Emotion regulation and attachment: Relationships with children’s secure base, during different situational and social contexts in naturalistic settings

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ContentslistsavailableatSciVerseScienceDirect

Infant

Behavior

and

Development

Emotion

regulation

and

attachment:

Relationships

with

children’s

secure

base,

during

different

situational

and

social

contexts

in

naturalistic

settings

Lisa

Roque

∗

,

Manuela

Veríssimo,

Marília

Fernandes,

Ana

Rebelo

UIPCDE,UnidadedeInvestigac¸ãoemPsicologiaCognitiva,doDesenvolvimentoedaEducac¸ão,ISPA–InstitutoUniversitário,Lisboa, Portugal

a

r

t

i

c

l

e

i

n

f

o

Articlehistory: Received7March2012 Receivedinrevisedform 19November2012 Accepted7March2013 Available online 29 March 2013 Keywords: Attachment Emotionregulation Behavioralstrategies Emotionalexpressiveness

a

b

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t

r

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Thisstudyinvestigatedtherelationshipsbetweenchildren’ssecurebaseandemotion reg-ulation,namelytheirbehavioralstrategiesandemotionalexpressiveness,duringdifferent situationalandsocialcontextsinnaturalisticsettings.Fifty-ﬁvechildrenranginginage from18to26monthsofageandtheirmothersparticipatedinthisstudy.Childrenwere exposedtothreesituational(fear,positiveaffectandfrustration/anger)andtwosocial (maternalconstraintandinvolvement)contexts.Toddlers’behavioralstrategiesdifferedas functionofemotion-elicitingcontext,maternalinvolvementandattachmentquality. Emo-tionalexpressivenessvariedasfunctionofaninteractioninvolvingsituationalcontexts, maternalinvolvementandchildren’sattachmentsecurity.

1. Introduction

Regulatingemotionsmeanshavingaccesstoagreaternumberofadaptivestrategicbehaviorsandpromotingappropriate andﬂexibleresponsesindifferentemotionalcontexts(Gross&Thompson,2007).Ontheotherhand,emotiondysregulation resultsinhavingfewerregulatorystrategiesandtheinabilitytomakedecisionsregardingappropriateconductinmultiple situations(Denham,1998;Fox,1994),beingrelatedwithpsychopathologicalsymptomsordeviantdevelopmental trajecto-riesinchildhoodandadolescence(Maughan&Cicchetti,2002).Accordingtoafunctionalistperspective(Campos,Mumme, Kermoian,&Campos,1994),emotionregulationisadynamicalsystemwhichmainpurposeistoaccomplishone’s immedi-ateorlong-termgoals.Differentemotionalcontextshavedifferentgoalsand,therefore,differentstrategiesshouldbeused bychildren,namely,throughthemothers’involvement.Forexample,increasingavoidancebehaviorsmayhelpchildrento regulatethemselvesduringfearepisodes,butitdoesnotdecreasetheirdistresslevelsduringfrustration/angerepisodes (Buss&Goldsmith,1998;Diener&Mangelsdorf,1999a).Inthissense,nobehavioralstrategyisbetterthantheother,itall dependsonthecontextandtheindividual’s(e.g.,children)objectives.Thereforeitisimportanttolookatchildren’s regu-latorystrategies’totalfrequencyduringdifferentsocial(e.g.,motherconstraintandinvolvement)andsituational(e.g.,fear, positiveaffectandfrustration/anger)contexts,ratherthanexaminingdifferencesinfrequenciesbetweenspeciﬁcstrategies (Diener&Mangelsdorf,1999a;Roque&Veríssimo,2011).

∗ Correspondingauthorat:ISPA–InstitutoUniversitário,RuaJardimdoTabaco34,1149-041Lisboa,Portugal. E-mailaddress:lisa.roque.psychologist@gmail.com(L.Roque).

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2. Emotionregulationasadyadicprocess

Duringthefirstyearsoflife,emotionregulationisadyadicprocess,wherematernalinvolvementhasaprimaryrole (Sroufe,1996;Thompson,1994;Thompson&Meyer,2007).Attheendofthefirstyear,externalsupportfromcaregivers isfundamental,aschildrenstart tounderstandthecausesofemotionaldistressandlearn toassociatecaregiverswith thepossibilitytochangetheirnegativestatesandfacilitatetheimplementofeffectivebehavioralstrategies(Kopp,1989). Childrenbetween18and24months,showdifferentbehavioralstrategiesasafunctionofmaternalinvolvement,insituations offearandanger.Theyengage,socialreferencetheirmothersandplaywithstimulimorefrequentlyduringmotherinvolved periods,thanduringconstrainedones(Diener&Mangelsdorf,1999a).Theyexhibitbehavioralstrategiessignificantlymore oftenduringpositiveaffectandangerepisodesandfewerduringfearepisodes(Roque&Veríssimo,2011).Whenitcomes toemotionalexpressiveness,toddlers’exhibitnegativeandpositiveemotionalexpressions,significantlymoreoftenduring fearandfrustrationangerepisodesandfewerduringpositiveaffectepisodes(Roque&Veríssimo,2011),andexpressmore positiveaffectthannegativeaffectduringmotherinvolvedperiods,thanduringconstrainedones(Diener&Mangelsdorf, 1999a).

