You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!: Emotion socialization and child physiology jointly predict early prosocial development

The role of physical activity promoting thinking skills and emotional behavior of preschool children

Objectives

Physical activity is critical, not only for the normal growth and development of children, but also for emotional and social behavior. The purpose of the article is to determine the relationship between physical education and social and emotional development of preschool children.

Methods

The study involved 366 children (188 boys and 178 girls) at the ages of 5 (N = 191) and 6 (N = 174), who study in public kindergartens in Beijing (China). Within 3 months, additional physical education and fitness classes were held. Before and after the study, a test was conducted: Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE), which was completed by the parents. The research process did not affect the performance or development of children participants.

Results

As a result of the study, the main regularities of the influence of physical education on social and emotional behavior of children were established. Based on the results of the study, it was determined that there is a positive correlation between age, physical education, and social-emotional behavior (r +—= 0.668).

Conclusion

Gender differences are not statistically significant when it comes to physical activity’s effect on social and emotional behavior (p-value = 0.004). The results can be applied to programs for the prevention of psychosocial and social-emotional development delays of children in kindergartens.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between parenting and child autonomic nervous system activity

Parental socialization may influence the development of children's autonomic nervous system (ANS), a key stress-response system. However, to date no quantitative synthesis of the literature linking parenting and child ANS physiology has been conducted. To address this gap, we conducted a pre-registered meta-analysis. A systematic review of the literature identified 103 studies (n = 13,044 participants) with available effect sizes describing the association between parenting and either parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) or sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity in children. The overall analysis revealed non-significant associations between parenting and child ANS physiology on average. However, moderation analyses revealed a positive association between more positive parenting and higher resting PNS activity that was stronger when a study was experimental rather than correlational, and when the sample included children with a clinical condition. In conclusion, well-controlled experimental studies show that positive parenting is associated with the development of higher resting PNS activity, an effect that may be stronger among children who are at elevated developmental risk.

Parental warmth predicts more child pro-social behaviour in children with better emotion regulation

Parental warmth and child emotion regulation have each been implicated in the development of child pro-social behaviours; however, their interactive benefits remain unclear. In this multi-method, multi-cohort longitudinal study, we examined the effect of parental warmth on child pro-social behaviours at different levels of child emotion regulation. We collected data from 6- and 10-year-olds in Canada (N_T1  = 233; M_age  = 8.41; SD = 2.08) and their parents. Parental warmth, child emotion regulation, and child pro-social behaviours were assessed via parent report. Children's baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; an indicator of cardiac regulatory capacity) was assessed as a correlate of emotion regulation. Child pro-social behaviours were assessed concurrently and 1 year later. Results showed that higher parental warmth was related to higher concurrent prosocial behaviours and greater increases in prosocial behaviours over 1 year. These effects were strengthened for children with higher emotion regulation whether measured by parent report or RSA. We discuss implications for understanding pro-social development in middle childhood from a strengths-based perspective.

Parents' Beliefs, Depressive Symptoms, and Emotion Regulation Uniquely Relate to Parental Responses to Adolescent Positive Affect

Parents' socialization of positive affect is relevant during adolescence, given that parents play a key role in the development of youth emotional competency. The current study hypothesized that parent characteristics (emotion regulation, belief that positive emotions are costly, and depressive symptoms) would be uniquely related to both dampening and enhancing responses to youth positive affect. Parents (n = 373) of adolescents (youth ages 10-17 years) were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Parents reported on their own regulation of both positive and negative emotions, depressive symptoms, beliefs about youth emotions, and responses to adolescent expressions of positive affect. The final structural regression model partially supported the hypothesis with respect to parental dampening responses. Depressive symptoms, over-controlled emotion regulation, and beliefs about positive emotions each uniquely related to dampening. Only the coping emotion regulation strategies factor was uniquely associated with parents' enhancing responses. These findings support existing theories of parental emotion socialization, though the final model in this sample provides more insight into parental dampening than parental enhancing responses to positive affect. The finding that emotion regulation strategies (over-controlled and coping) were differentially related to parental responses to youth positive affect suggests a connection between parents' regulation of their own emotions and responses to their offspring's emotion expressions.

