Toddler regulation of distress to frustrating events: temperamental and maternal correlates

Abstract

Seventy-three mothers and their 18-month-old toddlers were observed in a series of laboratory procedures designed to assess relations among physiological arousal, frustration distress, emotion regulation and maternal interactive style. Physiological arousal was assessed using baseline measures of vagal tone and heart period. Distress was assessed across four separate episodes designed to elicit the intensity, frequency, duration and latency of the distress response to frustrating events. Regulation was assessed by examining the child,s behaviors (aggression, distraction, mother-orientation, constructive coping) when confronted by the four frustration tasks. Maternal interactive style was assessed by examining mothers, strategies for child behavior management (negative controlling, positive guidance, preemptive interference) during four mother-child tasks. Distress to the frustrating tasks was related to aggression/acting-out behaviors, and negatively related to the use of more adaptive strategies. Maternal interference was related to distress to the frustrating events, while maternal positive guidance was related to the use of distraction and mother-oriented regulating behaviors. These findings are discussed in terms of the adaptive value of emotion regulation in early development. Key Words: emotion regulation temperament mother-child interaction toddler frustration Article: INTRODUCTION Recent approaches to the study of individual differences in personality during infancy and early childhood have conceptualized these differences in terms of variability in temperamental reactivity and emotion regulation (Gunnar, Porter, Wolf, Rigatuso, & Larson, 1995; Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981). Variations among children can be observed in the latency, intensity, frequency, and duration of emotional reactions and in the attentional and behavioral strategies used to manage such reactions (Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981). Moreover, inherent in such approaches to temperament is the notion that the behavioral manifestations of emotion experience and emotion management have underlying physiological substrates (Calkins, Fox, & Marshall, 1996; Fox, 1989; Stifter & Fox, 1990). A number of recent studies have examined emotionality in infancy and have demonstrated that there are significant relations between temperamental reactivity and emotion regulation (Stifter & Braungart, 1995) and that these relations are reflected in physiological reactivity and regulation (

Emotion regulation and attachment: Relationships with children's secure base, during different situational and social contexts in naturalistic settings

“…Inter-rater reliability was calculated using Cohen's Kappas for behavioral strategies (fear = 0.73; positive affect = 0.84; frustration/anger = 0.70) and emotional expressions (fear = 0.70; positive affect = 0.80; frustration/anger = 0.78). This coding system is similar to those used in other studies of children coping strategies (Buss & Goldsmith, 1998;Calkins & Johnson, 1998;Diener & Mangelsdorf, 1999a;Parritz, 1996).…”

Emotion regulation and understanding: implications for child psychopathology and therapy

“…A caregiver appears to provide ''scaffolding'' (e.g., Denham, Mason, & Couchoud, 1995) or structure that enables and fosters a child's emotional development. Examples of this phenomenon include (a) coregulation of infant emotion that is sensitive to the infant's (e.g., temperamental) needs, (b) coconstruction of emotion narratives by mother-child dyads that may serve as later emotion ''scripts'' for the child, and (c) maternal encouragement of autonomy as the child learns how to regulate independently of the mother (e.g., Calkins, 1994;Calkins & Johnson, 1998;Casey & Fuller, 1994;Denham, Renwick, & Holt, 1991;Eisenberg et al, 1999;Feldman, Greenbaum, & Yirmiya, 1999;Grolnick, Kurowski, McMenamy, Rivkin, & Bridges, 1998;Kobak, Cole, Ferenz-Gillies, Fleming, & Gamble, 1994;Oppenheim, Nir, Warren, & Emde, 1997;Roberts & Strayer, 1987).…”

Easily Frustrated Infants: Implications for Emotion Regulation Strategies and Cognitive Functioning

“…Each 10 second interval was also coded for previously identified behaviors established as indicators of emotion regulation (Calkins, 1996;Calkins & Johnson, 1998). These behaviors were coded for presence or absence in the 10-second intervals for both 30-second trials.…”

“…Calkins & Johnson (1998) demonstrated a negative relationship between the tendency to show distress during frustrating situations and certain regulatory behaviors. Similarly, Buss and Goldsmith (1998) observed that infants displayed a variety of emotion regulation behaviors during frustrating situations in an attempt to reduce negative affect.…”

“…In 2002, Calkins and colleagues measured frustration during three separate tasks and also assessed previously identified emotion regulation strategies (Calkins, 1996;Calkins & Johnson, 1998;Stifter & Braungart, 1995). She classified infants as easily and less easily frustrated.…”