Top

Journal of Child and Family Studies

Gepubliceerd in:

26-05-2019 | Original Paper

Children’s and Parents’ Perceptions of Vulnerability as Weakness: Associations with Children’s Well-Being

Auteurs: Jessica L. Borelli, Patricia A. Smiley, Gerin Gaskin, Phoebe T. Pham, Meghan Kussman, Ben Shahar

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies | Uitgave 10/2019

Abstract

Objectives

The importance of vulnerability expression for well-being is a prominent theme in contemporary psychology, but empirical support for this claim is lacking, including evidence for the belief that males are less open to states of vulnerability than females, and that people who are more judgmental of vulnerability experience difficulties in emotion regulation, and psychological well-being. Robust theoretical perspectives (attachment theory, emotion socialization) hold that children’s views regarding vulnerability originate within the parent-child relationship; here we empirically examine parents’ and children’s views regarding vulnerability.

Methods

We explored school-aged children’s (8 to 12 years) and their parents’ (N = 121) meta-emotional distress regarding vulnerability, as well as their perceptions of experiencing vulnerability as weak or strong, and their affective and behavioral reactions to vulnerability. We also compared perceptions of physical versus emotional vulnerability.

Results

There were few gender differences in perceptions of vulnerability; however, children and parents evaluated physical vulnerability more favorably than emotional vulnerability. While meta-emotional distress to vulnerability was not consistently associated with emotion dysregulation or psychopathology, perceiving vulnerability as weak and as a reason to distance oneself, to not like the experiencer (children) or to discourage such expression (parents), were robustly associated with depressive symptoms and rejection sensitivity.

Conclusions

Building relationships in which expressions of vulnerability—especially emotional vulnerability (states of fear and sadness)—are accepted and perceived as a means of building emotional resilience comports with attachment theory and with emotion- and attachment-based therapy principles.

vorige artikel Schools as Change Agents in Reducing Bias and Discrimination: Shaping Behaviors and Attitudes

volgende artikel Shelter Versus Living with Abusive Partner: Differences Among Mothers and Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Adams, S., Kuebli, J., Boyle, P. A., Fivush, R. (1995). Gender differences in parent-child conversations about past emotions: a longitudinal investigation. Sex Roles, 33(5–6), 309–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01954572.CrossRef

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M., Waters, E., Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: observations in the strange situation and at home. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Auszra, L., Greenberg, L. S., Herrmann, I. (2013). Client emotional productivity—optimal client in-session emotional processing in experiential therapy. Psychotherapy Research, 23(6), 732–746. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2013.816882.CrossRefPubMed

Ayduk, O., Downey, G., Kim, M. (2001). Rejection sensitivity and depressive symptoms in women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(7), 868–877. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201277009.CrossRef

Barter, C., & Renold, E. (2000). “I wanna tell you a story”: exploring the application of vignettes in qualitative research with children and young people. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 3(4), 307–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570050178594.CrossRef

Borelli, J. L. (2019). The vulnerability vignettes: A method for probing children’s responses. Unpublished manuscript.

Borelli, J. L., Rasmussen, H. F., John, H. K. S., West, J. L., Piacentini, J. C. (2015). Parental reactivity and the link between parent and child anxiety symptoms. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(10), 3130–3144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0117-7.CrossRef

Borelli, J. L., West, J. L., Weekes, N. Y., Crowley, M. J. (2014). Dismissing child attachment and discordance for subjective and neuroendocrine responses to vulnerability. Developmental Psychobiology, 56(3), 584–591. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21107.CrossRefPubMed

Boulanger, J. L., Hayes, S. C., Pistorello, J. (2010). Experiential avoidance as a functional contextual concept. In A. Kring & D. Sloan (Eds), Emotion regulation and psychopathology. New York: Guilford.

Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: 2. Separation: anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: 3. Loss: sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books.

Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (1994). Measuring emotion: the self-assessment manikin and the semantic differential. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 25(1), 49–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7916(94)90063-9.CrossRefPubMed

Brody, L. R., & Hall, J. A. (2008). Gender and emotion in context. In M. Lewis, J. M. Haviland-Jones & L. F. Barrett (Eds), Handbook of emotions (pp. 395–408). New York, NY, USA: The Guilford Press.