Prosocial cascades: Understanding and nurturing the potential for positive developmental trajectories

Understanding the developmental cycles and mechanisms that nurture prosocial behavior can support our potential to build a kinder and more peaceful society. The current chapter explores positive developmental cascades, with a focus on the chain reactions that explain how prosocial behaviors manifest and evolve throughout childhood and adolescence. Specifically, we review the main issues, theories, and findings related to the study of children's prosocial trajectories. We focus on various socialization environments that span typical and adverse (e.g., trauma, poverty, maltreatment, exposure to violence) contexts. Furthermore, we highlight the evidence behind efforts and initiatives that aim to nurture prosociality in children and families. We conclude with future directions for how research on positive cascades can inform research-practice alliances work that aims to break harmful cycles and promote prosocial mechanisms of change.

Parental Socialization of Emotion and Psychophysiological Arousal Patterns in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at considerable risk for difficulties with emotion regulation and related functioning. Although it is commonly accepted that parents contribute to adaptive child regulation, as indexed by observable child behavior, theory and recent evidence suggest that parenting may also influence relevant underlying child physiological tendencies. The current study examined concurrent associations between two elements of parental socialization of emotion and measures of both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity in 61 children with ASD aged 6 to 10 years. To index parental socialization, parents reported on their reactions to their children's negative emotions, and parental scaffolding was coded from a dyadic problem-solving task. Children's baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), electrodermal reactivity (EDA-R), and RSA reactivity in response to challenge were obtained as measures of the children's physiological activity. Regression analyses indicated that supportive parent reactions were related to higher child baseline RSA, a biomarker of regulatory capacity. Fewer unsupportive parent reactions and higher quality scaffolding were associated with higher EDA-R, a physiological index of inhibition. The identification of these concurrent associations represents a first step in understanding the complex and likely bidirectional interplay between parent socialization and child physiological reactivity and regulation in this high-risk population.

Physiological measurement of emotion from infancy to preschool: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Emotion regulation, the ability to regulate emotional responses to environmental stimuli, develops in the first years of life and plays an important role in the development of personality, social competence, and behavior. Substantial literature suggests a relationship between emotion regulation and cardiac physiology; specifically, heart rate changes in response to positive or negative emotion-eliciting stimuli.

METHOD

This systematic review and meta-analysis provide an in-depth examination of research that has measured physiological responding during emotional-evoking tasks in children from birth to 4 years of age.

RESULTS

The review had three main findings. First, meta-regressions resulted in an age-related decrease in baseline and task-related heart rate (HR) and increases in baseline and task-related respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Second, meta-analyses suggest task-related increases in HR and decreases in RSA and heart rate variability (HRV), regardless of emotional valence of the task. Third, associations between physiological responding and observed behavioral regulation are not consistently present in children aged 4 and younger. The review also provides a summary of the various methodology used to measure physiological reactions to emotional-evoking tasks, including number of sensors used and placement, various baseline and emotional-evoking tasks used, methods for extracting RSA, as well as percentage of loss and reasons for loss for each study.

CONCLUSION

Characterizing the physiological reactivity of typically developing children is important to understanding the role emotional regulation plays in typical and atypical development.

The Development of Generosity From 4 to 6 Years: Examining Stability and the Biopsychosocial Contributions of Children's Vagal Flexibility and Mothers' Compassion

Individual differences in children’s prosocial behaviors, including their willingness to give up something of value for the benefit of others, are rooted in physiological and environmental processes. In a sample of 4-year-old children, we previously found evidence that flexible changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were linked to donation behavior, and that these physiological patterns may support greater sensitivity to the positive effects of compassionate parenting on donation behavior. The current study focused on a follow-up assessment of these children at age 6. First, we examined the stability of individual differences in donation behavior and related parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity from age 4 to 6. Second, we examined associations between donation behavior and RSA at 6 years. Third, we examined whether the association between children’s RSA and donation behavior at age 6 varied depending on mothers’ compassionate love. We found low to modest stability in donation behavior and RSA reactivity from age 4 to 6. These findings provide preliminary evidence that stable individual differences in altruism, as reflected by generosity, and in some aspects of parasympathetic functioning during opportunities to be prosocial, emerge in childhood. In addition, we found that some of the same associations between donation behavior, RSA, and compassionate love that we previously observed in children at 4 years of age continued to be evident 2 years later at age 6. Greater decreases in RSA when given the opportunity to donate were associated with children donating more of their own resources which, in turn, were associated with greater RSA recovery after the task. Lastly, mothers’ compassionate love was positively associated with donation behavior in children who demonstrated stronger decreases in RSA during the task; compassionate parenting and RSA reactivity may serve as external and internal supports for prosociality that build on each other. Taken together, these findings contribute to the perspectives that individual differences in altruistic behaviors are intrinsically linked to healthy vagal flexibility, and that biopsychosocial approaches provide a useful framework for examining and understanding the environmental and physiological processes underlying these individual differences.

