Author:

Keywords:

Social Sciences, Psychology, Developmental, Psychology, attachment, avoidance, emotion regulation, middle childhood, proximity-seeking, stress, RESPIRATORY SINUS ARRHYTHMIA, SECURE BASE SCRIPT, EMOTION REGULATION, MIDDLE CHILDHOOD, HEART-RATE, ATTENTIONAL BREADTH, CARDIAC PHYSIOLOGY, MOTHER, ASSOCIATIONS, ADOLESCENCE, 1701 Psychology, Developmental & Child Psychology, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology, 5202 Biological psychology, 5205 Social and personality psychology

Abstract:

In this study we investigated the effects of seeking versus avoiding proximity to mother on children’s emotional recovery from a stressor. Sixty children 9–12 years underwent a moodinduction procedure and were randomly assigned to seek proximity from or avoid an image of their mothers. The effect of this manipulation on children’s self‐reported negative emotions, skin conductance and heart rate variability (respiratory sinus arhythmia) was assessed. Higher levels of attachment anxiety were linked to more self‐reported sadness when children had to avoid mother, but no evidence for such an effect was found on a physiological level. For avoidant attachment, a similar pattern of results emerged, but both for self‐reported sadness and skin conductance.