White and Black parents' emotion coaching beliefs: Differential associations with preschooler's behavioral problem tendencies.

Parents' emotion coaching beliefs, a validated construct in majority White samples emphasizing the value of expressing and teaching about emotion, generally predict positive outcomes among White children. However, a racially and culturally sensitive emotion socialization model suggests a need for further understanding of this construct and potential differential outcomes among different racial groups. This study investigated three-way interactions among parental emotion coaching beliefs, toddlers' baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and child race (Black or White), in predicting preschoolers' behavioral problem tendencies 1 year later. Participants included 204 children (140 White and 64 Black) and their families, recruited from low-income, rural areas. When children were 2, child baseline RSA was collected, and both parents answered questionnaires concerning their emotion coaching beliefs. When children were 3, mothers answered questions about child behavioral problem tendencies. Path analyses revealed a three-way interaction among paternal emotion coaching beliefs, child baseline RSA, and race, in predicting child internalizing tendencies 1 year later. In particular, among Black children, paternal emotion coaching beliefs showed a double-edged effect. It predicted lower internalizing tendencies when child baseline RSA was low, but higher internalizing tendencies when child baseline RSA was high. These associations were not found among White children. Maternal emotion coaching beliefs predicted lower internalizing tendencies regardless of child race and RSA. Findings were discussed in the context of an expanded emotion socialization model, with significant implications for furthering conceptualization and clinical practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Maternal emotion coaching styles in the context of maternal depressive symptoms: Associations with preschoolers' emotion regulation.

This study examined the interplay between maternal depressive symptoms and emotion coaching in predicting preschoolers' emotion regulation skills. Participants included 126 preschoolers and their mothers, assessed at two time points, when children were 3 (T1) and 4 (T2). Mothers' coaching of sadness and anger was observationally assessed in a laboratory task at T1 under two categories, high and low elaborative styles of emotion coaching. Mothers also reported their depressive symptoms at T1. Children's emotion regulation was observed in laboratory tasks eliciting sadness and anger at T1 and T2. Path analyses revealed three-way interactions among maternal depressive symptoms, low elaborative emotion coaching, and high elaborative emotion coaching in predicting preschoolers' emotion regulation in both sadness- and anger-eliciting tasks 1 year later. Maternal low elaborative emotion coaching of sadness reduced children's focus on distress in the sadness-eliciting task only when mothers showed high depressive symptoms and used little high elaborative emotion coaching. In contrast, maternal low elaborative emotion coaching of sadness and anger predicted maladaptive child emotion regulation in both sadness- and anger-eliciting tasks, respectively, when mothers were depressed or used greater high elaborative emotion coaching. Findings highlight the importance of considering different types of maternal emotion coaching language styles in the context of maternal depression and have implications for intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Dynamic, bidirectional influences of children's emotions and maternal regulatory strategies.

The current study examined temporal associations between child emotion and maternal regulatory strategies in mother-child dyads. One hundred and 30 mothers and their 5-year-old children (46.1% boys) completed a challenging puzzle task, which was videotaped. Child positive and negative emotion as well as mothers' regulatory strategies including problem solving, providing approval, and comforting, were coded on a second-by-second basis from the videos. Multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to examine how maternal behaviors at a given time predicted the within-dyad variations of child positive and negative emotion 2 seconds later, controlling for the child's own prior emotion, as well as child emotion predicting subsequent maternal behaviors 2 seconds later, controlling for mothers' prior behaviors. In all models, child sex and negative emotionality as well as maternal depressive symptoms were included as between-dyad predictors, whereas maternal race and education were included as covariates. Results suggested that maternal approval and problem solving predicted within-dyad variation in subsequent child positive emotion. Both child positive and negative emotion was predictive of the within-dyad variation in mothers' subsequent use of strategies. Maternal depressive symptoms moderated the relations between prior and subsequent strategy uses for all three maternal behaviors. Our findings indicated that child emotion regulates, and is regulated by, maternal regulatory strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A naturalistic study of parental emotion socialization: Unique contributions of fathers.

The socialization of emotion in preschool-aged children is an important developmental task, which is associated with a number of socioemotional outcomes. This study examined the contribution of both fathers' and mothers' emotion coaching to their 3- to 4-year-old children's emotion socialization. Two time points of data were collected for 69 families. We employed a time sampling observational method to capture the emotion socialization process in the naturalistic home environment. Fathers' and mothers' emotion coaching and expression, as well as children's emotion expression, were assessed at home using an audio recording device. Children's emotion expressions were also captured during an emotion eliciting task in a lab setting 1 year later. Regression analyses revealed that children of more positively expressive fathers also showed more positive emotion expression concurrently. Paternal emotion coaching, but not maternal emotion coaching, was predictive of children's increased positive expression in the lab 1 year later. This study provides evidence for unique contributions of fathers, above and beyond mothers, to the emotion socialization outcomes of their children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Accuracy and precision of the signs and symptoms of streptococcal pharyngitis in children: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review to determine whether clinical findings can be used to rule in or to rule out streptococcal pharyngitis in children. STUDY DESIGN: Two authors independently searched MEDLINE and EMBASE. We included articles if they contained data on the accuracy of symptoms or signs of streptococcal pharyngitis, individually or combined into prediction rules, in children 3-18 years of age. RESULTS: Thirty-eight articles with data on individual symptoms and signs and 15 articles with data on prediction rules met all inclusion criteria. In children with sore throat, the presence of a scarlatiniform rash (likelihood ratio [LR], 3.91; 95% CI, 2.00-7.62), palatal petechiae (LR, 2.69; CI, 1.92-3.77), pharyngeal exudates (LR, 1.85; CI, 1.58-2.16), vomiting (LR, 1.79; CI, 1.58-2.16), and tender cervical nodes (LR, 1.72; CI, 1.54-1.93) were moderately useful in identifying those with streptococcal pharyngitis. Nevertheless, no individual symptoms or signs were effective in ruling in or ruling out streptococcal pharyngitis. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms and signs, either individually or combined into prediction rules, cannot be used to definitively diagnose or rule out streptococcal pharyngitis.

Pain management in young children undergoing diagnostic tympanocentesis.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the pain associated with diagnostic tympanocentesis and to gather preliminary data comparing the efficacy of 3 methods of pain reduction for tympanocentesis. METHODS: In children 6 to 36 months of age undergoing tympanocentesis for acute otitis media, the authors measured pain and distress throughout all phases of the procedure and recovery using physiological (heart rate) and behavioral measures (cry duration, Global Mood Scale score, and pain visual analog scales). They compared--in a randomized controlled trial--3 pain reduction interventions: acetaminophen, acetaminophen plus codeine, and ibuprofen plus midazolam. RESULTS: Heart rate increased throughout the procedure, peaking during needle aspiration. Children treated with acetaminophen alone had higher peak heart rates and Global Mood Scale scores during parts of the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Acetaminophen alone may not be as effective in reducing pain-related physiological and behavioral changes as acetaminophen plus codeine or ibuprofen plus midazolam during diagnostic tympanocentesis.