Conflict Resolution and Emotional Expression in Mother-Preadolescent Dyads: Longitudinal Associations with Children's Socioemotional Development

How youth learn to manage emotions during mother-child conflict influences their socioemotional development. Ninety-four mother-preadolescent (aged 9-13, 57.4% female) dyads were observed during conflict discussions and completed questionnaire measures at one prior time-point (Time 1; ages 6-10) and one subsequent time-point (Time 3; ages 11-16) to the observations (Time 2). The temporal associations between individuals' emotional expressions and their own and their partners' verbal conflict behaviors were observed. Mothers and preadolescents were more attacking and assertive when angry, and more conciliatory and avoidant when sad. Neutral affect predicted the most constructive behaviors, while positive affect promoted avoidance. The responses were similar following their partners' emotions. Maternal conflict-escalating responses to anger were associated with difficult characteristics in earlier childhood and socioemotional difficulties in adolescence. Maternal and child de-escalation following sadness predicted socioemotional adjustment in adolescence. These results demonstrate that conflict resolution between preadolescents and their mothers is influenced by the emotional climate of the interaction, and that the management of negative emotions within the dyad is tied to youth's socioemotional development.

Socioemotional Mechanisms of Children's Differential Response to the Effects of Maternal Sensitivity on Child Adjustment

OBJECTIVE

Children differ in the extent to which they reap the benefits of maternal sensitive care or suffer the adverse consequences of insensitive care, and these differences can be accounted for by biological characteristics. However, how susceptible children adapt to maternal sensitivity in ways that either maximize positive development or lead to maladjustment has yet to be determined. Here, we propose a novel model of socioemotional mechanisms by which the joint influences of maternal sensitivity and child biological characteristics influence child adjustment.

DESIGN

We propose a theoretical model, in which children's vagal functioning and polymorphisms in serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) genes confer susceptibility to the effects of maternal sensitivity on internalizing, externalizing, prosocial and moral behavior via changes in interpersonal strategies for emotion regulation, the threat response system, and empathy.

RESULTS

Theoretical and empirical support for the proposed mechanisms are provided.

CONCLUSIONS

The proposed mechanistic model of susceptibility to maternal sensitivity offers a novel framework of for whom and how children are affected by early maternal care, highlighting multiple reciprocal, interacting influences across genes, physiology, behavior, and the environment.

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

OBJECTIVES

Emotion regulation skills in early childhood are essential for healthy emotional and behavioral development, yet factors related to emergent emotion regulation during the early preschool period have not been extensively explored.

METHODS

In the present study (N = 90), we specifically examine parental and family-level sociocontextual correlates in relation to emotion regulation skills in three-year-olds, a crucial time when the onset of several cognitive and socioemotional abilities are intertwined. We also investigate the role of these developing emotion regulatory capacities with behavioral problems and social competence.

RESULTS

Children whose parents use more adaptive emotion regulation strategies (r = .33, p = .001) and who grow up in a higher income (r = .25, p = .02), less chaotic household (r = -.30, p = .004) have better emergent emotion regulation. Additionally, better child emotion regulation skills are associated with more positive outcomes such as fewer behavioral problems (r = -.46, p < .001) and more instrumental helping behaviors (r = .23, p = .04).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicate that identifying individual differences in emotion regulation earlier than most prior studies may be particularly important for fostering this crucial skill and overall psychological well-being in young children.

Children's physiological reactivity in emotion contexts and prosocial behavior

INTRODUCTION

Building on prior evidence that prosocial behavior is related to the regulation of personal distress in difficult situations, and given that physiological regulation is a central contributor to effective emotion regulation, this investigation evaluated whether and how children's autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity during emotion challenges influenced later expressions of prosocial behavior.

METHODS

The current study utilized a diverse sample of school-aged children (N = 169; 47.9% female; 47.3% Latinx) to evaluate relations between children's parasympathetic (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and sympathetic (i.e., pre-ejection period; PEP) reactivity in response to each of three film-elicited emotion challenges (i.e., sadness, happiness, and fear) at age 7 and both observed and parent-reported prosocial behavior one year later.

