Parent–child emotional availability, children's early emotional reflectivity skills, and social behavior in kindergarten

Objective

The study aims to explore a complex and multilayered dynamic, in which relationships within the family are associated with the child's relationships outside the family through the child's reflectivity.

Background

Attachment theory posits that the mother's emotional availability toward her child influences the child's ability to understand and verbalize their own and others' feelings and that this ability is a strong predictor of children's social behavior. This remains relatively understudied during the kindergarten years.

Method

The sample included 146 kindergarten children (81 boys; mean age = 66.84 months). During a home visit, the mother–child dyad was filmed to assess emotional availability, and a researcher interviewed the child (through a storytelling procedure) to assess the child's reflectivity. Additionally, the child's main kindergarten teacher completed questionnaires reporting on the children's verbal abilities and social skills.

Results

We found clear support for connections between the mother–child relationship quality, children's emotional reflectivity capabilities, and children's social behavior in kindergarten.

Conclusions

The findings highlight the importance of relationships within the family context and their contribution to children's early emotional skills and social behavior.

Implications

The study sheds light on children's emotional reflectivity and its associations with the parent–child relationship quality and kindergarten children's social skills. These associations can lead to more informed intervention programs and to emphasizing the advantages of using storytelling techniques to better understand children's emotional capacities.