Conversations About Feeling States Between Mothers and Their Young Children

• Published in: Developmental psychology 1987-01, Vol.23 (1), p.132-139
• Main Authors: Dunn, Judy, Bretherton, Inge, Munn, Penny
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Differences; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Order; Child development; Developmental psychology; Emotional Development; Emotional States; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Longitudinal Studies; Mother Child Communication; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Siblings; Verbal Communication
• ISSN: 0012-1649; 1939-0599
• DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.23.1.132

The development of children's verbal communication about feeling states was studied by analyzing naturally occurring conversations at home. The data were recorded during two longitudinal studies. In Study 1, 43 second-born children were observed with mother and older sibling at 18 and 24 months. In Study 2, 16 firstborn children were observed with mother and younger sibling at 25 and 32 months. Both studies showed that by 2 years of age, the majority of children referred to a range of feeling states in self and other, and they discussed the cause of feeling states in a variety of contexts (including pretend games). References to feeling states made by mother and older sibling when the target child was 18 months were positively correlated with the target child's speech about feeling states at 24 months. Both mothers and older siblings mentioned feeling states more frequently to girls than to boys. By 24 months, the girls themselves referred to feeling states significantly more often than boys.