Emotional Security Theory Research Articles

Theories of Relational Health in Interpersonal Violence Research: A Scoping Review

Interpersonal violence is a pervasive public health problem that leads to emotional, behavioral, and physical health challenges. Theoretically, sound research examining protective factors, such as relational health, is imperative for developing effective interventions. However, the use of relational health theories in existing research needs to be better understood within the literature and should be further explored. Using scoping review methodology, 23 theories of relational health were identified in the research literature. Attachment theory and emotional security theory were the most frequently utilized. The remaining studies drew on a wide range of theories, including relational cultural theory, social support theories, and others. Findings highlight the complexities of relational experiences in interpersonal violence contexts. Future research should seek a more comprehensive understanding of the inclusion and application of relational health theories.

Evaluation of a Couple- and Family-Based Intervention: Implications for the Fathering Vulnerability Hypothesis

SYNOPSIS Objective. This study evaluated a preventive intervention to reduce destructive interparental conflict, increase constructive communication, and improve emotional security in interparental, parent-child, and family-wide relationships. Emotional Security Theory provided the theoretical bases for this program. The present focus was on an evaluation of the fathering vulnerability hypothesis, which posits that fathers and their family relationships are particularly susceptible to the effects of destructive interparental conflict. Thus, fathers may benefit especially from an intervention to improve marital and family conflict. Design. Two hundred twenty-five families with an adolescent (112 females; 11 to 17 years old, M = 13.23 years; SD = 1.57) participated, randomly assigned to a parent-adolescent condition (PA; n = 75), a parent-only condition (PO; n = 75), or a control condition (n = 75). Dyadic growth curve modeling evaluated the intervention’s effects on changes in the father-child relationship and fathers’ reports of marital quality over the course of a year. Results. Consistent with the fathering vulnerability hypothesis that fathers would benefit more from couple- and family-focused interventions, positive effects of the intervention on marital quality and attachment were identified for fathers but not mothers. Additionally, further tests directly comparing the strength of each condition’s impact on fathers and mothers revealed that the intervention had stronger positive effects on father-adolescent attachment than mother-adolescent attachment. Conclusions. These results provide a broader understanding of the beneficial effects of the present intervention and offer evidence in the context of a randomized-controlled design in support of the fathering vulnerability hypothesis.

The relationship between interparental conflict and emotional insecurity in emerging adulthood: the moderator role of intrinsic religiosity

ABSTRACT Emotional security theory explains effects of interparental conflict (IPC) on family relationships. Further, relations between religiosity and marriage have been investigated. The aim of the current study is to establish a relationship between these two separate lines of research. We examined perception of IPC and emotional insecurity among emerging adults and how personal and perceived parental intrinsic religiosity (IR) moderated the association between IPC and emotional insecurity. First, the higher the IPC, the higher the scores on emotional insecurity. Second, moderator effects were found for both personal and perceived paternal IR. The findings implicated a protective role IR against IPC.

Effects of Parent-Children Communication on Academic Performance of the Children: A Study of Southern Punjab, Pakistan

This research was carried out to find the effects of parents-childrencommunication on the academic performance of the children acrossSouthern Punjab. This research investigated the relationship betweenparental-children communication, gender, and educational performance ofthe children. The researcher applied Social Learning Theory (SLT) byAlbert Bandura (1977) and Emotional Security Theory (EST) byCummings and Davies (1995). The researcher adopted quantitativeresearch based on self-reported survey questionnaire from the schoolgoing students of 6th grade. The researcher used multistage sampling.Finally, the study was carried out on the sample of 1000 school childrenwith a balanced sample of both male and female students. It was foundthat the unfriendly parent children communication effected the academicperformance negatively and more than friendly parent childrencommunication furthermore the male children were more affected byunfriendly parent-children communication than female children in contextof their academic performance. The study concluded that academicperformance of Southern Punjab children could be improved by increasingfriendly parent-children communication and discouraging the unfriendlyparent-children communication through awareness to the parents, howeverthe socioeconomic status and low literacy levels of the parents remainedone of the major factors which should be controlled.

Family-level antecedents of children's patterns of reactivity to interparental conflict: Testing the reformulation of emotional security theory.

