Quantifying Children's Emotions with the Emotion Intensity-Linkage Function Model

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Tantrums are a near universal and highly salient feature of emotional development. From parents' perspective, they are among the most commonly reported childhood behavioral problems. From a psychopathological perspective, tantrums persisting to age 8 predict future antisocial behavior. Scientifically, tantrums are a window onto emotions so intense as to be otherwise inaccessible to observation. Our goal in this study is to complete a quantitative, behaviorally based model of the emotional/behavioral processes comprising tantrums. Our previous factor analyses and multidimensional scaling converged to show that tantrums are composed of two independent but temporally overlapping emotional/ behavioral processes, Anger and Distress. Anger is associated with specific behaviors that are ordered by intensity, e.g., low anger is associated with stamping and high anger with screaming. We have already successfully modeled the rise and fall of tantrum anger as a Beta function and its control of the behaviors that express it as logit- polynomial "linkage functions." In this study, we will incorporate Distress behaviors (crying, whining, dropping down, comfort seeking) into a 2 variable, Emotion Intensity-Behavioral Linkage Function (EI- BLF) model that will specify the influence of each emotion on the set of tantrum behaviors. The model will also include the effects of parental intervention on children's emotions. An already developed methodology for audio/video recording of in-home tantrums will provide new, more temporally precise data for the acoustic spectral analyses of tantrum vocalizations, FACs coding of facial expression, and GEE statistical techniques used to construct the model. This work will improve the understanding of the escalation, regulation and socialization of anger; inform social information processing models of aggression; and benefit clinical research, diagnosis and treatment by scaling the intensity of anger associated with various angry behaviors. More generally, the EI-BLF model will help define the relationship between emotions and their behavioral expression. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project will complete the Emotion Intensity-Behavioral Linkage Function model of anger and sadness in children's tantrums. This novel, quantitative, behaviorally-based model will measure the emotions of young children who are unreliable reporters of their own feelings. Application of this model will improve the understanding of the escalation, regulation and socialization of anger; inform social information processing models of aggression; and benefit clinical research, diagnosis and treatment by scaling the intensity of anger associated with various clinical conditions.