Emotion Management in Children with Anxiety Disorders: A

259 Pages·2016·5.96 MB·English

The University of Maine
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Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library
8-2003
Emotion Management in Children with Anxiety
Disorders: A Focus on the Role of Emotion-related
Socialization Processes
Cynthia M. Suveg
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Suveg, Cynthia M., "Emotion Management in Children with Anxiety Disorders: A Focus on the Role of Emotion-related Socialization
Processes" (2003).Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 49.
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EMOTION MANAGEMENT IN CHILDREN WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS:
A FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF EMOTION-RELATED
SOCIALIZATION PROCESSES
BY
Cynthia M. Suveg
B.S. The Pennsylvania State University, 1998
A THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(in Psychology)
The Graduate School
The University of Maine
August, 2003
Advisory Committee:
Janice Zeman, Associate Professor of Psychology, Advisor
Cynthia Erdley, Associate Professor of Psychology
Geoffrey Thorpe, Professor of Psychology
Cristin Sullivan, Clinical Psychologist, Developmental Pediatrics
Michele Alexander, Assistant Professor of Psychology
EMOTION MANAGEMENT IN CHILDREN WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS:
A FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF EMOTION-RELATED
SOCIALIZATION PRACTICES
By Cynthia Suveg
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Janice Zeman
An Abstract of the Thesis Presented
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
(in Psychology)
August, 2003
This study examined emotion management skills in anxious children and their
mothers and investigated factors within the child and the parent, and the child-parent
relationship that may relate to the development of adaptive emotion management. Three
methods of emotion socialization were examined: parental reactions to children's
emotions, discussion of emotion, and family expressivity. Children ages 8-1 1 years old
were first screened for anxious syrnptomatology in their classrooms within the public
school system. Children who scored in the clinical range on the self-report measure were
then administered a semi-structured diagnostic interview. Those who met criteria for an
anxiety disorder were included in the study. A total of 12 anxious boys and 13 anxious
girls and their mothers, and a control group matched for sex and age, participated in the
study.
Children were administered a variety of questionnaires that assessed their emotion
management abilities, goals for emotion management, and perceptions of the family
emotional and social climate. Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed their own
emotional expressivity, view of their child's emotion regulatory abilities, and perceptions
of the family emotional and social climate. Children and their mothers also participated
in an emotion-discussion task, in which they discussed a time the child felt negative
emotions.
Data were analyzed using simple correlational, regression, and Multivariate
(MANOVA) techniques. Overall, results indicated that anxious children have difficulty
managing emotionally evocative experiences and that their difficulties in modulating the
intensity of emotional experience and a lack of self-efficacy should be considered as
factors that may produce, maintain, andlor exacerbate anxiety. Mothers of anxious
children did not indicate more maladaptive emotion management than mothers of control
children and there were no significant correlations between children's and mothers'
patterns of emotion management. This study revealed a theme of control in families with
an anxious child with respect to truncated emotional expression, mothers' reports of
controlling behaviors, and observation of mothers' behavior during an emotion
discussion task. The implications of these results to the treatment of childhood anxiety
are discussed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to especially thank Michael Cassano, Mechelle Ganglfinger, April
Nesin, and Sheri Stegall, who extensive assistance with data collection and coding made
this project possible. I would also like to acknowledge the undergraduate research
assistants for their dedication and willingness to work extra hours when needed.
Recruiting participants for this project was extremely challenging - I greatly appreciated
the willingness of participating school personnel to first learn about my project and then
allow me to conduct screenings in their schools. Thank you to my committee for their
constructive feedback on this project. I extend a special thanks to my graduate school
mentor, Janice Zeman, whose approach to guidance and teaching has truly been
exemplary. Lastly, I bestow my deepest gratitude to my family for their steady support
throughout this challenging, yet gratifying, endeavor.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
..
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .. .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. .. .. . . .. . .. . .. .. . . . . .. . . . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . .. .
..ii
LIST OF TABLES. .. .. . .. . .. . . . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . vi
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION.. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... I
Childhood Anxiety.. . .. . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . . . . . .. . .. . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . . . .. . .. . . .. 4
Theoretical Rationale.. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..8
Methods of Emotion Socialization.. . .. .. . . . .. .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 12
Development of Emotion Management Skills:
The Role of Socialization.. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . . .. . . . . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. 15
Parental Socialization of Emotion: Parental Reactions to
Children's Emotions.. .. . . . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . .. 16
Normative Populations.. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Anxious Populations.. .. .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .23
Parental Socialization of Emotion: Discussion of
Emotion.. . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. - 27
Normative Populations. .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
,
Anxious Populations.. . .. . .. . . . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. . .32
Parental Socialization of Emotion: Family
Expressiveness.. . . .. . . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . 35
Normative Populations.. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5
Anxious Populations.. .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . - 39
Gender Differences in Emotion Socialization Practices ............4 1
..................................................................
