Developmental dynamics of positive and negative emotion in infancy.

The dynamic features of emotion-intensity, speed of response, rise time, persistence, recovery-are important to emotion development, but there remains limited understanding of early developmental changes in these dynamics and how they are organized. In this exploratory study, 58 White infants were observed at ages 6, 9, and 12 months in four social episodes designed to elicit positive emotion (two games with mother) and negative emotion (stranger approach and separation from mother). Continuous time-sampled ratings and summary assessments of facial and vocal responding yielded measures of onset intensity, peak intensity, onset latency, time to peak intensity, rise time, persistence, and recovery for each episode and expressive modality. Central findings indicated significant developmental increases in the intensity and speed of response for positive and negative episodes, but across age and expressive modality the organization of positive and negative responses differed consistently. Specifically, responses to negative emotion episodes reflected characteristics of a preemptory response to perceived threat (e.g., intensity positively correlated with persistence), while intense positive emotion involved quicker onset and longer rise time, consistent with establishing and maintaining social engagement. Implications of these findings and directions for further study are outlined. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Taking perspective on attachment theory and research: nine fundamental questions.

Since its inception more than 50 years ago, attachment theory has become one of the most influential viewpoints in the behavioral sciences. What have we learned during this period about its fundamental questions? In this paper, we summarize the conclusions of an inquiry into this question involving more than 75 researchers. Each responded to one of nine "fundamental questions" in attachment theory. The questions concerned what constitutes an attachment relationship, how to measure the security of attachment, the nature and functioning of internal working models, stability and change in attachment security, the legacy of early attachment relationships, attachment and culture, responses to separation and loss, how attachment-based interventions work, and how attachment theory informs systems and services for children and families. Their responses revealed important areas of theoretical consensus but also surprising diversity on key questions, and significant areas of remaining inquiry. We discuss central challenges for the future.

Parents' attachment orientation, interviewers' support, and children's memory for a mildly distressing event.

Parents' attachment orientations predict children's memory about distressing life events, such that parents who are less secure in close relationships tend to have children who are less accurate in their memory reports. This study examined whether socially supportive interviewing would reduce differences in children's memory performance associated with parents' attachment. Children (3 to 5 years, N = 63) and their primary caretakers took part in the Preschool Attachment Classification System (PACS), a moderately distressing event for children of preschool age that is based on the Strange Situation Procedure. Children's memory for the event was then tested shortly thereafter by either a supportive or a non-supportive interviewer. In the non-supportive condition, children whose parents scored higher on attachment avoidance provided lower proportions of correct free recall. However, the association was not significant for children in the supportive condition. In addition, higher parental attachment anxiety predicted lower proportions of correct free recall for children of highly avoidant parents, but not for children of parents lower in attachment avoidance. For direct questions, age differences in proportion correct and proportion incorrect favoured older children. Findings provide insight into interviewing techniques at time of memory retrieval that benefit children of insecure parents.

A Yoga Intervention for Young Children: Self-Regulation and Emotion Regulation.

Yoga-based interventions have been implemented in schools and demonstrated promising results on students' self-regulation outcomes. Nevertheless, there is limited literature on the effects that yoga may have for children in the early primary grades, despite the evidence demonstrating that this is an opportune period in development for early self-regulation. Few studies have focused on young children living in the context of economic difficulty, which can hinder children's development of self-regulatory skills and educational trajectories. The effects of an eight-week yoga intervention on economically disadvantaged pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children's self-regulation and emotion regulation were examined via a paired within-subjects comparison study. Nine classrooms were assigned to the yoga intervention (Treatment First, TxFirst; n = 90) or a wait-list control group (Treatment Second, TxSecond; n = 64). All children were assessed at pre-intervention (Time 1), post-intervention assessment for TxFirst (Time 2), and post-intervention assessment for TxSecond (Time 3). Children demonstrated significant predicted gains on a behavioral task of self-regulation and declines in teacher-rated submissive venting and total behavior problems. Implications for future research are discussed, with a focus on including follow-up assessments and multiple dimensions of fidelity of implementation.

