Anaokulu çocuklarının deneysel gözleme dayalı kızgınlık ve üzüntü ifadelerinin anne raporlarına dayalı içselleştirme ve dışsallaştırma belirtisiyle olan ilişkisi

Emotional development in preschool age is essential for concurrent and later social and academic adjustment (Cole, Michel, & Teti, 1994; Saarni, 1999; Denham, 1998). Emotional reactivity, in particular negative emotionality, and its relations to adjustment problems has been theoretically and empirically studied in the literature of developmental psychopathology (Crick & Zahn-Waxler, 2003; Nigg, 2006; Patrick & Bernat, 2006). However, literature provides limited information on the specific mechanisms that link negative emotionality, especially anger and sadness expressions, to internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In addition, our understanding on the basic normative aspects of anger and sadness expressions in response to different eliciting contexts during preschool age is limited. The present study has two major goals: First goal was to assess contextual variability in anger and sadness expressions of preschoolers as a function of age and gender. Anger and sadness expressions of 130 children were observed in two different laboratory contexts, interpersonal and non-interpersonal. The second goal of the study was to concurrently predict maternal reports of preschoolers? internalizing and externalizing symptoms using their observed anger and sadness expressions and contextual variability in emotional reactivity. Results showed that, anger and sadness expressions of children significantly differed across the two contexts. All children showed greater levels of anger and sadness expressions in the interpersonal contexts. Observed anger and sadness expressions failed to concurrently predict mother reports of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results of the study were discussed in relation to observed effects of contextual variability in emotion expressions on symptom elevations with moderating effects of age and gender. Further, limitations of the findings were discussed in terms of generalizability, and strengths of the study within the theme of measurement confound.