Guided by emotional security theory, this study examined the family-level antecedents of children's reaction patterns to interparental conflict in a sample of 243 preschool children (M age = 4.60 years; 48% Black; 16% Latinx; 56% girls) and their parents in the Northeastern United States. Behavioral observations of children's responses to interparental conflict over two annual measurement occasions assessed their tendencies to exhibit four patterns of defending against threat: secure (i.e., efficiently address direct threats), mobilizing (i.e., high reactivity to potential threat and social opportunities), dominant (i.e., directly defeat threat), and demobilizing (i.e., reduce salience as a target of hostility). Latent profile analyses of interparental, coparental, and parent characteristics derived from multiple methods at the first wave yielded four profiles corresponding with harmonious, enmeshed, compensatory, and detouring patterns of family-level functioning. Additional analyses revealed that children in harmonious and compensatory family profiles exhibited more secure patterns of reactivity over a 1-year period than children in the enmeshed family profile. In contrast, subsequent mobilizing reactivity was most pronounced for children in the enmeshed family profile. Finally, children in the detouring profile exhibited substantially higher levels of demobilizing reactivity to interparental conflict. Results are discussed in the context of how they inform and refine emotional security theory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional security and family relationships of Spanish college students

This study is grounded on Systems Theory and Emotional Security Theory, and aims at extending past work by examining relations among children’s emotional security in the family system and the quality of family relationships among college students, a population scarcely addressed by the Emotional Security Theory. Participants were 236 female and male students attending a public Spanish University (meanage = 20.13 years old). We used the Security in the Family System Scale (SIFS), the Family Stress Scale, the Family Satisfaction Scale, the Bidirectional Parent-Adolescent Relationships Scale (BiPAR), and measures of destructive and constructive interparental conflict. The variables “living with family” and “parental divorce” were also studied. Results showed that parental divorce related to higher family stress, less interparental conflict resolution and worse bidirectional relationships with fathers. There were not significant differences in any of the variables under analyses between students who lived with their families while at college compared to those who did not live with their families. Emotional security in the family explained 52% of the variance of family satisfaction. This study has theoretical implications as it applies Emotional Security Theory to study young adults from divorced and intact families and who either live or not with their families while attending college. Our results agree and support this Theory. It also has practical implications for mental health and counselling services pointing to potential risk and protective family variables in college students.

Supplemental Material for Family-Level Antecedents of Children’s Patterns of Reactivity to Interparental Conflict: Testing the Reformulation of Emotional Security Theory

Supplemental Material for Family-Level Antecedents of Children’s Patterns of Reactivity to Interparental Conflict: Testing the Reformulation of Emotional Security Theory

El Conflicto entre los Padres, la Seguridad Emocional y el Autoconcepto de los Adolescentes

According to the Emotional Security Theory, feeling safe in the family is a main goal for adolescents. Interparental conflict threatens adolescents’ emotional security but there are few studies that relate interparental conflict, emotional security, and adolescents’ self-perceptions. Our aim was to relate these dimensions. Participants were 196 adolescents of both sexes with a mean age of 15.24 years. The CPIC scale was used to measure perceived interparental conflict, the SIFS was used to measure emotional security, identifying one secure dimension and two insecure dimensions (preoccupation and disengagement), and the SDQ II, that was used to measure academic and non-academic self-concept. Adolescents of both sexes who were more emotionally disengaged had lower scores on general self-concept, general academic self-concept, self-esteem, and relationships with parents. These results have implications for educational and psychological interventions due to the role played by relationships and self-perceptions in adolescents’ development.

Latent classes in preschoolers' internal working models of attachment and emotional security: Roles of family risk.

Children's relationships inform their internal working models (IWMs) of the world around them. Attachment and emotional security theory (EST) emphasize the importance of parent-child and interparental relationships, respectively, for IWM. The current study examined (a) data-driven classes in child attachment and emotional security IWM, (b) associations between IWM classes and demographic variables, maltreatment, intimate partner violence (IPV), and maternal depressive symptoms, and (c) consistency in attachment and emotional security IWM classes, including as a function of maltreatment, IPV, and maternal depressive symptoms. Participants were 234 preschool-aged children (n = 152 experienced maltreatment and n = 82 had not experienced maltreatment) and their mothers. Children participated in a narrative-based assessment of IWM. Mothers reported demographics, IPV, and maternal depressive symptoms. Latent class analyses revealed three attachment IWM classes and three emotional security IWM classes. Maltreatment was associated with lower likelihood of being in the secure attachment class and elevated likelihood of being in the insecure dysregulated attachment class. Inconsistencies in classification across attachment and emotional security IWM classes were related to maltreatment, IPV, and maternal depressive symptoms. The current study juxtaposes attachment and EST and provides insight into impacts of family adversity on children's IWM across different family relationships.

