Abstract
This study investigated individual differences in two-year olds' emotional regulation as a process, by studying the change pattern of children's distress during mother-child conflicts. Participants were 41 mother-child pairs. The other purpose of the research was to analyze each individual difference from the standpoint of the mother-child relationship (emotional availability, or "EA") and their behaviors. Three patterns of distress processes were found: "continuance," "soothing," and "non-expression." Children of the "continuance" type actively tried to remove the source of their distress. The "non-expression" children independently contained their own distress and shifted to other activities as mothers followed along with them. Mothers were active partners in relieving the distress of the child, in the "soothing" type, and their EA in conflict situations was greater than during pre-conflict situations. These results indicated that maternal emotional support is necessary for children's emotional regulation, and that autonomous emotional regulation emerges in two-year olds.