3. Emotionregulationandattachmentquality

Researchalsosuggeststhatthequalityoftheattachmentrelationship,influenceschildren’semotionregulation,through thechild’sexpectations(internalworkingmodels)aboutthecaregiver’sbehaviorandavailability,eitherphysicalor emo-tional(Bowlby,1969/1982).Theattachmentfigurehelpsthechildtodecreasethelevelofdistressbyholding,cuddlingand talking,ortoincreasethebaby’sarousal/tensionduringaplayfulgame,inordertomaketheactivitymoreenjoyableand appealingtothechild(Sroufe,1996).Attachmentsecuritydoesnotmeandenialofnegativeaffect.Instead,itis charac-terizedbytheflexibilitytointegratepositiveandnegativeemotionsandtheincreasingabilitytoexperienceandtolerate temporarilythreateningandfrustratingevents,untilthechildisabletoovercomethemthroughlongperiodsoftime,even intheabsenceofthecaregiver(Bowlby,1969/1982,1980,1973;Cassidy,1994,2008).Incaseofdistressandnegativeaffect episodes,theemotionregulationstrategygenerallyusedbysecurechildreninvolvesopen,directandactiveexpressionto themother,insteadofhidingnegativityfromtheparent.Iftheexperienceallowsthefeelingofpositiveemotions,mutual expressionsofjoyservetomaintaininterestintherelationship(Bowlby,1969/1982;Bretherton,1990).Fromanattachment pointofview,thisflexibilityisbuiltovertheyears,fromexperienceswithasensitivecaregiver,whorespondsaccordingly tothechild’sneedsandemotionalsignalsmuchofthetimeanddoesnotignoreanyselectedbehaviors(Bowlby,1969/1982; Bretherton,1990).

Ontheotherhand,insecurechildren,eithershowminimizingorheighteningemotionexpressiveness(Bretherton,1990; Cassidy,1994).Insecurechildrenwhoshowasuppressionofemotionalexpressionseemtobeneutral,showinglessnegative vocalizationsduringseparationsorpleasureonreunions,thansecurechildren,exhibiting,preferably,self-orientedemotion regulationbehavioralstrategies,insteadofmother-orientedstrategies(Braungart&Stifer,1991;Cassidy,1994;Spangler& Grossmann,1993).Fromanattachmentpointofview,minimizingdistress,fear,sadnessoranger,mayhaveanadaptiveeffect, byreducingrejectionexperiencesandmaintainingsufﬁcientproximitytowardtheparents,inordertoguaranteeprotection (Bowlby,1973,1980).However,minimizingnegativeeffectmaybemaladaptiveinothersocialorproblem-solvingcontexts, wherecertainemotiondisplaysareexpected.

Ontheotherhand,insecurechildrencanalsoshowapatternofemotionalexpressionandregulationcharacterizedby heightenednegativeemotionalityandexaggeratedfearfulnesstowardnon-threateningstimuli.Thisbehavioralpatternmay alsobeanadaptivestrategyusedtoincreasetheprobabilityofgainingtheattentionofaninsufﬁcientlyorinconsistently availableparentiftruedangerappears(Main,Kaplan,&Cassidy,1985;Main,2000).However,thisemotionregulation strategymaybecomemaladaptiveifitinterfereswithexplorationorthreatenstheexistenceoftheattachmentrelationship (Bowlby,1973,1980).

4. Aimsofthestudy

Theobjectiveofthisworkwastostudytherelationshipsbetweenchildren’sattachment(securebasephenomenon)and emotionregulation(behavioralstrategiesandemotionalexpressiveness),duringdifferentsocial(motherconstrainedand involvedperiods)andsituational(fear,positiveaffectandfrustration/anger)contexts.Weexpectedthat:(1)securechildren wouldshowbehavioralstrategiesmorefrequently,duringmotherinvolvedperiods,thanduringconstrainedonesinallthree episodes,usingthecaregiverasa“safehaven”,whereprotectionandcomfortcanbefoundduringnegativeaffectepisodes (Bowlby,1969/1982)andasawayofmakingpositiveaffectepisodesmoreenjoyableandappealing,byincreasingarousaland mutualexpressionsofjoy(Bretherton,1990;Sroufe,1996).Ontheotherhand,insecurechildrenwouldshownosigniﬁcant differencesbetweenmotherconstrainedandinvolvedperiodsinthefrequencyofbehavioralstrategiesusedduringthe threeepisodes,sincetheyexhibit,preferably,self-orientedemotionregulationbehavioralstrategies,insteadof mother-orientedstrategies(Braungart&Stifer,1991;Cassidy,1994;Spangler&Grossmann,1993);(2)securechildrenwouldshow behavioralregulatorystrategiesmorefrequently,thaninsecureonesduringnegative(fear;frustration/anger)andpositive affectepisodes,sincesecureattachmentisassociatedwithopen,directandactiveexpressiontothemother,insteadof hidingnegativityfromtheparent,duringstressfulandpositiveaffectsituations(Bowlby,1969/1982;Bretherton,1990);

