MOTHERS REACTIONS TO CHILDRENS NEGATIVE EMOTIONS - RELATIONS TO CHILDRENS TEMPERAMENT AND ANGER BEHAVIOR

The relation was studied between mothers' reactions to children's nega tive emotion and children's temperament and anger behaviors. Mothers r eported their reactions to their 4- and 6-year-old children's negative emotions in a variety of contexts; mothers and school personnel rated children's dispositional emotional intensity, negative affectivity, a nd attentional regulation; and children's behaviors when angered were observed at school. Maternal minimizing/punitive responses were associ ated with maternal perceptions of children's low attentional control a nd high negative affect, as well as children's tendencies to escape ra ther than vent emotion when angered. Maternal distress reactions were correlated with ratings of children's high emotional intensity, negati ve affect, and low levels of venting when angered. Encouragement of th e expression of emotion and problem solving were associated with child ren's high perceived attentional control and, for the latter, with chi ldren's tendency to escape when angered. Maternal comforting was corre lated with children's constructive verbalizations rather than venting when angered.