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The expression and regulation of anger in toddlers: relations to maternal behavior and mental representations.
Infant Behav Dev. 2011 Apr; 34(2):310-20.IB

Abstract

Anger is an intense and adaptive approach emotion that undergoes significant development during the toddler years. We assessed the expression of anger and the strategies toddlers use to regulate it in relation to maternal behavior and mental representations. Seventy-four toddlers were observed in three anger-eliciting paradigms: toy removal (TR), still-face (SF), and delayed gratification (DG). Anger expression and three clusters of regulatory behaviors were micro-coded: putative regulatory behaviors, attention manipulation, and play behaviors. Maternal relational style was coded for sensitivity and intrusiveness, and mental representations of the mother-child relationship were assessed for joy and anger. Children expressed the most anger during the TR, less during the SF, and minimally during the DG. Use of putative regulatory behaviors was highest during the SF, whereas during the TR children employed newly acquired skills, such as focused attention and substitutive play, in the service of anger regulation. Anger expression and regulation were differentially related to the negative and positive components in the mother's behavior and representations, and maternal intrusiveness moderated the relations between angry representations and the degree of child anger during the SF. Results are consistent with dynamic models of emotions and accord with perspectives that emphasize the role of sensitive parenting in facilitating emotion regulation.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Feldman R
Department of Psychology, The Gonda Brain Sciences Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. feldman@mail.biu.ac.il
Dollberg D
No affiliation info available
Nadam R
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultAngerAttentionChild, PreschoolCluster AnalysisEmotionsFacial ExpressionFemaleHumansMaleMaternal BehaviorMother-Child RelationsPlay and PlaythingsTime Factors

Pub Type(s)

Comparative Study
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

21388688

Citation

Feldman, Ruth, et al. "The Expression and Regulation of Anger in Toddlers: Relations to Maternal Behavior and Mental Representations." Infant Behavior & Development, vol. 34, no. 2, 2011, pp. 310-20.
Feldman R, Dollberg D, Nadam R. The expression and regulation of anger in toddlers: relations to maternal behavior and mental representations. Infant Behav Dev. 2011;34(2):310-20.
Feldman, R., Dollberg, D., & Nadam, R. (2011). The expression and regulation of anger in toddlers: relations to maternal behavior and mental representations. Infant Behavior & Development, 34(2), 310-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2011.02.001
Feldman R, Dollberg D, Nadam R. The Expression and Regulation of Anger in Toddlers: Relations to Maternal Behavior and Mental Representations. Infant Behav Dev. 2011;34(2):310-20. PubMed PMID: 21388688.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - The expression and regulation of anger in toddlers: relations to maternal behavior and mental representations. AU - Feldman,Ruth, AU - Dollberg,Daphna, AU - Nadam,Roni, Y1 - 2011/03/09/ PY - 2010/06/16/received PY - 2010/11/11/revised PY - 2011/02/01/accepted PY - 2011/3/11/entrez PY - 2011/3/11/pubmed PY - 2012/5/30/medline SP - 310 EP - 20 JF - Infant behavior & development JO - Infant Behav Dev VL - 34 IS - 2 N2 - Anger is an intense and adaptive approach emotion that undergoes significant development during the toddler years. We assessed the expression of anger and the strategies toddlers use to regulate it in relation to maternal behavior and mental representations. Seventy-four toddlers were observed in three anger-eliciting paradigms: toy removal (TR), still-face (SF), and delayed gratification (DG). Anger expression and three clusters of regulatory behaviors were micro-coded: putative regulatory behaviors, attention manipulation, and play behaviors. Maternal relational style was coded for sensitivity and intrusiveness, and mental representations of the mother-child relationship were assessed for joy and anger. Children expressed the most anger during the TR, less during the SF, and minimally during the DG. Use of putative regulatory behaviors was highest during the SF, whereas during the TR children employed newly acquired skills, such as focused attention and substitutive play, in the service of anger regulation. Anger expression and regulation were differentially related to the negative and positive components in the mother's behavior and representations, and maternal intrusiveness moderated the relations between angry representations and the degree of child anger during the SF. Results are consistent with dynamic models of emotions and accord with perspectives that emphasize the role of sensitive parenting in facilitating emotion regulation. SN - 1934-8800 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/21388688/The_expression_and_regulation_of_anger_in_toddlers:_relations_to_maternal_behavior_and_mental_representations_ L2 - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0163-6383(11)00023-3 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -