ERIC Number: EJ1021266
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Mar
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0165-0254
EISSN: N/A
Emotional and Adrenocortical Regulation in Early Adolescence: Prediction by Attachment Security and Disorganization in Infancy
Spangler, Gottfried; Zimmermann, Peter
International Journal of Behavioral Development, v38 n2 p142-154 Mar 2014
The aim of the present study was to examine differences in emotion expression and emotion regulation in emotion-eliciting situations in early adolescence from a bio-psycho-social perspective, specifically investigating the influence of early mother-infant attachment and attachment disorganization on behavioural and adrenocortical responses. The sample consisted of 96 children of the Regensburg Longitudinal Study IV. At age 12 months, attachment security and disorganization were assessed in the Strange Situation. At age 12 years, the adolescents were observed together with their mother during a computer game (eliciting anger) and the "Talk Show Task" (eliciting fear). Analyses included self-ratings and mother-ratings of the adolescents' emotions (anger and fear), observations of the adolescents' emotional expression and emotional regulation (social regulation, effective regulation) as well as concurrent maternal emotional support. In addition, adrenocortical activity was assessed from saliva samples before and after observation. The findings revealed different patterns of social-emotional responses depending on early attachment security. Adolescents with secure infant attachment reported more anger, when anger was induced, were rated as less anxious by their mothers, and their emotion self-ratings were more similar to their mothers' ratings compared to adolescents with an early insecure attachment. An increased adrenocortical response was only found in the group of adolescents with attachment disorganization in infancy, especially with increased fear.
Descriptors: Early Adolescents, Emotional Response, Metabolism, Attachment Behavior, Infants, Predictor Variables, Longitudinal Studies, Mothers, Computer Games, Fear, Observation, Self Control, Parent Child Relationship, Foreign Countries, Physiology, Correlation, Multivariate Analysis, Multiple Regression Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A