Effects of Parent-Children Communication on Academic Performance of the Children: A Study of Southern Punjab, Pakistan

This research study pertaining to the effects of Parents-Children Communication on the academic performance of the children was carried out across the Southern Punjab. The researcher observed at various stances that Parent-Children Communication was taken as granted by the parents and its consequences were not bothered. This research investigated the relationship between Parental-Children Communication, Gender, and Academic performance of the children. The Emotional Security Theory (EST) developed by Cummings and Davies (2006) and Social Learning Theory posed by Albert Bandura (1974) were applied to the study. of 6th grade. All children living in Southern Punjab and their parents were considered as population of the study. The researcher used multistage sampling technique. The researcher took a balanced sample comprised of 1000 male and female children. SPSS version-25 was used for data analysis. The study revealed that friendly Parent-Children Communication was positively associated with progress in academic performance whereas unfriendly Parent-Children Communication was negatively associated with progress in the academic performance. Furthermore male children were found more sensitized to unfriendly Parent-Children Communication than the female children as academic performance of female children were found higher than their counterparts. 
 Keywords: Education, Parent-Children Communication, Gender, Children, Southern Punjab

Interparental Conflict and Korean Children's Inhibitory Control: Testing Emotional Insecurity as a Mediator.

This study examined the association between interparental conflict and inhibitory control of Korean children, and it investigated whether this relationship is mediated by the single latent variable of emotional insecurity or by three dimensions of emotional insecurity (i.e., involvement, emotional reactivity, and avoidance). A total of 166 mother–father dyads with Korean children aged 3–5 years participated in a short-term longitudinal survey at two-time points. Both parents completed measures of interparental conflict and emotional insecurity, and, 6 months later, they completed a measure of the inhibitory control of children. The structural equation modeling results suggested that interparental conflict was related to poor inhibitory control in Korean children. Emotional insecurity did not mediate the association between interparental conflict and inhibitory control. Of the three emotional insecurity dimensions, the involvement partially mediated the relationship. Interestingly, although interparental conflict predicted poor inhibitory control, the involvement of children in the conflict, which was associated with a greater interparental conflict, predicted a subsequent increase in inhibitory control 6 months later. These findings were interpreted in terms of sensory processing patterns, the reformulation of emotional security theory, and the influence of Confucianism on Korean culture.

Family Environment and Child-To-Parent Violence: The Role of Emotional Insecurity.

Child-to-parent violence (CPV) constitutes a serious social problem due to its short and long-term consequences, which not only directly affect the victim but also generate a rupture of the family system. In this study, direct and indirect effects of exposition to violence within the family, insecurity in the family system (manifested as disengagement and/or preoccupation), and justification of violence on CPV toward mothers and fathers were analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM). Davies and Cummings emotional security theory (1994) was applied. A total of 904 high school students between 13 and 20 years old participated in this study. Information regarding each participant's committed CPV was obtained from the Child-to-Parent Aggression Questionnaire. Emotional insecurity was assessed with the Security in the Family System scale. To assess exposition to violence and justification of violence, the Exposure to Violence Questionnaire and Irrational Beliefs Inventory for Adolescents were applied, respectively. Strong relationships between exposition to violence within the family, emotional insecurity, justification of violence, and CPV toward mothers and fathers were observed. The results show that adolescents who are exposed to violence at home are more aggressive in the future. In addition, this relationship is mediated, at least in part, by the justification of violence and emotional insecurity. These results suggest that prevention and treatment of CPV aggressors should focus on improving security within the survivors' family system as well as modifying attitudes toward violence.

Effects of Friendly Parent-Children Communication on Children’s Interest in Education: A Study of Southern Punjab

Parents-Children Communication [PCC] remained an area of urgency to be addressed because the education of children revolves around the communication which was taken as granted by most of the parents. The research study was carried out across the Southern Punjab [SP]. The researcher selected the area due to low literacy rate and less socio-economic status. This research investigated the relationship between PCC and children’s Interest in Education [IIE]. The Emotional Security Theory [EST] and Social Learning Theory [SLT] were applied to the study. All 6th grade children from SP were considered as population of the study. The researcher used multistage sampling technique. The survey data was taken from a balanced sample of 1000 male and female children and analyzed through SPSS version-25. The study revealed that friendly PCC was positively associated with children’s IIE. The study would be beneficial for the parents to redress their communication with children to build children’s interest in gaining education.