Brown, B. (2006). Shame resilience theory: a grounded theory study on women and shame. Families in Society, 87(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.3483.CrossRef

Brown, B. (2012). Daring greatly: how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. London, UK: Penguin.

Brown, B. (2015). Rising strong: how the ability to reset transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. New York, NY: Random House.

Brown, T. A., Campbell, L. A., Lehman, C. L., Grisham, J. R., Mancill, R. B. (2001). Current and lifetime comorbidity of the DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders in a large clinical sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110(4), 585. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.110.4.585.CrossRefPubMed

Cassano, M., Perry‐Parrish, C., Zeman, J. (2007). Influence of gender on parental socialization of children’s sadness regulation. Social Development, 16(2), 210–231. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00381.x.CrossRef

Cassidy, J. (1994). Emotion regulation: influences of attachment relationships. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3), 228–249. https://doi.org/10.2307/1166148.CrossRefPubMed

Chaplin, T. M., & Aldao, A. (2013). Gender differences in emotion expression in children: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 139(4), 735. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030737.CrossRefPubMed

Corker, E., Brown, J., Henderson, C. (2016). How does self stigma differ across people with psychiatric diagnoses and rheumatoid arthritis, and how does it impact on self-esteem and empowerment? Psychology, Health and Medicine, 21(8), 993–1005. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2016.1139139.CrossRefPubMed

Corrigan, P. W., River, L. P., Lundin, R. K., Wasowski, K. U., Campion, J., Mathisen, J., & Kubiak, M. A. (2000). Stigmatizing attributions about mental illness. Journal of Community Psychology, 28(1), 91–102. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6629(200001)28:13.0.CO;2-M.CrossRef

Davis, E., Greenberger, E., Charles, S., Chen, C., Zhao, L., Dong, Q. (2012). Emotion experience and regulation in China and the United States: how do culture and gender shape emotion responding? International Journal of Psychology, 47(3), 230–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207594.2011.626043.CrossRefPubMed

Davis, T. L. (1995). Gender differences in masking negative emotions: ability or motivation? Developmental Psychology, 31(4), 660. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.31.4.660.CrossRef

Denham, S. A., Mitchell-Copeland, J., Strandberg, K., Auerbach, S., Blair, K. (1997). Parental contributions to preschoolers’ emotional competence: direct and indirect effects. Motivation and Emotion, 21(1), 65–86. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024426431247.CrossRef

Diamond, G., Diamond, G., Levy, S. (2014). Attachment-based family therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Diamond, G. M., Shahar, B., Sabo, D., Tsvieli, N. (2016). Attachment-based family therapy and emotion-focused therapy for unresolved anger: the role of productive emotional processing. Psychotherapy, 53(1), 34–44. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000025.CrossRefPubMed

Dolhanty, J., & Lafrance, A. (2019). Emotion-focused family therapy for eating disorders. In L. S. Greenberg & R. N. Goldman (Eds), Clinical handbook of emotion-focused therapy (pp. 403–423). Washington, DC, USA: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000112-018 CrossRef

Downey, G., Lebolt, A., Rincón, C., Freitas, A. L. (1998). Rejection sensitivity and children’s interpersonal difficulties. Child Development, 69(4), 1074–1091. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06161.x.CrossRefPubMed

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Carlo, G., Troyer, D., Speer, A. L., Karbon, M., Switzer, G. (1992). The relations of maternal practices and characteristics to children’s vicarious emotional responsiveness. Child Development, 63(3), 583–602. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131348.CrossRefPubMed

Elliott, R., & Shahar, B. (2019) Emotion-focused therapy for social anxiety. In L. S. Greenberg, & R. N. Goldman (Eds), Clinical handbook of emotion-focused therapy (pp. 337–360). Washington, DC, USA: American Psychological Association.CrossRef

Fishbein, J. E. (2011). Psychosomatics: a current overview. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 92, 197–219. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00389.CrossRef

Fivush, R., Brotman, M. A., Buckner, J. P., Goodman, S. H. (2000). Gender differences in parent–child emotion narratives. Sex Roles, 42(3–4), 233–253. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007091207068.CrossRef

Gadow, K. D., & Sprafkin, J. (2009). The symptom inventories: an annotated bibliography. Stony Brook, NY: Checkmate Plus.

