EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN COCAINE EXPOSED CHILDREN

这项拟议的研究将比较四岁儿童在产前接触可卡因和对照组的四种情绪过程。具体而言，本研究将考察两组儿童在游戏和日常行为中的情感表达、情绪调节和情绪理解方面是否存在差异。此外，这些情绪过程之间的相互关系将在小组内进行研究。目前的调查将包括128名4岁儿童（64名可卡因暴露者和64名非可卡因暴露者）及其母亲和/或照顾者。每个孩子将参与一个标准化的游戏情境，识别情绪表达和情绪情境，等待6分钟后获得想要的物品。母亲和/或照顾者将被要求完成一份关于孩子在日常行为中的情绪强度的调查问卷。数据分析将用于(1)识别和描述四种情绪过程的群体差异，(2)检查四种情绪过程之间的群体内相互关系，以及(3)检查人口统计、环境风险和药物暴露变量如何影响情绪发展的结果。现有的文献尚未研究可卡因暴露儿童的情感发展，但情感过程可能对儿童的社会功能有显著影响。这项研究的一个重要贡献将是在临床人群中开发评估幼儿情绪过程的措施。研究结果将对开发针对改善儿童情感表达、情绪调节和情绪知识的干预措施产生影响。

The proposed study, will compare four emotional processes in four-year-old children who have been prenatally exposed to cocaine and a comparison group. Specifically, the present study will examine whether the children in the two groups differ in affect expression in play and daily behavior, emotional regulation, and emotional understanding. Furthermore, interrelationships among these emotional processes will be studied within the groups. The present investigation will include 128 four-year-old children (64 cocaine-exposed and 64 non-cocaine-exposed) and their mothers and/or caregivers. Each child will participate in a standardized play situation, identify emotional expressions and emotional situations, and wait six minutes before obtaining a desired object. Mothers and/or caregivers will be asked to complete a questionnaire about the child's emotional intensity in daily behavior. Data will be analyzed to (1) identify and describe group differences in the four emotional processes, (2) examine within-group interrelationships among the four emotional processes, and (3) examine how demographic, environmental risk, and drug exposure variables contribute to outcomes in emotional development. The existing literature has not examined the emotional development of cocaine-exposed children, yet emotional processes may significantly contribute to children's social functioning. A significant contribution of the study will be the development of measures to assess emotional processes in young children in a clinical population. Results will have implications for developing interventions targeted at improving children's affect expression, emotional regulation, and knowledge about emotions.