Temperamental Emotionality Attributes as Antecedents of Children's Social Information Processing

Abstract

This study examined temperament dimensions of emotion as precursors of children's social information processing (SIP) of stressful peer events. Two hundred and forty‐three preschool children (M = 4.60 years) and their primary caregivers participated in two measurement occasions spaced 2 years apart. Observations of temperamental anger, fearful distress, positive affect, and effortful control were assessed in multiple laboratory tasks across two visits at Wave 1. SIP assessments from vignettes of peer challenges were repeated across two waves and included: eye tracking measures of attention to peer emotion displays, hostile attribution bias, hostile solutions, and subjective distress. Findings from structural equation models with inclusion of autoregressive controls indicated that effortful control, fear, and anger predicted subsequent changes in specific SIP dimensions.

Beyond destructive and constructive interparental conflict: Children’s psychological vulnerability to interparental disorganization.

“…Following the selection of the emotion, children responded to the follow-up question, “How much would you be that way?” using an intensity scale, again represented symbolically for the children by progressively larger circles, ranging from 1, very little , to 5, a whole lot . Consistent with previous social information processing assessments of children’s perceived ability to regulate emotional distress in the aftermath of the stressful peer events (Davies et al, 2020), we created a residual negative affect variable that reflected children’s endorsement of the intensity (0 = no negative emotion; 5 = a whole lot of negative emotion) of any negative emotions (i.e., mad, sad, scared) experienced at Waves 1 (α =.58; average interitem r = .26) and 2 (α = .59; average interitem r = .28).…”

Children’s dove temperament as a differential susceptibility factor in child rearing contexts.

“…Temperament: Fearful Distress (Wave 1). Using an established coding scheme (Davies et al, 2020), trained coders assessed children's fearful distress along 9-point dimensional scales for the same five tasks used to assess environmental sensitivity. Fearful distress was defined as children's expressions of anxiety, tension, fear, worry, vigilance, and emotional upset.…”

“…Temperament: Positive Affect (Wave 1). In each of the five tasks used to assess environmental sensitivity, coders also rated children's positive affect using a 9-point scale that captured the intensity, frequency, and duration of positive emotionality displays in facial expressions, positive vocalizations, and gestures (Davies et al, 2020). The lowest rating (1 = None) was reserved for children who exhibited no positive affect during the task, whereas the highest rating (9 = Intense) reflected consistent child cheerfulness throughout the task that was commonly displayed in intense, exuberant, and demonstrative ways (e.g., laughing or giggling).…”

Understanding how and why effortful control moderates children’s vulnerability to interparental conflict.

“…To obtain a measure of effortful control, trained coders’ rated children’s impulsivity along a 9-point continuous scale ranging from 1 ( no impulsivity ) to 9 ( intense impulsivity ). Scores were reverse scored so that higher scores reflected lower impulsivity and greater effortful control (Davies, Coe, Hentges, Sturge-Apple, & Ripple, in press; Olson, Schilling, & Bates, 1999). Thus, high effortful control was characterized by the ability to inhibit reflexive impulses (e.g., approaching the boxes during the instructions, looking at the objects in the boxes, attempting to pull the objects out of the boxes) while enacting contextually appropriate responses of complying with the rules of the game (e.g., following the ordering of the boxes, identifying the objects based on touch).…”