Dyadic Coping, Parental Warmth, and Adolescent Externalizing Behavior in Four Countries.

This study examined parental warmth as a mediator of relations between mothers' and fathers' perceptions of dyadic coping and adolescent externalizing outcomes. Data from 472 adolescents, mothers, and fathers were collected over a three-year period from families in China, Kenya, Sweden, and Thailand. For mothers in all four sites and fathers in three sites, better parental dyadic coping at youth age 13 predicted higher levels of parental warmth at youth age 14. For mothers in all four sites, higher levels of maternal warmth were in turn related to less youth externalizing behavior at age 15, and higher levels of dyadic coping at youth age 13 were related to less youth externalizing behavior at age 15 indirectly through maternal warmth. Emotional Security Theory helps explain the process by which dyadic coping is related to adolescent externalizing behavior. The results have important implications for parent and family-based interventions.

Parental depression and conduct problems among Chinese migrant children with oppositional defiant disorder symptoms: Testing moderated mediation model

Migrant children have greatly increased in number due to the China’s urbanization and migrant children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms are at high risk of conduct problems. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between parental depression and conduct problems among Chinese migrant children with ODD symptoms, and to investigate whether parent-child closeness and parent-child conflict mediated and child emotion regulation moderated the linkage. Totally, 370 parents of migrant children who met the DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of ODD symptoms from 10 elementary schools participated in the study. Their class master teachers were included as well. Results revealed that parental depression was positively associated with conduct problems of migrant children with ODD symptoms. Both parent-child closeness and conflict partially mediated the link between parental depression and child conduct problems, while the mediating role of parent-child conflict was stronger. Child emotion regulation moderated the association between parental depression and parent-child closeness. Specifically, for children with low level, but not high, of emotion regulation, parental depression was negatively related to parent-child closeness. The study applied existing emotional security theory into migrant children with ODD symptoms and suggested that interventions may effectively reduce conduct problems in migrant children with ODD symptoms by targeting parental depression, parent-child closeness as well as conflict, and child emotion regulation.

Constructive Interparental Conflict and Child Adjustment in the Chinese Context: A Moderated Mediation Model of Emotional Security and Disintegration Avoidance

Grounded in emotional security theory and a dualistic model of harmony, the present study tested a moderated mediation model of disintegration avoidance, interparental conflict, and emotional security associated with child adjustment. A total of 70 Chinese parents completed a set of questionnaires on parents’ disintegration avoidance (i.e., a dimension of harmony), constructive interparental conflict, and children’s emotional security, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems (32 girls and 38 boys; Mage = 4.83 years old; SDage = 1.90). Multi-group path analysis was conducted to examine the mediating role of children’s emotional security between constructive interparental conflict and child adjustment between parents with high vs. low disintegration avoidance. Significant pathways emerged to suggest emotional security as a mediator when parents reported a high level of disintegration avoidance. Supplementary analysis with disintegration avoidance as a continuous moderator suggested that disintegration avoidance and constructive conflict interactively predicted emotional security. Post-hoc simple slopes analysis further revealed that the relation between constructive interparental conflict and emotional security had a positive trend when disintegration avoidance was high. The findings enhanced our knowledge on the mediating role of emotional security in the context of Chinese culture. Evidence informs translational research in promoting constructive interparental conflict and emotional security as assets of child adjustment, particularly in families experiencing a high level of disintegration avoidance.

Understanding the needs of children returning from formerly ISIS-controlled territories through an emotional security theory lens: Implications for practice

BackgroundChildren who spent time in territories formerly controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and who are now being reintegrated into their countries of origin have experienced significant trauma and may present with adjustment or mental health problems. ObjectiveIn this paper we describe how Emotional Security Theory (EST; Davies & Cummings, 1994) and its more recent formulation, EST-reformulated (EST-R; Davies & Martin, 2013, 2014), provide a theoretical lens to aid in understanding the ways in which traumatic experiences under ISIS may have an enduring impact on a child’s development and well-being. Methods & resultsThe core assumption of EST is that maintaining safety and security is a central goal for a child growing up in the context of conflict. Children living in conflict zones under ISIS rule may have developed emotional insecurity, which in turn is theorized to lead to developmental cascades across multiple domains of functioning and at times result in clinically significant distress. This theoretical understanding can guide intervention, as it suggests that the foci of intervention must (1) minimize social signals indicative of threat while also (2) reducing behavioral response patterns that limit opportunities for exploration and prosocial affiliation. Trauma Systems Therapy is a multidisciplinary child trauma treatment model that addresses both stressors in the social environment and related emotional dysregulation. ConclusionsChallenges and considerations related to implementing such a comprehensive treatment approach in low- and middle-income countries are discussed.