RESULTS

Children's parasympathetic reactivity to a film eliciting sadness evidenced a nonlinear relation with later prosocial sharing such that children who evidenced either RSA withdrawal or augmentation in response to the sad emotion challenge engaged in higher levels of prosocial behavior than children who evidenced relatively low or absent reactivity. Parasympathetic reactivity to films eliciting happiness or fear was not significantly related to later prosocial behavior. Likewise, children's sympathetic reactivity in response to the emotion challenges did not significantly predict later prosocial behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide preliminary support for a nonlinear association between children's parasympathetic emotion reactivity and later prosocial behavior, and suggest that children's ANS regulation in sad emotion contexts may be particularly important for understanding prosocial development.

Longitudinal Associations of Parental Emotion Socialization and Children's Emotion Regulation: The Moderating Role of ADHD Symptomatology

Theory and research suggest that parents' reactions to children's emotions play a critical role in teaching children effective emotion regulation (ER) skills, but no studies have directly examined the role that parent emotion socialization plays in the development of ER in children with ADHD. Gaining insight into the causes of impaired ER, particularly in youth with ADHD who are known to have poor ER, has important theoretical and translational significance. The present study is the first to longitudinally examine whether emotion socialization predicts later physiological and adult-reported measures of ER in children with and without ADHD. It also sought to determine if these relations are moderated by ADHD symptoms. Participants were 61 children (31 girls, 30 boys; M = 10.67 years, SD = 1.28) with and without clinically significant ADHD symptoms. At Time 1, parent reports of emotion socialization and parent- and teacher-report of child ADHD symptoms were collected. At Time 2, child ER measures were collected based on parent- and teacher-report and physiological reactivity during an impossible puzzle and a social rejection task. Physiological measures included respiratory sinus arrhythmia and skin conductance level (SCL). Supportive parenting practices were associated with better parent-rated emotion regulation skills for all children and greater SCL reactivity for children with high ADHD symptoms. Non-supportive parenting reactions were associated with greater adult-rated emotional lability for children with high ADHD symptoms. Results highlight the importance of considering multiple aspects of ER, including physiological manifestations. Findings suggest that parents' use of adaptive emotion socialization practices may serve as a protective factor for children's ER development and may be particularly critical for youth with ADHD. Our findings support the use of interventions addressing parent emotion socialization to help foster better ER in children.

Subjective well-being and personal relationships in childhood: Comparison of Brazilian and Spanish children

This study aims to compare personal relationships satisfaction and subjective well-being of Brazilian and Spanish children and to verify if personal relationships are associated with subjective well-being for the sample. Participants are 6,747 children aged from 11 to 14 years old (M = 12.07, DP = 0.731), 1,020 being Brazilian and the others Spanish. From the total sample 50.7% were girls. Results pointed that the items of personal relationships are grouped into three components related to family, school and friends. Spanish children had higher means than Brazilians' in the items of personal relationships and in the subjective well-being scale. There is a significant association between personal relationships and subjective well-being, and the relationships with family, school and friends are predictors of children well-being in both countries. Family relationships are those with the highest contribution to the prediction of child well-being for both countries, followed by relationships at school and with friends. Personal relationships can be considered a predictor of child well-being with approximately 40% of explained variance for both countries.

Parent emotion regulation socializes children's adaptive physiological regulation

Parenting practices play a major role in socializing children's developing regulatory abilities, but less is known about how parents' regulatory abilities relate to children's healthy functioning. This study examined whether parents' physiological and emotion regulation abilities corresponded to children's physiological and emotional responding to a structured laboratory-based disappointment task. Ninety-seven 3- to 7-year-olds (56 girls; M = 5.79 years) and one parent participated in a multi-method assessment of parents' and children's regulatory functioning. Direct (coaching children to use reappraisal) and indirect (resting physiology, dispositional use of reappraisal) aspects of parents' regulatory abilities were assessed. As expected, an adaptive pattern of parent regulatory abilities composed of higher resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia, use of reappraisal, and coaching reappraisal was associated with children's physiological reactivity after a disappointment indicative of more effective physiological calming in a recovery context (increased parasympathetic activation). In contrast, parents' regulatory abilities did not relate to changes in children's expressions of emotional distress.

Parent emotion socialization and pre-adolescent's social and emotional adjustment: Moderating effects of autonomic nervous system reactivity

This study examined whether measures of children's autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity to social stress moderated the effect of parent emotion socialization on children's social and emotional adjustment. Sixty-one children (9-13 years) completed a peer rejection task while their respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity (RSA-R) and skin conductance level reactivity (SCL-R) were assessed. Parents' report of supportive and non-supportive reactions to their child's negative emotions served as measures of emotion socialization. Measures of children's social and emotional adjustment included: teacher-rated peer rejection, aggression, and prosocial behavior and parent-rated aggressive/dysregulated behavior and emotion regulation skills. Measures of children's ANS reactivity moderated the effect of parent emotion socialization on children's adjustment. Supportive responses were more protective for children evidencing RSA augmentation whereas non-supportive responses were more detrimental for children evidencing low SCL-R. Thus children's ANS reactivity during social stress may represent a biological vulnerability that influences sensitivity to parent emotion socialization.