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(3)securechildrenwouldshowemotionalexpressions(positiveandnegative)significantlymoreoftenduringmother’s involvedperiods,thanconstrainedonesduringthethreeepisodes,sinceasensitiveandameliorativeresponseisexpected bytheattachmentfigure(Bretherton,1990;Cassidy,1994;Gross&Thompson,2007).Ontheotherhand,insecurechildren wouldshownosignificantdifferencesintheiremotionalexpressions,betweenmotherconstrainedandinvolvedperiods, duringthethreeepisodes,sinceanameliorativeresponseisnotexpectedbytheattachmentfigure;(4)insecurelyattached childrenwouldshowminimizingorheighteningemotionexpressivenessintermsoffrequencyofemotionalexpressions, whencomparedtosecurelyattachedones(Malatesta,Culver,Tesman, &Shepard,1989;Main,2000),duringthethree episodes.

5. Methods

5.1. Participants

Fifty-fivechild–motherdyads(27boysand28girls),allCaucasian,frombi-parentalfamiliesparticipatedinthestudy. Children’sagerangedfrom18to26monthsofage(M=21.35;SD=1.91).Twenty-sevenwerefirstbornand28hadsiblings. Theystartedattendingday-carebetween6and24months(M=7.53;SD=4.81)andspent7–11h(M=6.96;SD=2.64)at day-careeachweekday.Mothers’agerangedfrom25to43years(M=33.64;SD=4.10)andfathers’agefrom26to55years old(M=35.71;SD=5.73).Mothers’levelofeducationrangedfrom5to19years(M=14.87;SD=3.38)andfathers’from4 to19years(M=13.71;SD=3.60).Participantsrepresentedarangeofsocioeconomicstatusbackgrounds,asreflectedby parentaleducationandwererecruitedfrompublicandprivateday-carecenters.Allparticipantswerehealthyatthetime ofassessmentandtherewerenoprematurechildren.

5.2. Measures

ThisresearchwasconductedinaccordancewithAPAethicalstandardsinthetreatmentofthestudysample.

5.2.1. Emotionregulationparadigm:fear,positiveaffect,frustration/anger

Theemotionregulationparadigm(Diener&Mangelsdorf,1999a),measuredthebehavioralstrategiesandemotional expressivenessexhibitedbychildrenduringthreeepisodes:positiveaffect,fearandfrustration/anger,elicitedbythe pre-sentationofthreedifferenttoys.Eachepisodelastedfor6minandhadtwodistinctmomentswhichlasted3mineach: (1)motherconstrainedperiod(motherswereinstructedtorefrainfrominitiatinginteractionwiththeirchildren.Iftheir childrenmadebidsforattention,motherswereinstructedtorespondtothemwithbriefstatementsaboutthestimuli presentedineachepisode:“It’sthedinosaur/piano/bear”);(2)motherinvolvedperiod(motherswereinstructedtobeat easewiththechild and thetoy. Free behaviorwasallowed, whatevertheyfeltitwasappropriate, accordingtotheir sensitivity).

5.2.1.1. Emotionalstimuli.Allstimuliusedinthisworkwerepreviouslytestedinapilottest,whichshowedavarying emotionalintensityinmostchildren.Duringthefrustration/angerepisode,wepresentedchildrenwithamovableboxwith wheels,shapedintheformofayellowbear,whichcontainedcoloredlegopiecesinside.Aftertheexperimenterfeltthatthe childwasinvolvedwiththetoy(2minonaverage),theexperimentertookthetoyawayfirmlyandplaceditoutofreach butwithinthechild’ssight.Duringfearepisodes,adinosaurtoywithelementsofnovelty,unpredictabilityand intrusive-nesswasusedtoelicitfear.Finally,duringthepositiveaffectepisode,childrenweregivenatoypianothatplayedmusic andcreatedmusicalrhythms.Similarproceduresandtoyswereusedinotherstudies(Buss&Goldsmith,1998;Diener &Mangelsdorf,1999a;Grolnick,Bridges,&Connell,1996).Theemotionregulationepisodeswerevideotapedin differ-entdays,usuallyduringaperiodoftwoweeks,withaminimumoftwodaysapart,fromeachsession,inordertoavoid anyemotionalcontaminationfromoneepisodetotheotherandtoguaranteethateachepisodeonlyarousedone emo-tionatthetime.Theyallstartedatthesametime(18h30).Thetimechosentostarttheexperimentswaslateafternoon, because96%ofthemothersworkedoutsidethehomeandfinishtheirshiftaround17h00.Theepisodeswerevideotaped atthefamily’shouse,alwaysinthesameroom,thelivingroom,becauseitpresentitselfasthemostspaciousand neu-tralplaceofthehouse,withoutanyothertoysthatcouldserveasadistractionfromthestimuli.Alltheelectricdevices present(televisionset)wereturnedoffduringthesessionsandonlythechild,themotherandtwoexperimenterswere presentintheroom.Thestimuliwereplacedinthecenteroftheroom,toallowchildrentoexplorefreely.Thethree episodeswerecounter-balancedacrosssubjectsinordertocontrolanyordereffectovertheresults.Previousworkhas shownthattheemotionalmanipulationswereeffective,i.e.,thetargetemotionwasexpressedmorefrequentlyinthe correspondentepisode,thantheotheremotionsinasignificantway(Diener&Mangelsdorf,1999a;Roque&Veríssimo, 2011).