Parental Relationship Status as a Moderator of the Associations Between Mothers’ and Fathers’ Conflict Behaviors and Early Child Behavior Problems

This study examines interparental conflict and associations with child behavior problems among a large, diverse sample of families with low income (N = 2,691) using path model analyses of mothers' and fathers' reports of constructive interparental conflict, destructive interparental conflict, and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization at 15 months and child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems at 36 months. Multigroup models examined whether parental relationship status (i.e., married, cohabiting, and churning) moderated these associations. Fathers' perceptions of interparental conflict behaviors showed few direct associations with child outcomes, whereas mothers' perceptions of interparental conflict showed more robust associations with child outcomes. Specifically, mother-reported destructive conflict was associated with higher levels of child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems across parental relationship status subgroups. Mother-reported constructive conflict had a small negative association with child behavior problems in cohabiting families. Child emotional insecurity mediated the association of maternal destructive conflict on child behavior problems. Although churning families experienced higher levels of moderate and severe interparental conflict, associations linking destructive conflict to child behavior problems were consistent across parental relationship subgroups. There were few direct effects of father-reported constructive and destructive conflict on child well-being. However, the results supported the notion that fathers play an influential role in the family system via maternal reports of IPV victimization. Results of this study suggest that the mechanisms underlying emotional security theory, in which child emotional insecurity mediates the associations between maternal destructive conflict and child behavior problems, apply to a large and racially diverse sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

Heterogeneity in the dynamic arousal and modulation of fear in young foster children

Guided by emotional security theory, we explored how child and context-related factors were associated with heterogeneity in young foster children’s organized patterns of fear response to distress. Results from group-based trajectory modeling used to analyze observational data from a fear-eliciting task showed that children from our sample (mean age = 62 months, SD = 9) were classified into 3 specific fear regulation patterns differentiated by the emotional response parameters of onset intensity, peak intensity, and rise time. A descriptive examination of child’s emotion knowledge, aggressive behaviors, and attention problems, as well as length of time in current foster home, placement transitions, and caregiver responsiveness and modeling showed class-specific differences in means. Moreover, the likelihood of class membership was significantly predicted by children’s emotion knowledge, aggressive behaviors, and foster mothers’ responsiveness and modeling of appropriate boundaries. Results show promising support for the implementation of individualized, child-directed interventions targeting specific patterns of response parameters of emotion regulation for young foster children. Further, parenting intervention services need to promote the emotion socialization skills of foster parents that are tailored toward each specific trajectory pattern of emotion arousal and modulation.

Pathways from childhood sexual abuse to trait anxiety

BackgroundChildren exposed to sexual abuse are at risk for developing several psychological and behavioral difficulties during adulthood. Here, direct and indirect effects of family conflict, insecurity within the family system (manifested as disengagement and/or preoccupation), and negative feelings provoked by childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on trait anxiety scores were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Both Finkelhor and Browne’s traumagenic dynamics model and Davies and Cummings Emotional Security Theory were applied. MethodsA total of 168 female college student survivors of CSA participated in this study. Information regarding each participant’s abuse was obtained from a self-reported questionnaires. Emotional security was assessed with the Security in the Family System scale. To assess negative feelings regarding abuse and trait anxiety, Children’s Impact of Traumatic Events Scale-Revised and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were applied, respectively. ResultsLevel of family conflict was found to directly relate to emotional insecurity and trait anxiety. In addition, preoccupation strategies were found to be directly related to trait anxiety. Conversely, disengagement strategies were indirectly related to anxiety through the negative feelings provoked by abuse. Experience with other types of abuse and/or neglect was also related to emotional insecurity and feelings provoked by CSA. Meanwhile, continuity of abuse only correlated with feelings provoked by abuse. ConclusionsStrong relationships between family conflict, emotional insecurity, negative feelings provoked by CSA and trait anxiety were observed. These results suggest that treatment of CSA survivors should focus on improving security within the survivors’ family system and reducing negative feelings provoked by abuse.