Alison E. Parker

Emotions are a window into one's heart”: a qualitative analysis of parental beliefs about children's emotions across three ethnic groups.

We conducted a qualitative study to explore parental beliefs about emotions in the family across three cultures (African American, European American, and Lumbee American Indian), using the underutilized yet powerful methodology of focus groups. The main goal of this monograph is to understand parents’ beliefs about the role of emotions in the family and how cultural or ethnic background may influence those beliefs. Based on philosophical traditions and previous research, three dimensions of parental beliefs were predicted: Value of Emotion, Socialization of Emotion, and Controllability of Emotion. We expected new themes to emerge during the focus groups.Twelve focus groups were conducted with 87 parents from the three cultural groups mentioned above. Groups met for two sessions scheduled 2 weeks apart. Focus group discussions were led by same-ethnicity moderators. Aninductive analysis was conducted; key themes and subthemes were identified.All three theoretically derived dimensions were well represented in each focus group. Cultural similarities in themes within these dimensions included children’s appropriate expression of negative emotions, role of emotion in the home, children’s capacity for controlling emotions, and parents’ role in socialization of emotion. Cultural variations included concern about parents’ expression of negative emotion, children’s modulation of positive emotion, the role emotions play in behavior, and choice in emotional experience. Two new dimensions also emerged: Relational Nature of Emotions and Changeability of Emotions. Cultural similarities in themes within these dimensions included emphasis on emotional connections with children, emotional contagion in families, developmental change in children’s emotions, and intergenerational change in emotion socialization. Cultural variation included discussion of emotions as guides for action and children’s emotional privacy. Dimensions and the themes and subthemes within them are presented with supporting evidence and sources. Implications of parental beliefs for emotion socialization theory and future research, as well as limitations, are discussed.

The impact of mindfulness education on elementary school students: evaluation of the Master Mind program

Children need to be equipped with the skills to respond effectively to stress and prevent poor decision-making surrounding alcohol and tobacco use. Training and practice in mindfulness is one possible avenue for building childrens skills. Recent research has revealed that mindfulness education in the classroom may play a role in enhancing childrens self-regulatory abilities. Thus, the goal of the current study was to extend existing research in mindfulness education in classrooms and conduct an assessment of the feasibility and effectiveness of a new mindfulness education, substance abuse prevention program for fourth- and fifth-grade children (Master Mind). Two elementary schools were randomly assigned to be an intervention group (n = 71) or wait-list control group (n = 40). Students in the intervention group were taught the four-week Master Mind program by their regular classroom teachers. At pre- and postintervention time points, students completed self-reports of their intentions to use substances and an executive functioning performance task. Teachers rated students on their behavior in the classroom. Findings revealed that students who participated in the Master Mind program, as compared to those in the wait-list control condition, showed significant improvements in executive functioning skills (girls and boys), as well as a marginally significant increase in self-control abilities (boys only). In addition, significant reductions were found in aggression and social problems (girls and boys), as well as anxiety (girls only). No significant differences across groups were found for intentions to use alcohol or tobacco. Teachers implemented the program with fidelity; both teachers and students positively rated the structure and content of the Master Mind program, providing evidence of program satisfaction and feasibility. Although generalization may be limited by the small sample size, the findings suggest that mindfulness education may be beneficial in increasing self-regulatory abilities, which is important for substance abuse prevention.

How Is This Child Feeling? Preschool-Aged Children's Ability to Recognize Emotion in Faces and Body Poses

Research Findings: The study examined childrens recognition of emotion from faces and body poses, as well as gender differences in these recognition abilities. Preschool-aged children (N = 55) and their parents and teachers participated in the study. Preschool-aged children completed a web-based measure of emotion recognition skills that included 5 tasks (3 with faces and 2 with bodies). Parents and teachers reported on childrens aggressive behaviors and social skills. Childrens emotion accuracy on 2 of the 3 facial tasks and 1 of the body tasks was related to teacher reports of social skills. Some of these relations were moderated by child gender. In particular, the relationships between emotion recognition accuracy and reports of childrens behavior were stronger for boys than girls. Practice or Policy: Identifying preschool-aged childrens strengths and weaknesses in terms of the identification of emotion from faces and body poses may be helpful in guiding interventions with children who have problems with social and behavioral functioning that may be due in part to emotion knowledge deficits. Further developmental implications of these findings are discussed.

Two Universal Mindfulness Education Programs for Elementary and Middle-School Students: Master Mind and Moment

There is growing evidence that children and adolescents may benefit from participating in mindfulness education in the classroom and engaging in regular mindfulness practice. To contribute to this emerging area, we developed and evaluated two universal, developmentally appropriate, school-based, mindfulness education programs. The Master Mind Program was developed for use with late elementary-school students and the Moment Program was created for use with middle-school students. In this chapter, we describe the conceptual approaches and procedures used in the development of both programs as well as the components and scope of each program. We also summarize the findings from the evaluation of these two promising preventive interventions.

Anger in families Individual and dyadic contributions

We addressed three questions about anger in the family, including the derivation of anger, the presence of anger contagion, and the degree to which family members share perceptions about anger in the family. Seventh-grade children, mothers, and fathers independently reported on the frequency and intensity of anger in six family relationships (child to mother, mother to child, child to father, father to child, mother to father, and father to mother). Analyses based on the social relations model revealed that family members share the belief that anger in the family is the result of individuals’ own styles of anger and, to a lesser degree, is created within unique relationships. Family members also recognized emotion contagion effects across all familial relationships. Overall, children, mothers, and fathers seemed to share perceptions about anger in the family with one exception. Implications for further research and family relationships are discussed.