Attachment networks and the future of attachment theory.

Attachment theorists have long recognized that multiple attachments characterize the typical experience of most children. But an appreciation of attachment networks is new, and this commentary draws on some of the most theoretically provocative themes of the contributions to this special issue. These include: how the quality of attachment relationships and the contexts of their development colors the security derived from them and the developmental outcomes they influence; the impact of relationships on other relationships in the attachment network; and the multiple ways attachment theory can influence public policy for children and families.

Eyes to see and ears to hear: sensitivity in research on attachment and culture.

How and why should attachment researchers engage in research on attachment and culture? How should they strive to develop a theoretical perspective that is both contextually sensitive and also reflecting species-typical processes of evolutionary adaptation? These comments on the remarkable empirical papers of this special issue consider what is learned from these studies, what more is needed, and directions for future research.

Cooperation and obligation in early parent-child relationships.

Tomasello's moral psychology of obligation would be developmentally deepened by greater attention to early experiences of cooperation and shared social agency between parents and infants, evolved to promote infant survival. They provide a foundation for developing understanding of the mutual obligations of close relationships that contribute (alongside peer experiences) to growing collaborative skills, fairness expectations, and fidelity to social norms.

On what is read, shared, and felt: parent-child conversation about stories.

Picture book reading is a forum for early language development and for the development of relationships, as reading a story evokes connections between the narrative, the reader, and the child, and invites shared understanding of the story as it intersects with the child's experience. The study by Teufl and colleagues poses interesting questions about the nature and influence of parent-child discourse around picture books and how it changes developmentally. It also raises provocative questions about how we assess the relative influence of maternal and paternal attachment relationships. These issues are the focus of this commentary.

Emotion dysregulation: A theme in search of definition.

Emotion dysregulation is defined as patterns of emotional experience or expression that interfere with goal-directed activity. This paper considers this functionalist definition from a developmental perspective with the goal of elaborating this approach with respect to its central questions. What are the goals that are impeded by emotionally dysregulated responding, and what alternative goals might motivate emotion dysregulation? What are the developmental processes by which these goals take shape, and what are the influences of the family context, and especially of central relationships in the family, in their emergence? How does this functionalist account address the complex interaction of experience and developing biological processes that also influence emotion regulation and dysregulation? Drawing on research literature concerning children at risk for affective psychopathology and considering relevant examples of the interaction of biology and context, this discussion offers a portrayal of emotion dysregulation as a biologically dynamic, experience-based aspect of adaptation to environments and relationships that, in conditions of risk for the emergence of developmental psychopathology, motivates patterns of emotional responding that serve immediate coping often at the cost of long-term maladaptation. Implications for emotions theory and the study of developmental psychopathology are also considered.

Eyes to see and ears to hear: sensitivity in research on attachment and culture.

How and why should attachment researchers engage in research on attachment and culture? How should they strive to develop a theoretical perspective that is both contextually sensitive and also reflecting species-typical processes of evolutionary adaptation? These comments on the remarkable empirical papers of this special issue consider what is learned from these studies, what more is needed, and directions for future research.

How children remember the Strange Situation: The role of attachment.

This study tested predictions from Bowlby's attachment theory about children's memory and suggestibility. Young children (3-5years old, N=88; 76% Caucasians) and their parents took part in the Strange Situation Procedure, a moderately distressing event and "gold standard" for assessing children's attachment quality. The children were then interviewed about what occurred during the event. Children's age and attachment security scores positively predicted correct information in free recall and accuracy in answering specific questions. For children with higher (vs. lower) attachment security scores, greater distress observed during the Strange Situation Procedure predicted increased resistance to misleading suggestions. In addition, for children who displayed relatively low distress during the Strange Situation Procedure, significant age differences in memory and suggestibility emerged as expected. However, for children who displayed greater distress during the Strange Situation Procedure, younger and older children's memory performances were equivalent. Findings suggest that attachment theory provides an important framework for understanding facets of memory development with respect to attachment-related information and that distress may alter assumed age patterns in memory development.

