Emotion talk among Mexican American and Anglo American mothers and children from two social classes

Journal/Book: Merrill Palmer Quart J Devel. 1999; 45: 4809 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201-1309, USA. Wayne State Univ Press. 267-284.

Abstract: Ethnic, social class, and gender differences in mothers' and children's references to emotions were examined. Twenty middle-class and 20 working-class Angle American and 20 middle-class and 20 working-class Mexican American mothers audiotaped conversation with their 4-year-old children during car rides. Analyses of 1,226 references to emotions confirmed the existence of many patterns of emotion talk identified in prior studies of mother-child conversations about emotions, including gender differences in the frequency of emotion mentions and the use of a more varied emotion vocabulary. The study also established that social class is associated with the context in which feeling states are discussed, whereas ethnicity is related to the content of such talk. Implications for development are discussed.

Note: Article Eisenberg AR, Univ Texas, Univ Honours Program, 6900 N Loop 1604 W, San Antonio,TX 78249 USA

Keyword(s): FEELING STATES; CULTURE; SOCIALIZATION; CONVERSATIONS; PRESCHOOLERS; FAMILIES; GENDER; PERSPECTIVE; EXPRESSION; LANGUAGE

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