Maternal Responses to Negative Emotions and Child Externalizing Behavior: Different Relations for 5‐, 6‐, and 7‐year‐olds

Emotional and behavioral maturity expectations increase as children transition to primary school; thus, maternal responses
that support and encourage children’s expression of negative emotion may not benefit school‐age children as much as preschoolers.
The current study explored a change in the utility of these maternal responses among 187 families (62 5‐year‐olds, 75 6‐year‐olds,
and 50 7‐year‐olds). Mothers reported on…