Creasey G, Ottlinger K, Devico K, Murray T, Harvey A, Hesson-McInnis M
Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61790-4620, USA.
J Exp Child Psychol. 1997 Oct;67(1):39-56. doi: 10.1006/jecp.1997.2396.
Although research has linked difficulties in parent mood functioning to developmental problems in children, little work has examined why such a link occurs. Following current social-cognitive perspectives on children's cognitive appraisals to negative parent affect, it was hypothesized that children would show more intense affective responses, less confidence, and less active coping strategies in response to parent, as opposed to peer, negative affect. In the current study, young children (N = 39) were read experimental vignettes portraying peers and parents in either happy, sad, or angry emotional states. Children were then interviewed about their affective responses, cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies to each vignette. Beyond experiencing more negative affective responses to parent, compared to peer negative affect, children felt they could do little to help themselves when faced with paternal distress and frequently indicated they would engage in avoidant coping strategies (e.g., hiding) to make themselves feel better when confronted with parent sadness. This study has implications for more industrious future research, as well as intervention projects that involve assisting children who live in households marked by high levels of negative adult affect.
尽管研究已将父母情绪功能方面的困难与儿童的发育问题联系起来，但很少有研究探讨这种联系为何会出现。根据当前关于儿童对父母负面情绪的认知评估的社会认知观点，研究假设，与同伴的负面影响相比，儿童在面对父母的负面影响时会表现出更强烈的情感反应、更低的自信心和更少的积极应对策略。在本研究中，研究人员给幼儿（N = 39）阅读了一些实验性的短文，这些短文描绘了处于快乐、悲伤或愤怒情绪状态的同伴和父母。然后，研究人员就每个短文询问孩子们的情感反应、认知评估和应对策略。与同伴的负面影响相比，孩子们对父母的负面影响不仅会产生更多负面情感反应，而且当面对父亲的痛苦时，他们觉得自己几乎无法帮助自己，并且经常表示，当面对父母的悲伤时，他们会采取回避应对策略（例如躲藏）来让自己感觉更好。这项研究对未来更深入的研究以及涉及帮助生活在成人负面情绪程度较高家庭中的儿童的干预项目具有启示意义。