5.2.1.2. Childrenbehavioralstrategies. Nineteenbehavioral strategieswerecoded (seeDiener &Mangelsdorf,1999a,b): proximity/contactseekingtomother;directingmother;fusstomother;helpseeking;information seeking;social ref-erencing/lookstomother;engagementofmother;passivedisengagement;distractiontowardotherobject;leavetaking;

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avoidance;playing/exploring;resistance/control;labeling;problemsolving;proximitytostimulus;tensionrelease; self-soothing.Duringthecourseofourstudy,anothersetofbehaviorswasobserved,besidestheonesproposedbyDienerand Mangelsdorf(1999a,b).Thisonewascodedunderthenameof“stranger”,becauseitwascharacterizedbybehaviorsdirected atthestrangers(experimenters)intheroomduringthesessions.

Children’sbehavioralstrategieswerecodeddichotomouslyonanoccurrence/nonoccurrenceway,in15sintervals(1– occurrence;0–nonoccurrence).Each3minperiodhadtwelve15sintervals.Theresultsforeachstrategyweresummed foratotalscore.Thepossiblerangeforeachbehaviorwas0–12,foreach3minperiod.Ifanepisodewasterminatedbecause ofchilddistress,scoreswereproratedonthebasisofthenumberofintervalscompleted,bydividingthesumsofthescores bythenumberofintervalscompletedandmultiplying12(thetotalnumberofintervalspossible)(Diener&Mangelsdorf, 1999a).

5.2.1.3. Emotionalexpression. Thepredominantemotionshowedbychildrenduringthethreeepisodeswasalsocoded.Fear wasscoredwhenthechildexpressedatleastoneofthesefacialfeatures:eyebrowsraisedordrawntogether;eyeswide; mouthopen,cornersstraightback.Positiveaffectwasscoredwhenthechildsmiledorproducedapositivevocalization (laugh).Angerwascodedwhenthechildshowedatleastoneofthefollowing:browspulledbackdownortogether;raised cheeks;straightorangularmouthortightlips.Ascoreof“neutral”wasgivenwhenthechilddidnotexpressanyofthese emotionsandshowedaneutralexpression.Neutralscoreswerenotincludedintheanalysis.Thechild’squalityofemotion (positive;anger/frustration;fear;neutral)wascodedduringthe15sintervals.Ifthechildexpressedmorethanoneemotion duringthetimeintervalsusedforcoding,themostintenseemotionwascodedasthepredominantoneinascaleof1 (mildintensity)to3(extremelyintense)foreach15-sinterval.Extremelyintenseemotioncouldbeexpressedbyfacial affect,bodypostures,gesturesandmovementsorfullintensityvocalizations(e.g.,laughterforpositiveaffect;cryingor screamingfornegativeaffect).Lowintensityaffectseemedmildandwouldbemoreambiguousthanhighintensityone.To obtainemotionalexpressionscoresweaddedthenumberof15-sintervalseachchildexpressedfear,frustration/angerand positiveaffectasthepredominantemotion(Diener&Mangelsdorf,1999a).

Separatepairsofcoders,blindedtothehypotheses,codedthethreeepisodes.Inter-raterreliabilitywascalculatedusing Cohen’sKappasforbehavioralstrategies(fear=0.73;positiveaffect=0.84;frustration/anger=0.70)andemotional expres-sions(fear=0.70;positiveaffect=0.80;frustration/anger=0.78).Thiscodingsystemissimilartothoseusedinotherstudies ofchildrencopingstrategies(Buss&Goldsmith,1998;Calkins&Johnson,1998;Diener&Mangelsdorf,1999a;Parritz,1996).

