Buss Kristin A, Kiel Elizabeth J
The Pennsylvania State University.
Int J Behav Dev. 2011 Mar;35(2):136-143. doi: 10.1177/0165025410375922.
Parenting behaviors during times when young children may feel vulnerable, such as when encountering novelty, undoubtedly affect how children learn to regulate their reactions to these events. Theory suggests and some research supports the link between protective behavior - behaviors that shield child from a potential threat - and regulation of emotions. Less is known, however, about the immediate effects of these behaviors on children's distress. That is, do these protective behaviors alleviate distress in the moment? Presumably, this type of "successful" regulation of distress would be important for the development of successful regulation in other situations. To this end, the current study examined changes in the time course of toddlers' fearful distress, when protective maternal behaviors were observed during a highly novel, fear-eliciting task. Analyses were conducted for two subgroups of dyads: one group where toddlers' distress preceded mothers' protective behavior and one group where mothers' protective behavior preceded toddler distress. When toddlers' distress preceded mothers' reactions, protective behaviors were found to be associated with less steep decreases in fear for toddlers who had the highest initial distress reactions. Results are discussed in the context of toddlers' emerging ability to regulate emotions and the adaptive development of these skills.
在幼儿可能感到脆弱的时候，比如遇到新奇事物时的养育行为，无疑会影响孩子如何学会调节对这些事件的反应。理论表明且一些研究也支持保护性行为（即保护孩子免受潜在威胁的行为）与情绪调节之间的联系。然而，对于这些行为对孩子痛苦的即时影响却知之甚少。也就是说，这些保护性行为能在当下减轻痛苦吗？据推测，这种对痛苦的“成功”调节对于在其他情况下成功调节的发展很重要。为此，本研究考察了在一项高度新奇、引发恐惧的任务中观察到母亲的保护行为时，幼儿恐惧痛苦的时间进程变化。对两个二元组亚组进行了分析：一组是幼儿的痛苦先于母亲的保护行为，另一组是母亲的保护行为先于幼儿的痛苦。当幼儿的痛苦先于母亲的反应时，发现保护行为与最初痛苦反应最强烈的幼儿恐惧程度下降较缓有关。研究结果在幼儿情绪调节能力的出现以及这些技能的适应性发展的背景下进行了讨论。
