Do maternal protective behaviors alleviate toddlers' fearful distress?
Do maternal protective behaviors alleviate toddlers' fearful distress?
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DOI：
10.1177/0165025410375922
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发表时间：
2011-03-01
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Kiel, Elizabeth J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Buss, Kristin A.;Kiel, Elizabeth J.
在孩子可能感到脆弱的时候，比如遇到新鲜事物的时候，父母的行为无疑会影响孩子如何学会调节他们对这些事件的反应。理论表明，一些研究也支持保护行为——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，人们对这些行为对儿童痛苦的直接影响知之甚少。也就是说，这些保护行为是否减轻了当下的痛苦？据推测，这种“成功”的困境监管对于在其他情况下成功监管的发展将是重要的。为此，目前的研究考察了幼儿恐惧痛苦的时间进程变化，当在一个高度新颖的、引起恐惧的任务中观察到保护性的母亲行为时。对两组二人组进行了分析：一组幼儿的痛苦先于母亲的保护行为，另一组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，研究发现，对于最初的痛苦反应最高的幼儿，保护行为与恐惧的下降幅度较小有关。在幼儿调节情绪的能力和这些技能的适应性发展的背景下讨论了结果。
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 the 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.