Children's emotion processing: Relations to emotionality and aggression

Abstract

We examined the relations between emotionality, emotion processing, and aggression in 182 first-and second-grade children. Consistent with Tomkins' and Izard's theoretical predictions, emotionality correlated with emotion processing. In particular, the happiness component of emotionality correlated with emotion attribution accuracy and empathy, the anger component correlated with anger attribution bias and empathy, and the fear component correlated with fear attribution bias. Multiple emotion processing deficits-including emotion attribution accuracy, anger attribution bias, and self-report of empathy-placed children at risk for heightened levels of teacher-reported aggression. Mediational analyses revealed that an emotion processing risk index fit a model of significant partial mediation between happiness and aggression but not between anger and aggression. The results suggest the multifaceted manner in which children's emotion experiences may influence the development of aggressive tendencies.

Emotion-recognition abilities and behavior problem dimensions in preschoolers: Evidence for a specific role for childhood hyperactivity

“…A bias toward anger reported in primary-school-aged children with externalizing or internalizing symptoms was not evident in this study (Richards et al, 2007;Schultz et al, 2004). Previous studies in children with conduct and internalizing difficulties have utilized tasks measuring children's hostile attribution in ambiguous situations.…”

“…Increased symptoms of hyperactivity in 6 to 12-year-old children, for example, have been linked to difficulties recognizing both positive (happy) and negative (anger, sadness, fear) facial expressions of emotion (Boakes, Chapman, Houghton, & West, 2008;Corbett & Glidden, 2000;Pelc, Kornreich, Foisy, & Dan, 2006;Sinzig, Morsch, & Lehmkuhl, 2008). In addition, children and adolescents with conduct problems showed increased errors detecting negative (sad, angry, and fearful) facial expressions (Blair, Colledge, Murray, & Mitchell, 2001;Fairchild, Stobbe, Van Goozen, Calder, & Goodyer, 2010) and a hostility bias-a tendency to attribute anger to facial expressions of emotion (Dodge, Bates, & Pettit, 1990;Schultz, Izard, & Bear, 2004). Further research has found that elevated anxiety symptoms in children aged 10-11 years were also linked to increased attributions of anger to facial expressions with low-intensity happiness (Richards, French, Nash, Hadwin, & Donnelly, 2007).…”

Relations of Parenting and Temperament to Chinese Children’s Experience of Negative Life Events, Coping Efficacy, and Externalizing Problems

“…Similarly, CE and NLEs did not mediate the link between temperamental anger/frustration (parents' reports) and externalizing. Anger/frustration might have more a direct relation to externalizing than authoritarian parenting; alternatively, other processes might mediate the anger/frustration -externalizing association (e.g., emotion attribution and empathy; Schultz, Izard, & Bear, 2004). …”

Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children

“…Many protective factors that are hypothesized to promote social competence are also thought to inoculate children from developing externalizing behavior problems. Although the research literature on protective factors that relate to risk has been slow in developing, evidence suggests that socially adaptive interpersonal problem-solving (Wentzel 1991), empathy (Schultz, Izard, and Bear 2004), and parental use of positive rewards and encouragement to support appropriate behavior (Gorman-Smith et al 2000) are related to a lower occurrence of problem behaviors, such as aggression and delinquency.…”