Emotion regulation in mother–child narrative co-construction: Associations with children's narratives and adaptation.

The associations were studied between early mother-child co-construction of a separation–reunion narrative and children's concurrent and later (a) emotion narratives and (b) behavior problems. 51 children and their mothers were observed during a co-construction task when the children were aged 4.5 yrs. At ages 4.5 and 5.5 yrs, children's narratives were elicited using the MacArthur Story-Stem Battery (MSSB), and mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Results showed that children who were more emotionally coherent during the co-constructions had MSSB narratives that were more coherent, had more prosocial themes, and had fewer aggressive themes at ages 4.5 and 5.5 yrs. Moreover, such children had fewer behavior problems at both ages. The relations between narrative processes and emotion regulation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)