Читать книгу Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology - Robert Weis - Страница 99

A major task during childhood and adolescence is to develop increased capacity for emotion regulation. Emotion regulation refers to the processes we use to recognize, label, and control our feelings and the way we express these feelings through our actions. Emotion regulation is important to all aspects of development: it affects our attention, concentration, thought processes, memory, relationships, and ability to set and achieve long-term goals (Odle, 2016).

Children’s ability to regulate their emotions changes over time. Initially, emotion regulation is highly dependent on others. For example, an infant might cry for his mother when he is cold or hungry and a toddler might run to his father when he skins his knee on the playground. Gradually, children develop strategies to regulate their emotions more independently. For example, an older child might ride her bike to alleviate her anxiety about school and an adolescent might go to the movies with friends to take his mind off trouble at home. The ability to regulate one’s emotions independent of others is essential to social–emotional development (LeBlanc, Essau, & Ollendick, 2018).

The processes that children use to regulate emotions can be divided into two broad categories: effortful and reactive. Effortful processes involve deliberately changing one’s attention, thoughts, or actions with the goal of increasing positive emotions or achieving long-term objectives. Imagine that a girl misses a free throw and her team loses an important basketball game. To regulate her emotions, she could engage in a wide range of effortful processes. For example, she could direct her attention away from her missed shot and, instead, focus on words of encouragement from her teammates like, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll get it next time.” She could also reappraise the situation and think to herself, “Even professional basketball players don’t make all of their shots.” She could also look at the situation as a learning opportunity and resolve to practice her shooting (Eisenberg, Hernandez, & Spinrad, 2018).

In contrast, reactive processes are automatic responses to emotions that children adopt in a rigid or habitual manner. For example, the girl who missed the game-winning free throw could respond by crying and running to the locker room, or she could tantrum or shove an opponent. Reactive processes like these may help the girl feel better in the short term, but they hinder her ability to reach long-term goals. She’s unlikely to get much playing time after crying or fighting.

Many childhood disorders occur when children habitually and rigidly rely on reactive processes to regulate their emotions. For example, internalizing disorders, like anxiety and depression, occur when children react to stressful events through inhibition, avoidance, or withdrawal. In contrast, externalizing disorders, like conduct problems and ADHD, occur when children automatically respond to emotion-provoking experiences through aggression or impulsivity (Fernandes, Tan-Manusukhani, & Essau, 2018; Hannesdottir & Ollendick, 2018).

Other disorders also reflect difficulty with emotion regulation. For example, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder is seen in young children who exhibit chronic irritability and severe temper outbursts. Treatment for this disorder involves teaching children to avoid situations that might trigger tantrums and finding new ways to cope with negative emotions. Eating disorders also sometimes reflect underlying problems with emotion regulation. Some adolescents engage in bingeing or purging as a maladaptive way to reduce anxiety, depression, or low self-worth. Self-injurious behaviors, like burning or cutting, can also be seen as a problematic attempt to regulate emotions. The treatment of these disorders typically involves replacing these maladaptive emotion-regulation strategies with healthier, more effective coping skills (Baudinet, Dawson, Madden, & Hay, 2018; Kircanski, Leibenluft, & Brotman, 2019).

Review

 Early emotional development is chiefly concerned with emotional expression and accurately understanding the feelings of others. Children with autism often experience problems developing these skills.

 Later emotional development focuses on increased capacity for emotion regulation, that is, the ability to recognize, label, and control our feelings and emotional displays. Children with conduct problems, anxiety, and mood disorders often have difficulty with emotion regulation.