5.2.2. AttachmentbehaviorQ-set(AQS)(version3.0)

TheAttachmentBehaviorQ-set(AQS)(Waters,1995)assessesthequalityofthechild’ssecurebasebehaviortowardthe motherorotherfiguresinanecologicallyvalidcontext,namely,thechildren’shome,duringaperiodof2h.The90itemsof thisinstrumentaredistributedonascaleof9points,rangingfrom“extremelycharacteristic”to“extremelyuncharacteristic”. Mothersbecameawareofthisworkthroughaninformedconsent,leftattheirchildren’sdaycare.TheAQShomevisitswere scheduledwiththemotherinatimeofdaywhenanyothermembersofthefamilyorfriendswerepresentathome.Thevisits wereconductedbytwoobserversthatweretrainednottodisturbinteractionsinprogressorinterfereindomesticroutines. Theobservers’agreementwasanalyzedthroughSpearmanBrowncorrelations(M=0.80).IndividualQ-sorts,resultedfrom ameanbetweenthedescriptionsofthetwoobservers.Children’sfinalattachmentscorewasobtainedthroughaPearson correlationbetweenthechild’sindividualQ-sortandthesecuritycriterionvalueofthe“idealchild”(Waters,1995;Waters& Deane,1985).Thiscorrelationrepresentstheplaceoccupiedbychildrenonasecuritycontinuum.Thisvaluerangesbetween −1.0and1.0.Childrenwhoareabletousethemotherorotherfigureasasecurebasereceiveahighervalue,whiletheleast abletodoit,receivelowervalues.Inmostnormativesamples,securityscoresaverageabout0.35(Bost,2006).Thisstudy usestheAQSforchildattachment,insteadoftheStrangeSituation(Ainsworth,Blehar,Waters,&Wall,1978)procedure. Bothmeasuresareusedinthefieldandbothhaveprovedtobevalidmeasurestoaccessqualityofattachment.Thevalidity oftheAQSusingobservers,butnotself-reported,hasbeenclearlyconfirmedinameta-analysis(vanIJzendoorn,Vereijken, Bakermans-Kranenburg,&Riksen-Walraven,2004)anditwasincludedinthesamecategory,intermsofquality,asthat oftheStrangeSituation.PreviousstudieswithPortuguesesamplessupportedtheutilityandvalidityoftheAQSinthe Portugueseculture(Veríssimo,Monteiro,Vaughn,Santos,&Waters,2005;Veríssimo,Monteiro,&Santos,2006).Also,and veryimportant,theStrangeSituationisnotrecommendedfortheagelevelofourparticipants(Ainsworthetal.,1978).

6. Results

6.1. Preliminaryanalyses

Nosigniﬁcantchildgenderdifferenceswerefoundinchildattachment(Mboys=0.43,SD=0.26;Mgirls=0.49,SD=0.27; t(53)=0.78,p>0.05)andinemotionregulationstrategies(F(1,53)=0.00,p>0.05).

6.2. Relationshipsbetweenchildren’sattachment(AQS)andemotionregulationbehavioralstrategies

Children’s19behavioralstrategiesduringmotherconstrainedandinvolvedperiods,inepisodesoffear,positiveaffect andfrustration/angerwerethedependentvariables,andchildren’sattachmentwastheindependentvariable.Arepeated

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Table1

Meansandstandarderrorsforchildren’semotionregulationbehavioralstrategies,asfunctionofchildren’sattachmentsecurity,maternalbehaviorand episode.

Children’sattachment Episode Mothers’condition M SE

Secure(n=40) Fear Constrained 1.82 0.10

Involved 2.34 0.08

Positiveaffect Constrained 2.78 0.08

Involved 3.00 0.08

Frustration/anger Constrained 2.64 0.13

Involved 2.74 0.11

Insecure(n=15) Fear Constrained 1.76 0.16

Involved 2.23 0.13

Positiveaffect Constrained 2.58 0.13

Involved 2.57 0.14

Frustration/anger Constrained 2.34 0.22

Involved 2.96 0.18

measuresMANOVAwasundertakenandthreewithin-subjecteffectslevelswereused:episode(fear,positiveaffect,and

frustration/anger);maternalcondition(constrainedandinvolved)and19emotionregulationbehavioralstrategies. For

useasabetween-subjectsfactor,children’sattachmentsecurity(AQS)wasdichotomized.Theparticipantsweregrouped

accordingtotheirscoresontheAQS,intoparticipantswithsecure(score≥0.35)vs.insecure (score<0.35)attachment

(Bost,2006).Resultsrevealedsigniﬁcantmaineffectsforepisode(F(2,106)=26.38,p<0.001);maternalcondition(F(1, 53)=25.56,p<0.001)andbehavioralstrategies(F(18,954)=129.18,p<0.001).Mostimportantly,asigniﬁcantinteraction episodexmaternalcondition×attachmentwasfound(F(2,106)=3.70,p<0.05).

Plannedcontrastestimatesanalysesrevealedthatduringfearepisodes,childrenwithsecureattachment(seeTable1), showedbehavioralstrategiessignificantlymoreoftenduringmotherinvolvedperiods,thanduringmotherconstrainedones (t(53)=5.11,p<0.001).Duringpositiveaffectepisodes,securechildrenalsoexhibitedbehavioralstrategiessignificantly moreoftenwhentheirmothersbehaviorwasinvolved,thanwhenitwasconstrained(t(53)=2.41,p<0.05).During frustra-tion/angerepisodes,securechildrendidnotshowsignificantdifferencesbetweenmotherconstrainedandinvolvedperiods. Duringmotherconstrainedperiods,securechildren(seeTable1)engagedinbehavioralstrategiessignificantlymoreoften duringfrustration/angerandpositiveaffectepisodes,thanduringfearepisodes(t(53)=5.49,p<0.001;t(53)=8.32,p<0.001, respectively).Nosignificantdifferenceswerefoundbetweenfrustration/angerandpositiveaffectepisodes.Duringmother involvedperiods,securechildren(seeTable2)exhibitedbehavioralstrategiessignificantlymoreoftenduringpositiveaffect andfrustration/angerepisodes,thanduringfearsituations(t(53)=6.65,p<0.001;t(51)=2.71,p=0.01,respectively).

