Work

Maternal Discourse Profiles in Mother–Child Reminiscing: Implications for Children's Cognitive and Emotional Development

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Influenced by Fivush's research legacy, we examined how multiple elements of maternal emotion‐related reminiscing related to children's cognitive and emotional functioning. As part of a larger project, 197 mother–child dyads (all 9 years old; 53% boys) completed an emotion reminiscing task discussing past positive and negative events. We coded mothers' elaboration, indirectness, emotion coaching, and emotion dismissing during reminiscing conversations. Latent profile analyses showed two profiles differing in extent of emotion coaching for positive events, and four profiles differing according to extent of elaboration, indirectness, and emotion dismissing for negative events. Children's elaboration when reminiscing about each event was associated with mothers' profile for the event. Mothers' reminiscing profile for the negative event was associated with observer ratings of children's use of emotion regulation strategies during frustration and disappointment tasks. Results suggest the importance of considering holistic patterns of maternal reminiscing to advance understanding of the developmental role of family reminiscing.

Source: Applied Cognitive Psychology

DOI: 10.1002/acp.70276

Authors: Jordan A. Booker, Cynthia L. Smith, Martha Ann Bell, Julie C. Dunsmore

Institutions: University of Missouri, Virginia Tech, University of Houston

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: Child temperament as a moderator of maternal emotion coaching: Implications for pathways leading to behavior problems, Psychobiology of Cognitive Development