Physiological mechanisms of prosociality

Psychophysiological perspectives can provide unique insights into the nature and motivations of children's prosociality and inform our understanding of individual differences. Here, I review current research on prosociality involving some of the most common physiological measures in developmental psychology, including cortisol, various sympathetic nervous system measures, and high-frequency heart rate variability. The literature has been quite mixed, in part because the link between physiology and prosociality is context-dependent and person-dependent. However, recent advances are refining our understanding of the basic physiological mechanisms of prosociality. Resting physiology that contributes to a balance of regulation and vigilance prepares children to effectively cope with future social challenges, like noticing and attending to the needs of others. Experiencing some arousal is an important aspect of empathy-related responding, but physiological patterns of both heightened and hypoarousal can undermine prosociality. Physiological flexibility in response to others' needs may support emotional and behavioral flexibility important for prosociality.

The relationship between screen time, nighttime sleep duration, and behavioural problems in preschool children in China

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between screen time (ST), nighttime sleep duration, and behavioural problems in a sample of preschool children in China. A sample of 8900 children aged 3-6 years was enrolled from 35 kindergartens, in four cities, in two provinces, in China to evaluate the relationships between ST, nighttime sleep duration, and behavioural problems. Children's ST and nighttime sleep duration were assessed by questionnaires completed by parents or guardians. Behavioural problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Clancy Autism Behaviour Scale (CABS). Multivariate analysis was used to assess the associations between ST, nighttime sleep duration, and behavioural problems. The total SDQ and CABS scores were higher in children with ST ≥2 h/day and sleep duration <9.15 h/day (a P < 0.001 for all). After adjusting for potential confounders, children with ST ≥2 h/day had a significantly increased risk of having total difficulties, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, and prosocial problems, as well as behavioural symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Similar results were found in children with sleep duration <9.15 h/day. No significantly increased risk of emotional symptoms was observed for short sleep duration. Preschool children with more ST and short nighttime sleep duration were significantly more likely to have behavioural problems. These results may contribute to a better understanding of prevention and intervention for psychosocial problems in children.

Maternal Agreeableness Moderates Associations Between Young Children's Emotion Dysregulation and Socioemotional Functioning at School

The goal of this study was to explore associations among maternal agreeableness, child temperament (i.e., emotion dysregulation), and children's social adjustment at school. Participants were 146 children in kindergarten and Grade 1 (76 girls; M_age = 67.78 months, SD = 10.81 months). Mothers provided ratings of their own agreeableness and their child's temperament, and teachers assessed indices of children's socioemotional functioning at school. Among the results, maternal agreeableness moderated associations between child dysregulation and aspects of adjustment at school. Specifically, at higher levels of maternal agreeableness, the relations between child dysregulation and both anxiety with peers and their prosocial behavior were attenuated. Overall, the results suggest that maternal agreeableness may serve as a protective factor for dysregulated children. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Moderate baseline vagal tone predicts greater prosociality in children

Vagal tone is widely believed to be an important physiological aspect of emotion regulation and associated positive behaviors. However, there is inconsistent evidence for relations between children's baseline vagal tone and their helpful or prosocial responses to others (Hastings & Miller, 2014). Recent work in adults suggests a quadratic association (inverted U-shape curve) between baseline vagal tone and prosociality (Kogan et al., 2014). The present research examined whether this nonlinear association was evident in children. The authors found consistent evidence for a quadratic relation between vagal tone and prosociality across 3 samples of children using 6 different measures. Compared to low and high vagal tone, moderate vagal tone in early childhood concurrently predicted greater self-reported prosociality (Study 1), observed empathic concern in response to the distress of others and greater generosity toward less fortunate peers (Study 2), and longitudinally predicted greater self-, mother-, and teacher-reported prosociality 5.5 years later in middle childhood (Study 3). Taken together, the findings suggest that moderate vagal tone at rest represents a physiological preparedness or tendency to engage in different forms of prosociality across different contexts. Early moderate vagal tone may reflect an optimal balance of regulation and arousal that helps prepare children to sympathize, comfort, and share with others. (PsycINFO Database Record