Longitudinal Pathways of Emotion Regulation, Maternal Depression and Early Childhood Psychopathology

Emotion regulation (ER) is complex and can implicate numerous outcomes within a child’s environment. It is a valuable framework in conceptualising adaptive and maladaptive functioning in children (Cicchetti, Ackerman, & Izard, 1995). The current thesis provides a developmental account of ER and addresses a number of critical questions in three parts. Part one is a meta-analysis of 17 studies. It investigated the effectiveness of ER interventions for children which was found to improve regulatory abilities as well as behavioural and clinical outcomes, compared to having no treatment or an alternative treatment. Factors such as age, duration and sample origin did not differentiate treatment gains. The majority of the included studies had interventions that were group-based and informed by CBT principles. Part two describes an empirical study utilising prospective observational data to examine preschoolers’ ER, over time, and its interaction with maternal depression on subsequent externalising and internalising behaviours. ER was represented by emotion reactivity, social regulation and redirected attention. It was assessed at age 15, 26 and 37 months. The three ER indices were not significant precursors of later emotional and behavioural symptoms. However, lower emotion reactivity at 15 months was found to intensify the direct influence of maternal depression on externalising but not internalising problems. Coding of the ER variables was jointly completed with another trainee. Part three presents a critical appraisal of the dissertation process. A discussion on the choice of research topic, learning points and challenges encountered was included. It concludes with a consideration of childhood ER from the perspective of culture