Table2

Meansandstandarderrorsforchildren’semotionalexpressions,asfunctionofchildren’sattachmentsecurity,maternalconditionandepisode. Children’sattachment Episode Children’semotionalexpression Mothers’condition

Constrained Involved

M SE M SE

Secure(n=40) Fear Positive 3.07 0.74 4.66 0.77

Frustration/anger 0.13 0.12 0.48 0.19

Fear 7.04 0.82 6.19 0.74

Total 3.41 0.20 3.78 0.13

Positiveaffect Positive 3.42 0.66 5.64 0.66

Frustration/anger 0.33 0.15 0.92 0.36 Fear 1.35 0.42 0.47 0.23 Total 1.70 0.21 2.34 0.21 Frustration/anger Positive 1.18 0.30 3.43 0.55 Frustration/anger 8.66 0.56 3.49 0.48 Fear 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total 3.28 0.15 2.31 0.18

Insecure(n=15) Fear Positive 3.87 1.21 4.13 1.25

Frustration/anger 0.40 0.20 0.13 0.31

Fear 5.67 1.35 6.82 1.21

Total 3.31 0.32 3.69 0.21

Positiveaffect Positive 5.79 1.08 6.29 1.08

Frustration/anger 0.33 0.25 1.53 0.58 Fear 1.13 0.68 0.00 0.00 Total 2.42 0.35 2.61 0.33 Frustration/anger Positive 0.00 0.00 4.60 0.89 Frustration/anger 10.00 0.91 2.49 0.79 Fear 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total 3.33 0.25 2.36 0.29

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Ontheotherhand,insecurechildren,duringfearepisodes(seeTable1)showedbehavioralstrategiessignificantlymore oftenduringmotherinvolvedperiods,thanduringmotherconstrainedones(t(53)=2.68,p=0.01).Duringfrustration/anger episodes,insecurechildrenalsoexhibitedbehavioralstrategiessignificantlymoreoftenwhenthemothers’behaviorwas involved,thanwhenitwasconstrained(t(53)=2.97,p<0.01).Nosignificantdifferenceswerefoundforpositiveaffect episodes.During mother constrained periods,insecurechildren (see Table1)engagedin behavioral strategies signifi-cantlymoreoftenduringpositiveaffectandfrustration/angerepisodes,thanduringfearepisodes(t(53)=4.38,p<0.001; t(53)=2.40,p<0.05,respectively).Nosignificantdifferenceswerefoundbetweenfrustration/angerandpositive affect episodes.Duringmotherinvolvedperiods,insecurechildren(seeTable1)exhibitedbehavioralstrategiessignificantlymore oftenduringfrustration/angerandpositiveaffectepisodes,thanduringfearones(t(53)=3.23,p<0.01;t(53)=2.22,p<0.05, respectively).

Nosignificantdifferenceswerefoundbetweensecureandinsecurechildren,eitherinfear,positiveaffector frustra-tion/angerepisodes,duringmotherconstrainedperiods(seeTable1).Ontheotherhand,duringmotherinvolvedperiods (seeTable1),securechildrenshowedstrategiessignificantlymoreoften,thaninsecureones,duringpositiveaffectepisodes (t(53)=2.65,p=0.01).Nosignificantdifferenceswerefoundforfearorfrustration/angerepisodes.

6.3. Relationshipsbetweenchildren’sattachment(AQS)andchildren’semotionalexpressiveness

Children’semotionalexpressionsoffear,positiveaffectandfrustration/angerduringmotherconstrainedandinvolved periods,inthethreeepisodeswerethedependentvariables, andchildren’sattachmentwastheindependentvariable. ArepeatedmeasuresMANOVAwasundertakenandthreewithin-subjecteffects levelswereused: episode;emotional expressions(fear,positiveaffectandfrustration/anger)andmaternalcondition.Children’sattachmentsecurity(AQS)was usedasbetween-subjecteffectsfactor.Resultsshowedsigniﬁcantmaineffectsforemotionalexpressions(F(2,106)=7.02, p=0.01)andepisode(F(2,106)=24.44,p<0.001).Mostimportantly,asigniﬁcantinteractionepisode×maternal condi-tion×emotionalexpressions×children’sattachmentsecuritywasfound(F(4,212)=3.30,p=0.01).

Plannedcontrastestimatesanalysesrevealedthatduringfearepisodes,securechildren(seeTable2)showedpositive affectexpressionssigniﬁcantlymoreoftenduringmotherinvolvedperiods,thanduringconstrainedones(t(53)=2.45, p<0.05).Nosigniﬁcantdifferencesinfrustration/angerorfearexpressionswerefoundbetweenthetwoperiods.

Duringpositiveaffectepisodes,securechildren(seeTable2)showedpositiveaffectexpressionssignificantlymoreoften whenthemothers’behaviorwasinvolved,thanwhenitwasconstrained(t(53)=4.01,p<0.01).Theyexpressedfear signifi-cantlymoreoftenduringmotherconstrainedperiods,thanduringmotherinvolvedones(t(53)=2.41,p<0.05).Nosignificant differencesbetweenthetwoperiodswerefoundforfrustration/angerexpressions.Intotal,duringpositiveaffectepisodes, securechildren(seeTable2)exhibitedemotionalexpressivenesssignificantlymoreoftenduringmotherinvolvedperiods, thanduringmotherconstrainedones(t(53)=2.89,p<0.01).