CDC Grand Rounds: Addressing Health Disparities in Early Childhood.

Research suggests that many disparities in overall health and well-being are rooted in early childhood (1,2). Stressors in early childhood can disrupt neurologic, metabolic, and immunologic systems, leading to poorer developmental outcomes (1). However, consistent, responsive caregiving relationships and supportive community and health care environments promote an optimal trajectory (3,4). The first 8 years of a child's life build a foundation for future health and life success (5-7). Thus, the cumulative and lifelong impact of early experiences, both positive and negative, on a child's development can be profound. Although the health, social service, and education systems that serve young children and their families and communities provide opportunities to support responsive relationships and environments, efforts by these systems are often fragmented because of restrictions that limit the age groups they can serve and types of services they can provide. Integrating relationship-based prevention and intervention services for children early in life, when the brain is developing most rapidly, can optimize developmental trajectories (4,7). By promoting collaboration and data-driven intervention activities, public health can play a critical role in both the identification of at-risk children and the integration of systems that can support healthy development. These efforts can address disparities by reducing barriers that might prevent children from reaching their full potential.

Children's perceptions of emotion regulation strategy effectiveness: links with attachment security.

Six- and nine-year-old children (N = 97) heard illustrated stories evoking anger in a story character and provided evaluations of the effectiveness of eight anger regulation strategies. Half the stories involved the child's mother as social partner and the other half involved a peer. Attachment security was assessed via the Security Scale. Children reported greater effectiveness for seeking support from adults and peers in the peer context than the mother context, but perceived venting as more effective with mothers. Children with higher security scores were more likely to endorse problem solving and less likely to endorse aggression in both social contexts than those with lower security scores. Early evidence for gender differences was found in that boys endorsed the effectiveness of distraction while girls endorsed venting their emotion.

Individual Differences in Toddlers' Prosociality: Experiences in Early Relationships Explain Variability in Prosocial Behavior.

Latent class logistic regression analysis was used to investigate sources of individual differences in profiles of prosocial behavior. Eighty-seven 18-month-olds were observed in tasks assessing sharing with a neutral adult, instrumentally helping a neutral adult, and instrumentally helping a sad adult. Maternal mental state language (MSL) and maternal sensitivity were also assessed. Despite differing motivational demands across tasks, we found consistency in children's prosocial behavior with three latent classes: no prosocial behavior, moderate prosocial behavior, and frequent instrumental helping across emotional situations. Maternal sensitivity, MSL, and their interaction predicted toddlers' membership in the classes. These findings evidence moderate consistency in early prosocial behaviors and suggest that these capacities are motivated in early relationships with caregivers.

Social support and child protection: Lessons learned and learning.

Social support has been a topic of research for nearly 50 years, and its applications to prevention and intervention have grown significantly, including programs advancing child protection. This article summarizes the central conclusions of the 1994 review of research on social support and the prevention of child maltreatment prepared for the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, and surveys advances in the field since its publication. Among the lessons learned twenty years ago are (a) the diversity of the social support needs of at-risk families and their association with child endangerment, (b) the need to supplement the emotionally affirmative aspects of social support with efforts to socialize parenting practices and monitor child well-being, (c) the desirability of integrating formal and informal sources of social support for recipients, and (d) the importance of considering the complex recipient reactions to receiving support from others. The lessons we are now learning derive from research exploring the potential of online communication to enhance social support, the neurobiology of stress and its buffering through social support, and the lessons of evaluation research that are identifying the effective ingredients of social support interventions.

Stress and child development.