Garside, R. B., & Klimes-Dougan, B. (2002). Socialization of discrete negative emotions: gender differences and links with psychological distress. Sex Roles, 47(3–4), 115–128. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021090904785.CrossRef

Gilbert, P. (1998). Shame and humiliation in the treatment of complex cases. In N. Tarrier, A. Wells, G. Haddock (Eds), Treating complex cases: The cognitive behavioural therapy approach. (pp. 241–271). Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.

Gilbert, P., & Procter, S. (2006). Compassionate mind training for people with high shame and self-criticism: Overview and pilot study of a group therapy approach. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 13(6), 353–379. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.507.CrossRef

Greenberg, L. S. (2015). Emotion-focused therapy: coaching clients to work through their feelings. 2nd edition (pp. 69–91). Washington, DC, USA: American Psychological Association.CrossRef

Greenberg, L. S., & Goldman, R. N. (2008). Emotion-focused couples therapy: the dynamics of emotion, love, and power. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRef

Greenberg, L. S., & Iwakabe, S. (2011). Emotion-focused therapy and shame. In R. L. Dearing & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Shame in the therapy hour (pp. 69–90). Washington, DC, USA: American Psychological Association.CrossRef

Greenberg, L. S., & Johnson, S. M. (1988). Emotionally focused therapy for couples. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Greenberg, L. S., & Paivio, S. C. (1997). Working with emotions in psychotherapy. New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.

Greenberg, L. S., & Watson, J. C. (2006). Emotion-focused therapy for depression. Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/11286-000. CrossRef

Hastings, P. D., Klimes-Dougan, B., Kendziora, K. T., Brand, A., Zahn-Waxler, C. (2014). Regulating sadness and fear from outside and within: mothers’ emotion socialization and adolescents’ parasympathetic regulation predict the development of internalizing difficulties. Development and Psychopathology, 26, 1369–1384. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579414001084.CrossRef

Hudson, J. A., Gebelt, J., Haviland, J., Bentivegna, C. (1992). Emotion and narrative structure in young children’s personal accounts. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 2(2), 129–150. https://doi.org/10.1075/jnlh.2.2.03emo.CrossRef

Johnson, S. M. (2004). The practice of emotionally focused couples therapy. New York, NY: Brunner Routledge.

Juvrud, J., & Rennels, J. L. (2017). “I don’t need help”: gender differences in how gender stereotypes predict help-seeking. Sex Roles, 76(1–2), 27–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0653-7.CrossRef

Kovacs, M. (1992). Children’s depression inventory manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

Kramer, U., Pascual-Leone, A., Despland, J., de Roten, Y. (2015). One minute of grief: emotional processing in short-term dynamic psychotherapy for adjustment disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(1), 187–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037979.CrossRefPubMed

Kring, A. M., & Gordon, A. H. (1998). Sex differences in emotion: expression, experience, and physiology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(3), 686. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.3.686.CrossRefPubMed

Kuebli, J., Butler, S., Fivush, R. (1995). Mother-child talk about past emotions: relations of maternal language and child gender over time. Cognition and Emotion, 9(2–3), 265–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939508409011.CrossRef

Kuebli, J., & Fivush, R. (1992). Gender differences in parent-child conversations about past emotions. Sex Roles, 27(11–12), 683–698. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02651097.CrossRef

Landa, A., Peterson, B. S., & Fallon, B. A. (2012). Somatoform pain: a developmental theory and translational research review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 74, 717–727.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Liew, J., Eisenberg, N., Losoya, S. H., Fabes, R. A., Guthrie, I. K., Murphy, B. C. (2003). Children’s physiological indices of empathy and their socioemotional adjustment: does caregivers’ expressivity matter? Journal of Family Psychology, 17(4), 584. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.17.4.584.CrossRefPubMed

Lindsey, E. W. (2016). Same-gender peer interaction and preschoolers’ gender-typed emotional expressiveness. Sex Roles, 75(5–6), 231–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0601-6.CrossRef

Luebbe, A. M., Kiel, E. J., Buss, K. A. (2011). Toddlers’ context-varying emotions, maternal responses to emotions, and internalizing behaviors. Emotion, 11(3), 697. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022994.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

