Emotional Development Within the Family Context

Abstract

In this chapter, we summarize theory and research describing the processes by which children’s emotional development is influenced by features of the family context with an emphasis on the first 3 years of life. We begin with a focus on the role of parents including the parent-infant attachment relationship, parental sensitivity, parental emotion socialization, harsh and abusive parenting, and emotion-related parental characteristics. Then, we consider the broader family system including interparental conflict, coparenting quality, and sibling relationships. The outcomes considered include children’s emotional reactivity and regulation at the behavioral and physiological level, emotion knowledge, social competence, and behavior problems. Throughout the review, we note child characteristics that moderate the association between family context and children’s emotional adjustment with a particular emphasis on children’s negative emotional reactivity and gender. We conclude with suggestions for future research in this area.