Parental and Family-Level Sociocontextual Correlates of Emergent Emotion Regulation: Implications for Early Social Competence

Relationships between gross motor skills, psychological resilience, executive function, and emotional regulation among Chinese rural preschoolers: A moderated mediation model

Background

Emotional regulation is a critical component of emotional intelligence, particularly during the preschool stage, a key period for children's development. Previous studies have demonstrated that executive function mediates the effect of gross motor skills on emotional understanding. However, studies specifically focusing on children from rural areas and investigating the role of psychological resilience are limited. The present study fills this knowledge gap by examining the effect of gross motor skills on emotional regulation and the roles of executive function and psychological resilience among Chinese rural preschool children.

Methods

This study included 430 children (aged 61.01 ± 6.98 months, 48.8 % boys) and their teachers from three rural preschools in China. Children's gross motor skills, including locomotor and object control skills, were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-3. Executive function was measured using the Head-Toes-Knee-Shoulder task, and emotional regulation was assessed using the Emotional Regulation Checklist. Furthermore, psychological resilience was examined using the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment. Demographic information was collected, and the cross-sectional relationships between gross motor skills and emotional regulation were investigated through mediation and moderation analyses.

Results

Gross motor skills, executive function, and psychological resilience were associated with emotional regulation (p < 0.05), after controlling for sex, age, and only-child status. Executive function was found to mediate the relationship between gross motor skills and emotional regulation, with a mediation effect of 0.045. Psychological resilience moderated the relationship between executive function and emotional regulation (β = 0.078, p < 0.05). Simple slope analysis, based on categorizing psychological resilience into high, medium, and low groups, revealed that preschoolers with a higher level of psychological resilience exhibited a significantly stronger predictive effect of executive function on emotional regulation (β = 0.202, p < 0.01).

Conclusions

Gross motor skills significantly affect emotional regulation development in rural preschoolers, with executive function acting as a mediator in this relationship. Psychological resilience was found to moderate the effect of executive function on emotional regulation. The findings suggest that enhancing gross motor skills through physical activities can benefit children by promoting the development of executive function, which is crucial for emotional regulation. On the basis of our findings, we recommend focusing on cost-effective physical activity interventions for motor skills development among rural children while also addressing the development of executive function and psychological resilience. Future efforts should include workshops to improve physical literacy of parents and teachers regarding children's gross motor skills promotion.

The role of emotional regulation on early child school adjustment outcomes

Emotional regulation involves managing attention, affect, and behavior, and is essential for long-term health and well-being, including positive school adjustment. The purpose of this secondary data analysis from the Durham Child Health and Development Study was to explore how parent and teacher reported emotional regulation behaviors related to school adjustment outcomes (social skills, academic performance, and academic achievement) during early childhood. Parent and teacher reports on emotional regulation behaviors showed mixed concordance, however they correlated with critical aspects of school adjustment. Clinical and practical implications are discussed, including the role of psychiatric nurses in promoting positive emotional regulation and school adjustment outcomes across settings.

Parents' Beliefs about Children's Emotions and Children's Social Skills: The Mediating Role of Parents' Emotion Regulation

Few studies have investigated the relationship between parents' beliefs about children's emotions and children's social skills. Fewer studies have addressed this association and its underlying mechanisms while obtaining data from both parents. In this context, the present study explores the mediating role of parents' emotion regulation in the association between parents' beliefs about children's emotions and children's social skills. The participants were 90 parental dyads (N = 180) with typically developing preschool children. They completed self-report scales regarding parents' beliefs about their children's emotions, parents' emotion regulation, and children's social skills. The data were analyzed using the common fate mediation model (CFM with mediation). The results indicate that only parents' cognitive reappraisal mediates the relationship between their emotion-related beliefs and their children's social skills. Specifically, parental beliefs about "children's anger is valuable" and "children use their emotions to manipulate others" are directly and negatively associated with children's social skills, and indirectly through the parents' cognitive reappraisal. Future intervention programs should focus on restructuring parents' beliefs and their ability to regulate emotions.

Maternal respiratory viral infections during pregnancy and offspring's neurodevelopmental outcomes: a systematic review

Maternal infections during pregnancy, as cytomegalovirus and zika, have been consistently associated with severe newborn neurodevelopmental conditions, mainly related to vertical transmission and congenital infection. However, little is known about the neurodevelopmental consequences of maternal respiratory viral infections, which are the most prevalent infections during pregnancy. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has increased the interest in understanding the consequences of infections in offspring's development. This systematic review explores whether maternal gestational viral respiratory infections are associated with neurodevelopmental deviations in children below 10 years-old. The search was conducted in Pubmed, PsychInfo and Web of Science databases. 12 articles were revised, including information about maternal infection (Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and unspecified respiratory infections) and offspring's neurodevelopment (global development, specific functions, temperament and behavioral/emotional aspects). Controversial results were reported regarding maternal respiratory infections during pregnancy and infants' neurodevelopment. Maternal infections seem to be associated with subtle alterations in some offspring's developmental subdomains, as early motor development, and attentional, behavioral/emotional minor problems. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of other psychosocial confounding factors.

