Family Experiences and Early Emotion Knowledge.

This study examined individual differences in young children's understanding of emotion and potential correlates in the domain of family experiences. Participating in the study were 49 children, ages 40 to 75 months from a predominately white, middle to upper class sample. Self-report questionnaires concerning the expression of emotion, management of marital conflict, and marital satisfaction were obtained from the mothers of children who had been given an assessment of their ability to label negative emotions and talk about hidden negative emotions. Children's facial expressions to the presentation of an emotionally evocative puppet vignette were also assessed. The results indicated that individual differences in children's understanding of negative emotions were related to specific dimensions of family experiences. The data provide support for the notion that specific family experiences are related to key aspects of early emotion understanding. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/KB)