total population of class VII A-C of 105 students and a sample of 6 students. The results of the study showed that disharmonious, unstable, messy family conditions (broken home) can cause the development of unhealthy personalities in children. The form of mental health in question includes aspects of emotion, responsibility and sociability of children. Students admitted that they had vented their emotions on objects around them and even experienced trauma due to physical violence when dealing with their mothers so that the students decided to work after school. In addition, students also felt depressed and considered a burden on the family so that every problem they faced only chose to keep to themselves so that it had a bad impact on their academics, so that serious handling was needed such as providing counseling guidance.

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression among Parents of Children with Cancer-A Preliminary Study.

A child's cancer is a highly stressful experience for the entire family. Childhood cancer disrupts family functioning and is one of the most stressful and challenging events parents face, often beyond their control. Parents play a crucial role in providing emotional support to children throughout their illness, and their ability to cope can help reduce the child's negative emotions. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression among parents of children with cancer. This cross-sectional study followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines and included parents of children undergoing cancer treatment. Convenience sampling was used. The Beck Depression Inventory and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were utilized to assess the parents. This study included 270 participants (73% women, 27% men) with children at an average age of 8.75 ± 4.82 years. Diagnoses included leukemia (53%), lymphoma (29%), and other cancers. On the Beck Depression Inventory, 33% of parents were mildly depressed, 12% moderately depressed, and 32% severely depressed, with an average score of 20.63 ± 12.39 points. The HADS-M scale indicated anxiety at 48.43 ± 20.78%, depression at 45.01 ± 22.8%, and aggression at 54.72 ± 28.71%. Most parents of children with cancer have symptoms of depression and anxiety, which are influenced by the duration of the child's illness. A strong correlation was observed between the level of anxiety and the tendency for depression.

Moderators of the Effects of a Digital Parenting Intervention on Child Conduct and Emotional Problems Implemented During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From a Secondary Analysis of Data From the Supporting Parents and Kids Through Lockdown Experiences (SPARKLE) Randomized Controlled Trial.

A smartphone app, Parent Positive, was developed to help parents manage their children's conduct and emotional problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. A randomized controlled trial, Supporting Parents and Kids Through Lockdown Experiences (SPARKLE), found Parent Positive to be effective in reducing children's emotional problems. However, app effectiveness may be influenced by a range of child, family, socioeconomic, and pandemic-related factors. This study examined whether baseline factors related to the child, family, and socioeconomic status, as well as pandemic-related disruption circumstances, moderated Parent Positive's effects on child conduct and emotional problems at 1- and 2-month follow-up. This study was a secondary exploratory analysis of SPARKLE data. The data set included 646 children (4-10 years of age) with parents randomized to either Parent Positive (n=320) or follow-up as usual (n=326). Candidate baseline moderators included child age, gender, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, parental psychological distress, family conflict, household income, employment status, household overcrowding, and pandemic-related disruption risk (ie, homeschooling, lockdown status, and isolation status). Child conduct and emotional problem outcomes measured at 1- (T2) and 2-months (T3) post randomization were analyzed using linear mixed-effects analysis of covariance models adjusting for baseline (T1) measure of outcome and including intervention and intervention by time point interaction terms allowing for different effects at the 2 time points. Moderation of intervention effects by baseline factors was assessed by replacing the intervention by time interaction terms with intervention by time point by baseline moderator interaction terms. Child gender was a significant moderator of the Parent Positive versus follow-up as usual effect on emotional problems (B=0.72, 95% CI 0.12-1.33; P=.02). Specifically, the effect of Parent Positive was close to significant (T2: B=-0.41, 95% CI -0.82 to 0.0004; P=.05) or significant (T3: B=-0.76, 95% CI -1.22 to -0.30; P<.001) in males only when compared with females, and males experienced a significantly larger reduction in emotional problems than females in the Parent Positive arm at the 2-month post randomization time point. None of the other investigated baseline factors moderated effects on emotional problems, and no factors moderated effects on conduct problems. This study highlights Parent Positive's potential for effectively reducing emotional problems in primary school-aged male children across a wide range of families. However, due to limited variability in the demographic background of the families, cautious interpretation is required, and replications are necessary in diverse samples with longer follow-up times. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04786080; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04786080.

Children’s Expressed Emotions During Playful Learning Games

Studies on software tutoring systems for complex learning have shown that confusion has a beneficial relationship with the learning experience and student engagement (Arguel et al., 2017). Causing confusion can prevent boredom while signs of confusion can serve as a signal of genuine learning and as a predecessor for frustration. There is little to no research on the role of confusion in early childhood education and playful learning, as these studies primarily focus on high school and university students during complex learning tasks. Despite that, the field acknowledges that confusion may be caused by inconsistency between information and a student’s internal model referred to as cognitive disequilibrium known from the theory of cognitive development, which was originally theorized based on observational studies on young children (D’Mello and Graesser, 2012). Therefore, there is reason to expect that the virtues of confusion also apply to young children engaging in learning activities, such as playful learning. To investigate the role of confusion in playful learning, we conducted an observational study, in which the behavior and expressed emotions of young children were collected by familiar pedagogues, using a web app, while they engaged with playful learning games designed for kindergartens. The expressed emotions were analyzed using a likelihood metric to determine the likely transitions between emotions (D’Mello and Graesser, 2012). The preliminary results showed that during short play sessions, children express confusion, frustration, and boredom. Furthermore, the observed emotional transitions were matched with previously established models of affect dynamics during complex learning. We argue that games with a learning objective can benefit by purposely confusing the player and how the player’s confusion may be managed to improve the learning experience.