ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN NONPARENTAL CARE EXPERIENCE AND PRESCHOOLERS EMOTION REGULATION IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MOTHER

This study tested predictions concerning the associations between chil dren's nonparental care experiences and emotion regulation. It involve d 53 participants (21 girls and 32 boys) of preschool age and their mo thers. The children's care experiences ranged from those who were rais ed exclusively at home to those who had nonparental care experience be ginning in early infancy The participants were observed in a laborator y playroom, and their mothers were asked to complete questionnaires re garding their children's care histories and their current core situati ons. The children with extensive nonparental care backgrounds were fou nd to be more likely to use self-directed emotion regulation behaviors when faced with a mildly frustrating situation. In the same situation , the children who had experienced minimal nonparental core were found to be more likely to use other-directed emotion regulation behaviors. Additionally, the children who had experienced care settings with lar ge numbers of children in each care group or who had experienced many caregiver changes were more likely to use self-directed emotion regula tion behaviors, whereas those who had experienced settings with smalle r care groups and fewer caregiver changes were more likely to use othe r-directed emotion regulation behaviors.