Duringfrustration/angerepisodes,securechildren(seeTable2)exhibitedpositiveaffectexpressionssignificantlymore oftenwhenthemothers’behaviorwasinvolved,thanwhenitwasconstrained(t(53)=3.59,p=0.01).Theyshowed frus-tration/angerexpressionssignificantlymoreoftenduringmotherconstrainedperiods,thanduringmotherinvolvedones(t (53)=7.02,p<0.001).Intotal,duringfrustration/angerepisodes,securechildren(seeTable2)exhibitedemotional expres-sionssignificantlymoreoftenduringmotherconstrainedperiods,thanduringthemotherinvolvedperiods(t(53)=4.61, p<0.001).

Ontheotherhand,insecurechildren(seeTable2),didnotshowanysignificantdifferencesintheiremotionalexpressions betweenmotherconstrainedandinvolvedperiods,eitherduringfearorpositiveaffectepisodes.Duringfrustration/anger episodes(see Table2),insecure children expressedpositive affectexpressionssignificantly moreoftenduringmother involved periods,than duringmother constrainedones(t (53)=4.48, p<0.001).Theyalso expressedfrustration/anger expressionssignificantlymoreoftenwhenthemothers’behaviorwasconstrained,thanwhenitwasinvolved(t(53)=6.25, p<0.001).Nosignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwoperiodswerefoundforfearexpressions.

7. Discussion

Toddlers’behavioralstrategiesdifferedasafunctionofsituational(episodes),andsocial(maternalinvolvement) con-texts but, mostimportantly, as a function of an interaction involvingchildren’s attachment quality. When it comes to maternal involvement, during fear episodes, both secure and insecure children increased their behavioral strate-gies’ frequency when theirmotherswere involved.This findingis consistentwithBowlby’s (1969/1982)perspective. According to the author, proximity behaviors and physical contact with the attachment figure are exhibited, par-ticularly, during stressful or dangerous situations, when the caregiver is used as a “safe haven”, where protection and comfort canbefound(Ainsworth,1967; Ainsworthet al.,1978; Bowlby,1969/1982).During positive affect con-texts, when the possibility for increasing emotional proximity to the mother through play is possible, only secure children, not insecure ones,showed behavioral strategies significantly more often when themothers’ behavior was involved. During frustration/anger contexts, when children’s gratification is delayed and dependenton the mothers’ involvement, secure children showed no significantdifferences between the constrained and involved periods. This might have happened due to the existence of a positive working model of the attachment figure in secure chil-dren, based on past experiences duringwhich themothers’ active participationand intervention wasbeneficial and

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helped children to regulate theiremotionsand accomplishtheir goals(Ainsworth et al., 1978; Bowlby,1973, 1980; Waters,Vaughn,Posada,&Kondo-Ikemura,1995).On theopposite,insecure children havenot developed aninternal workingmodel based on themothers’ sensitive help and, therefore, must increase their strategies to call the care-givers’attentiontotheirneedswhentheybecameinvolved(Ainsworthetal.,1978;Bowlby,1973,1980;Watersetal., 1995).

Whenitcomestosituationalcontexts,bothsecureandinsecurechildrenengagedinbehavioralstrategiessignificantly moreoftenduringfrustration/angerandpositiveaffectepisodes,thanduringfearfulones,bothwhentheirmothers’behavior wasconstrainedorinvolved.Inbothpositiveaffectandfrustration/angerepisodes,thestimuliweredesirableobjectsto play(apianowithmusicalsoundsandlegos,respectively),whichpromotedapproachbehaviors.Itmighthavebeenthat thedesiretoplaywiththestimulusduringthepositiveaffectepisodesandthemotivationtoobtaintheobjectduringthe frustration/angersituations,madechildrentrymorebehavioralstrategiesinordertoaccomplishtheirimmediategoals andregulatethemselves.Ontheotherhand,duringfearepisodes,childrenexhibitedbehavioralstrategies,significantlyless often,probablybecausethestimuluswastoothreateningtopromoteanyapproachbehaviors.Finally,securelyattached childrenexhibitedbehavioralstrategiessignificantlymoreoftenduringpositiveaffectcontexts,thaninsecurelyattached ones,onlywhenthemothers’behaviorwasinvolved.Nosignificantdifferenceswerefoundforfearorfrustration/anger episodes,whichsuggeststhatsecurechildrenonlyexhibitmorebehavioralstrategiesthaninsecureones,duringspecific contextsandnotinall,asitwasexpected.Duringnegativeemotionalcontexts,secureandinsecurechildrenseemedtouse themothers’involvementinthesameway,asa“safehaven”,whereprotectionfordanger(fearepisodes)orcomfortfrom distress(frustration/angerepisodes)canbefound.However,differencesemergeinpositiveaffectcontexts,wheredistress isnotpresent,butratherthepossibilitytoincreaseemotionalproximity,throughplay.Thisfindingisalsoconsistentwith

Bowlby’swork(1969/1982),whichpostulatesthatattachmentrelationshipisaregulatorybehavioralsystemcharacterized notonlybya“havenofsafety”,butalsobytheformationofalovingbond,characterizedbythecapacity toseekand sustainemotionalproximitybybothpartnersduringpositiveaffectemotionalcontexts.SimilartoDienerandMangelsdorf’s work(1999a),themotherconstrainedandinvolvedperiodswerenotcounterbalanced,sinceduringpilottesting,maternal involvementseemedtochangechildren’semotionalinterpretationofthestimuli,particularly,duringfearepisodes,which isalimitationinthisstudy.

