COMMUNICATION OF AFFECT WITH ABUSE-ELICITING CHILDREN

本研究采用家庭互动的交易模式 涉及身体健康风险高的儿童的系统 虐待 一般模型预测， 成人-儿童互动（a）由社会归因调节，（B） 通过特定的语言和非语言交流模式来调节。 过去 该模型的测试集中在照顾者表达的权力作为原因， 孩子的“困难”行为。 本研究的重点是 照顾者的情感表达既是“困难”的原因，也是“困难”的后果 孩子的行为。 预计虐待家庭系统将涉及（a） 厌恶的儿童行为，（B）父母归因于涉及低“信贷， 成功的“自我”和成功的“责备孩子” 失败，和（c）照顾者沟通模式的特点是高 消极情感和不经常或不真诚的积极情感。 负 据预测，影响最明显地表现在高“泄漏” 通信组件，例如，语气简短的面部表情 照顾者表现出积极的影响，预计将伴随着 通过暗示它们的“管理”性质，例如，微笑，有着不同寻常的 短暂的偏移时间，一秒钟内同时“泄漏”无力感 沟通渠道。 假设将在自然和合成的家庭进行测试。 在 在物质虐待儿童的高风险家庭（N = 40），母亲将 连续录像与她虐待的目标儿童互动， 一个她不太可能下手的兄弟姐妹 所有兄弟姐妹也将 与无血缘关系的母亲互动的录像 这些伴生 调查将使我们能够确定（a）针对 儿童（与其非目标兄弟姐妹相比） 来自他们自己和无关母亲的情感反应，（B）照顾者 具有特殊归因模式的人对“困难”的反应更强烈 儿童行为，和（c）“困难”的儿童行为更有可能是 以消极（或消极）为特征的成人沟通模式 “不真诚的”/很少积极的）影响。 等效性证明 合成和天然家族中的序列将允许因果推断， 涉及到交易关系。

The proposed research applies a transactional model of family interaction to caregiving systems involving children who are a high risk for physical abuse. The general model predicts that social-emotional features of adult-child interaction are (a) moderated by social attributions, and (b) mediated by particular verbal and nonverbal communication patterns. Past test of the model focused upon caregiver expressions of power as cause and consequence of "difficult" child behavior. The present research focuses on caregiver expression of affect as both cause and consequence of "difficult" child behavior. Abusive family systems are predicted to involve (a) aversive child behavior, (b) parental attributions involving low "credit to self" for caregiving success and high "blame to child" for caregiving failure, and (c) caregiver communication pattern characterized by high negative affect and infrequent or insincere positive affect. Negative affect is predicted to be manifested most clearly in high "leakage" communicaton components, e.g., tone of voice, brief facial displays. Caregiver manifestations of positive affect are expected to be accompanied by cues as to their "managed" nature, e.g., smiles that have unusually brief offset times, simultaneous "leakage" of powerlessness in a second communication channel. Hypotheses will be tested in both natural and synthetic families. In families at high risk for material child abuse (N = 40), the mother will be sequentially videotaped interacting with a child she targets for abuse and a sibling she is less likely to target. All sibling pairs will also be videotaped interacting with unrelated mothers. These companion investigations will allow us to determine the extent to which (a) targeted children (in comparison with their non-targeted siblings) elicit equivalent affective responses from their own and unrelated mothers, (b) caregivers who have particular attributional patterns are more reactive to "difficult" child behavior, and (c) "difficult" child behavior is more likely to be maintained by adult communication patterns characterized by negative (or "insincere"/infrequent positive) affect. Demonstration of equivalent sequences in synthetic and natural families will allow causal inferences to be drawn concerning transactional relationships.