THE ROLE OF FAMILY EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIVENESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDRENS SOCIAL COMPETENCE

This study explored the connection between emotional expression in the child's family environment and children's social competence with scho ol peers by using direct observation of affective dimensions character izing family expressive ness and by extending prior laboratory-based w ork to the naturalistic environment. Fifty families of kindergarten st udents, varying by sociometric status, were videotaped in spontaneous dinner table interactions. Parents completed questionnaires raring the frequency, intensity, and clarity of emotional expressiveness of thei r own affect. Videotapes were coded for frequency and type of affect e xchanged between parent-parent and parent-child dyads. Reported expres siveness and observed parental affect were both found to be meaningful predictors of children's sociometric ratings. Differences were found in the effects of negative affect on boys and girls.