The Present Study 45
Contributions of the Present Study. ...................................4 5
................................................................
Hypotheses 47
Parental Reactions to Children's Emotions ..................4 7
Discussion of Emotion ......................................... 49
Family Expressiveness ........................................5. 0
Emotion Management. ......................................... 51
...................................................................................
METHOD 54
. .
........................................................................
Participants 54
Child Measures ....................................................................5 7
.........................................................
Psychopathology 57
...................................................
Emotion Management 62
Family Expressiveness/Beliefs about Emotion Management ....... 64
. .
Intellectual Functioning ................................................- 67
..................................................................
Mother Measures 67
Demographic Information ..............................................6 7
Maternal Psychopathology ............................................. 68
Child Psychopathology. ................................................6 8
Emotion Management ................................................... 69
Family Expressiveness/Beliefs about Emotion Management ......7 0
Socialization of Emotion Management. .............................. 72
Intellectual Functioning ..................................................7 3
Procedure ..........................................................................7.4
. .
Initial Screen. ............................................................. 74
............................................................
Primary Study 76
3 . RESULTS ...................................................................................7 8
Parental Reactions to Children's Emotions ....................................7 8
Discussion of Emotion ............................................................8 5
...........................................................
Family Expressiveness .87
............................................................
Emotion Management 92
...........................................................................
4 . DISCUSSION.. 115
Parental Reactions to Children's Emotions ..................................1 15
Discussion of Emotion .........................................................1 18
.........................................................
Family Expressiveness 120
..........................................................
Emotion Management 123
.......................................................................
Limitations 128
Future Directions ...............................................................1 30
REFERENCES .................................................................................... 132
...................................................................................
APPENDICES -155
Appendix A: Parent Consent and Child Assent Forms ................... 155
Appendix B: Child Measures ...............................................1.6 3
.............................................
Appendix C: Mother Measures -191
...........................................
Appendix D: Coding Instructions 234
Appendix E: Diagnostic Criteria for Anxiety Disorders .................2 41
............................................................
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR 252
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 Number of Secondary DSM-IV Diagnoses for Anxious Children
By Sex.. ............................................................................ 56
Table 2.2 Means and Standard Deviations (in parentheses) for Descriptive
Variables As a Function of Diagnostic Group and Sex.. .................... 58
Table 3.1 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations (in parentheses) of
Children's Anticipated Consequences for Emotional Expression.. ....... 80
Table 3.2 Mothers' Mean Scores and Standard Deviations (in parentheses)
for Reactions to Children's Emotional Expressions. ..........................8 1
Table 3.3 Correlations Between Children's Expectations for Emotional
Expression and Emotion Management Decisions.. ............................ 83
Table 3.4 Correlations Between Mothers' Responses to Children's Emotional
Expression and Children's Emotion Management Decisions.. ............. 84
Table 3.5 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations (in parentheses) for
Child-Specific Aspects of the Emotion Discussion Task.. .................. 86
Table 3.6 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations (in parentheses) for
Mother-Specific Aspects of the Emotion Discussion Task.. ............... .87
Table 3.7 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations (in parentheses) of
Children's Perceptions of Maternal Warmth, Rejections, and
Overprotection.. ................................................................. ..88
Table 3.8 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations (in parentheses) of
Children's Perceptions of Family Expressiveness as Assessed by
the FEQ.. ..........................................................................9..0
vii
Table 3.9 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations (in parentheses) of
Mothers' Perceptions of Family Expressivity as Assessed
By the FEQ.. .....................................................................- 91
Table 3.10 Summary of Regression Analyses for Child and Mother
Variables Predicting Child Worry Management for the Anxious
Group.. ............................................................................. 93
Table 3.1 1 Summary of Regression Analyses for Child and Mother
Variables Predicting Child Anger Management for the Anxious
Group. .............................................................................- 94
Table 3.12 Summary of Regression Analyses for Child and Mother
Variables Predicting Child Sadness Management for the Anxious
Group. ............................................................................. -95
Table 3.13 Summary of Regression Analyses for Child and Mother
Variables Predicting Child Worry Management for the Control
Group. .............................................................................- 96
Table 3.1 4 Summary of Regression Analyses for Child and Mother
Variables Predicting Child Anger Management for the Control
Group.. ............................................................................. 97
Table 3.15 Summary of Regression Analyses for Child and Mother
Variables Predicting Child Sadness Management for the Control
Group. .............................................................................- 98
Table 3.16 Means and Standard Deviations (in parentheses) of Children's
Levels of Emotion Intensity by Emotion Type.. ........................... .I00