Children's early social experiences shape their developing neurological and biological systems for good or for ill, writes Ross Thompson, and the kinds of stressful experiences that are endemic to families living in poverty can alter children's neurobiology in ways that undermine their health, their social competence, and their ability to succeed in school and in life. For example, when children are born into a world where resources are scarce and violence is a constant possibility, neurobiological changes may make them wary and vigilant, and they are likely to have a hard time controlling their emotions, focusing on tasks, and forming healthy relationships. Unfortunately, these adaptive responses to chronic stress serve them poorly in situations, such as school and work, where they must concentrate and cooperate to do well. But thanks to the plasticity of the developing brain and other biological systems, the neurobiological response to chronic stress can be buffered and even reversed, Thompson writes, especially when we intervene early in children's lives. In particular, warm and nurturing relationships between children and adults can serve as a powerful bulwark against the neurobiological changes that accompany stress, and interventions that help build such relationships have shown particular promise. These programs have targeted biological parents, of course, but also foster parents, teachers and other caregivers, and more distant relatives, such as grandparents. For this reason, Thompson suggests that the concept of two-generation programs may need to be expanded, and that we should consider a "multigenerational" approach to helping children living in poverty cope and thrive in the face of chronic stress.

Declines in peer conflict from preschool through first grade: influences from early attachment and social information processing.

The transition from preschool to early school years is critical for the growth of social skills. Using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (for this study N = 942), the purpose of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal influence of attachment security and social information processing skills (social problem-solving and hostile attribution biases) on normative changes in peer conflict over the transition from preschool to first grade. Using latent growth curve modeling (LGM), this study found that children exhibited progressive declines in peer conflict over this period. Security of attachment (assessed via the Attachment Q-Set at 24 months) was related to lower rates of peer conflict in first grade, and steeper declines in peer conflict from 54 to 84 months. Differences in children's social information processing (assessed at 54 months) were marginally related to steeper declines in peer conflict. These findings suggest that the social skills and social expectations associated with early attachment security, together with subsequent advances in social information processing, are related to changes in peer conflict during the transition to school.

Methods and measures in developmental emotions research: some assembly required.

The remarkable contributors to this special issue highlight the importance of developmental research on emotion and its regulation, as well as its conceptual and methodological challenges. This commentary offers some additional thoughts, especially concerning alternative views of the convergence of multiple measures of emotional responding, the conceptualization of emotion and emotion regulation, and future directions for work in this field. In the end, in light of the complex construction of emotion and its development, we may learn from studying the divergence among multiple components of emotional responding as we do from expectations of their convergence. In each case, some assembly is required.

Attachment relationships in Early Head Start families.

The remarkable papers in this Special Issue underscore the importance of applied research on families in poverty, the opportunities to developmental science of the Early Head Start National Research and Evaluation Project, and the mutual benefits from collaborations between research scientists and program practitioners. This commentary highlights the insights of these papers concerning the consequences of maternal attachment style and mother-child interaction, the challenges of assessing attachment in intervention research, and the program and policy implications of these findings.

Emotion Regulation and Attachment: Unpacking Two Constructs and Their Association.

This study examined the association between the security of attachment and processes influencing the development of emotion regulation in young children. A sample of 73 4 1/2-year-olds and their mothers were observed in an emotion regulation probe involving mild frustration for children, and mothers and children were later independently interviewed about how the child had felt. Fewer than half the mothers agreed with children's self-reports in the emotion they attributed to children (a lower rate than the concordance of observer ratings with children's self-reports), and higher mother-child concordance was associated with secure attachment and mother's beliefs about the importance of attending to and accepting their own emotions. Mother-child conversations about recent events evoking children's negative emotion were also analyzed. Children were less likely to avoid conversing about negative feelings when they were in secure attachments and when mothers were more validating of the child's perspective. Children's greater understanding of negative emotions was also significantly associated with higher mother-child concordance and less child conversational avoidance. Taken together, these findings underscore the multiple influences of attachment on emotion regulation and the importance of children's emotion understanding to these processes.