Toddler Emotion Regulation With Mothers and Fathers: Temporal Associations Between Negative Affect and Behavioral Strategies

Abstract

The present study investigated temporal associations between putative emotion regulation strategies and negative affect in 20-month-old toddlers. Toddlers’ parent-focused, self-distraction, and toy-focused strategies, as well as negative affect, were rated on a second-by-second basis during laboratory parent-toddler interactions. Longitudinal mixed-effects models were conducted to determine the degree to which behavioral strategy use predicts subsequent negative affect and negative affect predicts subsequent strategy use. Results with mother-toddler and father-toddler dyads indicated that parent-focused strategies with an unresponsive parent were followed by increases in negative affect, whereas toy-focused strategies were followed by decreases in negative affect. Results also indicated that toddler negative affect serves to regulate behavioral strategy use within both parent contexts.

Attachment in the making: Mother and father sensitivity and infants’ responses during the Still-Face Paradigm

“…Similarly, infants who were rated as disorganized with fathers also showed relatively high levels of self-comforting during the reunion episode, especially as they got older. Although self-comforting has been found to be an effective strategy for regulating distress during infancy (Ekas et al, 2011; Stifter & Braungart-Rieker, 1995), a heightened level of self-comforting during contexts in which parents are emotionally available such as the reunion episode is curious. Self-stimulating or repetitive behavior such as rocking or hair-stroking during the reunion episode of the Strange Situation can reflect a disorganized attachment system (Main & Solomon, 1986).…”

“…Previous work stemming from these data include three publications examining attachment but not infant SFP responses (Lickenbrock, Braungart-Rieker, Ekas, Zentall, Oshio, & Planalp, in press; Planalp & Braungart-Rieker, 2013; and Zentall, Braungart-Rieker, Ekas, & Lickenbrock, 2012), one examining second-by-second associations between affective and behavioral responses within the SFP but not attachment (Ekas, Lickenbrock, & Braungart-Rieker, 2013), and two looking neither at attachment nor infant SFP responses (Ekas, Braungart-Rieker, Lickenbrock, Zentall, & Maxwell, 2011; Planalp, Braungart-Rieker, Lickenbrock, & Zentall, S. (in press). For the purposes of this study, data from all but the last visit were examined.…”

“…Object and parent orientation were mutually exclusive with each other but self-comforting was not given that it could co-occur with either parent or object orientation. Escape and high intensity motor behaviors were also rated but were not included in the present study given that visual orientation and self-comforting have been conceptually and empirically supported as regulatory (Ekas et al, 2011; Stifter & Braungart, 1995). Cohen’s κ averaged .85 for parent orientation (range = .73 to .91) and .84 for object orientation (range = .71 to .92) across age (3, 5, 7 months), episode (play, still face, reunion), and parent context (mother, father).…”

Infant emotion regulation: Relations to bedtime emotional availability, attachment security, and temperament

“…When infants are denied access to an attractive toy as well as responses from the mother, they may experience frustration. Research has shown that certain regulatory behaviors are more adaptive than others in reducing frustration (Stifter & Braungart, 1995; Buss & Goldsmith, 1998; Diener & Mangelsdorf, 1999; Ekas, Braungart-Rieker, Lickenbrock, Zentall, & Maxwell, 2011); thus, it may be most adaptive to orient towards the toy and the mother at first, but turn to other strategies, such as redirecting attention towards the environment, that will help reduce frustration when the mother continues to be unresponsive. In addition, strategies such as avoidance (e.g., pushing back on the high chair in which they are seated) or tension reduction behaviors (e.g., actively banging legs against the high chair) may be less adaptive in that they either maintain or increase infants’ frustration.…”

Increased Exposure to Rigid Routines can Lead to Increased Challenging Behavior Following Changes to Those Routines

“…An alternative conceptualization of distraction is that it represented active attempts at emotion regulation by participants. Such selfdistraction has been identified as a strategy, which whilst commonly shown by typical children, varies greatly across individuals in its efficacy for reducing negative emotions (Buss & Goldsmith, 1998;Ekas et al 2011). Thus, one interesting possibility is that the present participants (to differing degrees) engaged in, but were not able to successfully manage their negative emotions using, a self-distraction strategy.…”