Abstract
An analogue methodology was used to present a set of realistic, salient stressors to children in grades 3, 5, and 7. Children (N = 146) viewed eight videotaped vignettes depicting interpersonal and non-interpersonal stressors; these were expected to differentially threaten psychological needs for relatedness, competence and autonomy and provoke different emotional reactions. Analyses showed that scenarios portrayed stressors that were commonly experienced by children and evoked a differentiated profile of appraisals and emotions. When tenets of the motivational theory of stress and coping were tested, scenarios more threatening to needs were more distressing, sadness was linked to relatedness and competence threat appraisals, and fear was a more common reaction to parent stressors that involved dyadic conflict. After accounting for threat appraisals and previous experience of stressors, younger children and girls appraised events as more distressing than older children and boys. Future research could use the analogue procedure to focus on children’s development of regulation and coping with stress.
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Appendix
Appendix
Standardized instructions [Version 1 (With the exception of the positive situations, ordering of situations was varied.)]
Hi everyone! Thank you all for coming and helping me out. We’re going to be doing a couple of things today because I am really interested in finding out more about how you feel and what you’d do in some situations that kids your age are sometimes faced with. So before we start lets fill out the first page of our booklet because I need to know your age, and your teacher’s name.
Okay, so now I am going to show you a number of short video clips that come from movies that you might have seen. In each scene there will be either a boy or a girl and I want you to imagine that you are the child in the video. That means I want you to imagine that you are in the situation and then answer some questions about how you would feel if you were the child in the video and the situation was happening to you. So are there any questions before we begin? Okay, let’s get to it.
Situation 1: Being bullied
In the first video, I want you to imagine you are this boy (point to boy). In the scene the boy is being bullied at school. After you have watched the video, I am going to ask you some questions such as how sad you would feel if you were being bullied, …, and how much you would want to leave the situation and escape. Now remember, I want you to imagine you are the person being bullied and then we are going to answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 2 and 3 of your booklet. So, if you were being bullied at school, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 2: Your parents having a fight
The next video shows a scene of a girl who is watching her parents have a fight at home. So I want you to imagine that you are the person in the video and you are watching your parents having a fight. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 4 and 5 of your booklet. So, if you were watching your parents having a fight, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 3: Not being picked on a team
In the next video, you will see a boy who is wearing glasses and two captains who are picking teams to play a game. In the scene, the boy doesn’t get picked to be on either of the teams. Now I want you to imagine that you are the person who doesn’t get picked to be on a team to play a game. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 6 and 7 of your booklet. So, if you were not picked to be on a team, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 4: Getting a needle
The next video shows a girl who is getting a needle at the hospital. So, I want you to imagine that you are the person in the video and you are getting a needle. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 8 and 9 of your booklet. So, if you were getting a needle, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 5: Having a birthday party
The next video is of a birthday party. In the scene, it is a boy’s birthday and his family is having a party for him with presents and a birthday cake. So I want you to imagine that you are the person in the video and your family is having a birthday party for you. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 10 and 11 of your booklet. So, if it was your birthday, and your family was having a party for you, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 6: Having a fight with a parent
The next video shows a boy who is having a fight with his dad. So I want you to imagine that you are the person in the video and you are having a fight with one of your parents. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 12 and 13 of your booklet. So, if you were having a fight with one of your parents, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 7: Doing a test at school
The next scene shows a boy who is doing a really hard test at school. I want you to imagine that you are the person in the video and you are doing a really hard test. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 14 and 15 of your booklet. So, if you were doing a really hard test at school, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 8: Having your best friend move away
In the next video, you will see a girl who is moving away with his family to a new city. Her best friend comes over to say goodbye. I want you to imagine that you are the person in the video who has come to say goodbye to their best friend. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 16 and 17 of your booklet. So, if you were the girl in the video and your best friend was moving away, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 9: Doing something that causes the team to lose
In the next scene, you will see a group of kids playing softball. In the scene, the batter hits the ball high into the sky. I want you to imagine that you are the girl in the video who drops the ball and knocks another player to the ground. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 18 and 19 of your booklet. So, if you were the girl in the video and you did something that caused your team to lose, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
Situation 10: Having fun playing in the yard with friends
In the last scene you will see a group of kids having fun playing in the backyard. I want you to imagine that you are one of the kids in the video having fun playing. We’ll then answer some questions about how you would feel if this was happening to you. Play video. Okay, now let’s fill in pages 20 and 21 of your booklet. So, if you were one of the children in the video and you were having fun playing in the back yard with friends, how… (Read each question aloud to children).
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Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J., Lees, D.C., Bradley, G.L. et al. Use of an analogue method to examine children’s appraisals of threat and emotion in response to stressful events. Motiv Emot 33, 136–149 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-009-9123-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-009-9123-7