Children’semotionalexpressionsdifferedasfunctionofaninteractioninvolvingsituationalcontext,maternal involve-mentandchildren’sattachmentsecurity.Inparticular,securechildrenshowedemotionalexpressions(positiveandnegative) significantlymoreoftenwhentheirmothers’behaviorwasinvolved,duringpositiveaffectcontexts.Securechildrenmight haveusedemotionalexpressivenessduringmotherinvolvedperiods,asawaytosignaltheirmothersabouttheirintention toplayorapproachthetoystogetherandnotalone.Infact,secureattachmentischaracterizedbyanactiveparticipationof bothpartnersduringtasksandadesireforemotionalproximity(Bowlby,1969/1982,1973,1980).However,during frustra-tion/angerepisodessecurechildrenexhibitedemotionalexpressions(positiveandnegative)significantlymoreoftenwhen themotherwasconstrainedandnotinvolved,probably,becauseinteractiveplaycouldonlybeachievedbyfirstsignaling themotherstogetinvolvedandretrievethetoy.Thissignalingmighthavebeendonethroughemotionalexpressiveness. Infact,Cassidy(1994),Bretherton(1990)andStern(1985),mentiontheuseofopen,directandactiveexpressioninsecure children,asawaytosendandreceivesignalsunrestrictedly,insteadofhidingitfromtheparent.Thisopencommunication styleoccursinsecurechildrenbecause,unlikeinsecurechildren,asensitiveandameliorativeresponseisexpectedbythe attachmentfigure(Cassidy,2008).Securechildrenalsoshowedsignificantlymorepositiveaffectexpressionswhentheir mothers’behaviorwasinvolved,independentlyoftheemotionalcontextexperienced,eitherpositiveornegative(fear, frustration/angerepisodes).ThisfindingisconsistentwithThompson(1994)andGrossandThompson(2007)perspective, whichdefendsthatemotionregulationinvolvesnotjusttheinhibitionofnegativeaffect,butalsothemaintenanceand enhancementofpositiveaffect.

Ontheotherhand,insecurechildrenshowednosigniﬁcantdifferencesintheiremotionalexpressions,betweenmother constrainedandinvolved periods,duringfearorpositiveaffectepisodes,exceptduringfrustration/angerones.During fearandpositiveaffectcontexts,themothers’involvementseemedindifferentinchanginginsecurechildren’semotional expressions.OurresultsareconsistentwithLutkenhaus,Grossmann,and Grossmann(1985);SpanglerandGrossmann (1993)andMalatestaetal.(1989),whereinsecureavoidantchildrenshowedaminimizingemotionexpressionstyle.In contrasttotheStrangeSituationprocedure,theAQSdoesnotpresentadifferentiationbetweeninsecureavoidantand insecureambivalentchildren,which isalimitationin thisstudy.In thefutureitwould beinterestingtoreplicatethis studyusingtheStrangeSituationandcompareitwiththeresultsofthiswork.Finally,infrustration/angercontexts,during themothers’involvementperiods,insecurechildrenshowedsigniﬁcantlylessexpressionsoffrustration/angerandmore expressionsofpositiveaffect.Inthiscontext,insecurechildrenmighthaveperceivedmothers’involvementnotasa possi-bilityforemotionalproximity,butasaninstrumentalwaytoachievetheirgoaland,consequently,reducetheirfrustration levels.

7.1. Futureresearch

Infutureresearchitisimportanttoexplorepossibleinteractionsbetweenattachmentandchildren’sinternalprocesses (temperament,biologicalsystems),inthestudyofemotionregulationduringtheﬁrstyearsoflife.

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Conﬂictofintereststatement

Allauthorsdeclarethattheyhavenoconﬂictsofinterest.

Acknowledgments

Theauthorswishtothankallthechildren,familiesandinstitutionswhoparticipateinthisstudy.Thisworkwassupported inpartbygrantsfromFundac¸ãoparaaCiênciaeTecnologia(FCT)toI&DUnitNo.332/94andSFRH/BD/23365/2005.FCThad nofurtherroleinstudydesign;inthecollection,analysisandinterpretationofdata;inthewritingofthereportandinthe decisiontosubmitthepaperforpublication.WearealsogratefultoallthecolleaguesfromUIPCDE(Line1–Developmental Psychology)fortheirvaluablecomments,in particularFilipaSilva,LigiaMonteiro,NunoTorres, OrlandoSantos,Paula MachadoandTeresaRolãofortheirtechnicalassistanceinscoringthedata.

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