Fun and frustrations: Low-income Chilean parents reminiscing with their children about past emotional experiences

Nolivos, Virginia; Leyva, Diana

doi:10.15517/vdb67140

Authors

Virginia Nolivos Harvard University Author
Diana Leyva Davidson College, Psychology Department Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15517/vdb67140

Keywords:

Latino, reminiscing, narratives, emotion, preschool

Abstract

One way in which parents support the development of children’s socioemotional abilities is through reminiscing about emotional experiences. This study: a) investigated how low-income Chilean families through reminiscing label, explain, and reason about emotionally positive and negative experiences; and b) documented the emotional narrative themes that families discuss. Sixty-two parents and their preschoolers were videotaped reminiscing about a time when the child was happy and a time when the child was unhappy. Half of the children were girls. Narratives were transcribed and coded for a variety of emotion-content categories. Results showed that conversations about negative experiences were richer in emotional content (emotional states, facial expressions, emotional evaluations, emotion causes, emotion consequences, and mind-emotion connections) than positive conversations. Dyads more often discussed outing themes when reminiscing about positive experiences and peer confl ict themes when reminiscing about negative experiences. This work can inform interventions targeting low-income families in Latin America.

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Author Biographies

Virginia Nolivos, Harvard University

Virginia Nolivos' research focus is on the role of parent-child interactions in early childhood, specifically the socioemotional development and school readiness skills of low-income Spanish-speaking populations nationally and internationally. She earned a Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University. Prior to attending Harvard, she taught undergraduate students in the U.S. and Ecuador.
Diana Leyva, Davidson College, Psychology Department

Diana Leyva is a Post-doctoral Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on parenting and literacy in early childhood. She is the Project Director of Un Buen Comienzo, an experimental study of teacher professional development in early childhood education in Chile. She earned a Ph.D in developmental psychology from Clark University and has taught at Harvard University, Williams College and Mount Holyoke College.

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