The long-term objectives of the activities described in this application involve the development of skills that support a career studying the interface of cognition and emotion in children's healthy development, including the interface of language development and the ability to regulate emotions. Specifically, these skills include developing expertise in neurodevelopmental and behavioral research methods. These methods are valuable in shedding light on how changes in brain activity and circuitry, and environmental input and child maturation, contribute to the effective integration of language and emotion regulation. The activities also include a study of the pathways by which parental language about internal experience fosters children's effective anger regulation. Poor anger regulation is related to a wide range of negative physical and mental health outcomes. Understanding the means by which children naturally use language to regulate emotion may have implications for the design of interventions that promote emotional competence in children.
The aim of the dissertation is to investigate whether parent and child language about internal states predict children's understanding that emotions can be regulated and how this understanding influences children's ability to regulate anger through the use of regulation strategies in frustrating situations. In addition, parent and child contributions to children's development of internal state language will be examined, as these are potential targets for intervention. Data were gathered over multiple time points from home and laboratory visits designed to assess parent and child language and behavior.
The families in this study are lower income and from rural areas, and their mental health needs are often unmet. Therefore this work can also provide insight into how to best serve these families and children so that they can thrive.