From seeing difficult behaviour to recognizing legitimate needs - A qualitative study of mothers' experiences of participating in a Circle of Security Parenting program in a public mental health setting

OBJECTIVE

Mental health challenges can interfere with caregivers' self-efficacy and their ability to engage with their children in developmentally appropriate ways. The goal of this study was to explore whether the intervention Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P) was experienced as a meaningful adjunct to psychological treatment.

METHOD

Individual qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve female COS-P participants, exploring how taking part in COS-P had changed the way they related to themselves and others. Data were analyzed using a team-based, reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The analysis resulted in three main themes: (i) Connecting dots: A new perspective on one's past, (ii) Seeing oneself more clearly: Increased capacity to recognize and tend to own needs, and (iii) Gaining a map: Becoming a more competent parent.

CONCLUSION

Taking part in COS-P as an adjunct to psychological treatment positively impacted participants' sense of competence as mothers. They used the COS-P framework to make sense of their interaction with their child, enabling them to understand the child's behaviour and communication as expressing legitimate attachment needs. They also experienced that the course strengthened central psychological capacities, such as insight into their own developmental histories as well as increased self-awareness and self-care. Implications are discussed.

Emotion regulation among Chinese and German children and adolescents: a binational comparative study

Emotion regulation has been a central research topic in developmental psychology and psychopathology for several decades. Habitual use of adaptive (e.g., cognitive reappraisal) or maladaptive strategies (e.g., expressive suppression) may influence psychosocial adjustment in children and adolescents. Despite consensus on the influence of culture on emotion regulation, little is known about cultural differences in emotion regulation in children and adolescents. In this study, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) was used and tested for its measurement invariance between Chinese and German children and adolescents. Cultural similarities and differences in the use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression were examined, as well as the associations of these strategies with behavior problems and prosocial behavior. The sample consisted of 765 Chinese and 431 German students (Mage = 12.46 years, SD = 1.12). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis revealed partial scalar measurement invariance of the ERQ-CA. A latent mean comparison showed more frequent use of both strategies in Chinese compared to German students. The results of the multi-group structural equation model showed similar patterns of relationships between emotion regulation strategies and youth behavior across groups. Cognitive reappraisal was associated with fewer behavior problems and more prosocial behavior, whereas expressive suppression was related to more behavior problems. In summary, the current findings indicate that the ERQ-CA allows comparisons of emotion regulation between Chinese and German children and adolescents. Furthermore, the relevance of the cultural context for emotion regulation and the promotion of adaptive regulation strategies is highlighted.

Association between Mothers’ Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Daily Lives and Their Children’s Social Competence: Sequential Mediating Effects of Mothers’ Social Connectedness and Parenting Stress

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on daily lives and their children’s social competence, as perceived by mothers, through sequential mediating effects of the mothers’ social connectedness and parenting stress.Methods: Participants were 315 mothers with children 3-5 years old in Korea. An online survey using a questionnaire was conducted and preliminary analyses were carried out as descriptive statistics using SPSS Statistics 22.0. Research models were examined by confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping analysis was conducted using Mplus 8.4 program.Results: The results revealed that the COVID-19 impact on daily life as perceived by mothers did not show a significant direct effect on their children’s social competence. However, it had a significant indirect effect on children’s social competence through the mothers’ parenting stress, but a nonsignificant effect through the mothers’ social connectedness. Additionally, it had an indirect effect on children’s social competence through sequential mediating effects of both, the mothers’ social connectedness and parenting stress.Conclusion: These findings empirically confirmed the relationships among the perceived impact of COVID-19, mothers’ social connectedness, parenting stress, and their children’s social competence. Furthermore, the results illustrated that high levels of COVID-19 impact on daily lives could lead to low levels of children’s social competence through the effects of mothers’ social connectedness and parenting stress, suggesting a comprehensive framework of social contextual and parenting socio-psychological factors to understand children’s social competence. Therefore, the findings could help to identify points of effective intervention for children’s social-emotional development within a context of mother-child relation in the current epidemic situations.

The role of household chaos on levels and trajectories of socioemotional behavior in the second year

The second year of life is a time of formative developmental change as basic behavioral systems undergo rapid integration and expansion. This study examined the developmental trajectories of social-emotional (SoE) outcomes and the effects of infant sex and household chaos (HC) on the development of SoE outcomes across the second year of life. The participating families (N = 143) were ethnically homogenous (88% Caucasian) but economically diverse (31% low-to-very-low income). Mothers reported on their children's SoE outcomes including externalizing, internalizing, dysregulating problem behaviors as well as SoE competence when infants (54% girls) were 12, 18, and 24 months old. At each age point, HC was assessed through observations during home visits and compliance to the study protocols. Multilevel modeling revealed increasing developmental trajectories in all of the domains of SoE outcomes across the second year of life, reflecting the premise that these behavioral systems continue to form and become increasingly part of the infant's behavioral repertoire as development unfolds. However, compared to infants in less chaotic homes, infants in more chaotic households experienced steeper increases in both externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors across the second year, and girls showed higher levels of internalizing problem behaviors compared to boys. Results emphasize the increasing trajectories of problem behaviors in relation to ongoing chaotic caregiving environment among infants as young as 2 years of age. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).