March, J. S., Sullivan, K., Parker, J. (1999). Test-retest reliability of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 13(4), 349–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0887-6185(99)00009-2.CrossRefPubMed

McKinnon, J. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (2013). Revealing underlying vulnerable emotion in couple therapy: impact on session and final outcome. Journal of Family Therapy, 35(3), 303–319. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6427.12015.CrossRef

McKinnon, J. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (2017). Vulnerable emotional expression in emotion focused couples therapy: relating interactional processes to outcome. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(2), 198–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12229.CrossRefPubMed

Pascual-Leone, A., & Greenberg, L. S. (2007). Emotional processing in experiential therapy: why “the only way out is through. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(6), 875–887. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.75.6.875.CrossRefPubMed

Saylor, C. F., Finch, A. J., Spirito, A., Bennett, B. (1984). The children’s depression inventory: a systematic evaluation of psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52(6), 955. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.52.6.955.CrossRefPubMed

Schneider, W., Eschman, A., Zuccolotto, A. (2002). E-prime user’s guide. Pittsburgh: Psychology Software Tools Inc.

Shahar, B. (2014). Emotion-focused therapy for the treatment of social anxiety: an overview of the model and a case description. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 21(6), 536–547. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1853.CrossRef

Shahar, B., Doron, G., Szepsenwol, O. (2015). Childhood maltreatment, shame‐proneness and self‐criticism in social anxiety disorder: a sequential mediational model. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 22(6), 570–579. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1918.CrossRef

Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1995). The development of an emotion regulation assessment battery: Reliability and validity among at-risk grade-school children. Indianapolis, IN.

Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1997). Emotion regulation among school-age children: the development and validation of a new criterion Q-sort scale. Developmental Psychology, 33(6), 906. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.33.6.906.CrossRefPubMed

Sprafkin, J., Gadow, K. D., Salisbury, H., Schneider, J., Loney, J. (2002). Further evidence of reliability and validity of the child symptom inventory-4: parent checklist in clinically referred boys. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31(4), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15374424JCCP3104_10.CrossRefPubMed

Sroufe, L. A. (2005). Attachment and development: a prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood. Attachment & Human Development, 7, 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730500365928.CrossRef

Walden, T. A., Harris, V. S., Catron, T. F. (2003). How I feel: a self-report measure of emotional arousal and regulation for children. Psychological Assessment, 15(3), 399. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.15.3.399.CrossRefPubMed

Woldarsky Meneses, C., Greenberg, L. S. (2014). Interpersonal forgiveness in emotion-focused couples’ therapy: relating process to outcome. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 40(1), 49–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2012.00330.x.CrossRefPubMed

Wong, M. S., McElwain, N. L., Halberstadt, A. G. (2009). Parent, family, and child characteristics: associations with mother-and father-reported emotion socialization practices. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(4), 452. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015552.CrossRefPubMed

Zaman, W., & Fivush, R. (2013). Gender differences in elaborative parent–child emotion and play narratives. Sex Roles, 68(9–10), 591–604. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0270-7.CrossRef

Titel: Children’s and Parents’ Perceptions of Vulnerability as Weakness: Associations with Children’s Well-Being
Auteurs: Jessica L. Borelli
Patricia A. Smiley
Gerin Gaskin
Phoebe T. Pham
Meghan Kussman
Ben Shahar
Publicatiedatum: 26-05-2019
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies / Uitgave 10/2019
Print ISSN: 1062-1024
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2843
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01453-1

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 10/2019

A Model of Parenting Risk and Resilience, Social-Emotional Readiness, and Reading Achievement in Kindergarten Children from Low-Income Families Model

The Experiences of Male Partners of Women with Postnatal Mental Health Problems: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis

Parental Socialization Beliefs and Long-term Goals for Young Children Among Three Generations of Mexican American Mothers

Family Functioning and Not Family Structure Predicts Adolescents’ Reasoning and Math Skills

Parental Social Validity of the Mindfulness-Based OpenMind-Korea (OM-K) Preschool Program

Schools as Change Agents in Reducing Bias and Discrimination: Shaping Behaviors and Attitudes