Temperament and maternal emotion socialization beliefs as predictors of early childhood social behavior in the laboratory and classroom

Objective. The authors examined the roles of children's approach behavior and maternal emotion socialization practices in the development of social behavior in unfamiliar and familiar contexts from preschool to early childhood years. Design. At 4.5 years of age, children were observed, and an assessment of approach behavior was obtained; at this time, mothers reported about their emotion socialization beliefs. Two years later, children returned to the laboratory to participate in a peer play paradigm. When children were 7 years of age, teachers completed a questionnaire about children's social behaviors in the classroom. Results. Mothers' emotion socialization beliefs contribute to the developmental outcomes of approach behavior. For instance, observations of approach behaviors predicted a greater proportion of group play in the unfamiliar peer group when mothers reported highly supportive emotion socialization beliefs. Conclusion. Mothers' emotion socialization beliefs appear to play an important role in modifying the developmental course of approach behavior during early childhood.