Emotions Are A Window Into One'S Heart: A Qualitative Analysis Of Parental Beliefs About Children'S Emotions Across Three Ethnic Groups

The main goal of this Monograph is to understand parents’ beliefs about the role of emotions in the family and how cultural or ethnic background may influence those beliefs. Implications of parental beliefs for emotion socialization theory and future research, as well as limitations, are discussed.

Alison E. Parker is a Research Scientist at innovation Research and Training in Durham, North Carolina. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology with a focus on parental socialization of emotion and children's emotional development. Her research interests include children and adolescents' social emotional and social cognitive functioning, as well as mindfulness and youth.

Amy G. Halberstadt is Professor in the Department of Psychology at North Carolina State University. Her research interests include socialization processes within the family and across culture, with particular focus on emotion socialization and the socialization of gender.

Julie C. Dunsmore is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. Her research interests focus on parental emotion socialization in relation to children’s developing social cognition, affective social competence, and prosocial behavior.

Greg Townley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Portland State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology. His research interests include community integration of persons with psychiatric disabilities, sense of community, homelessness prevention, and cross-cultural issues in mental health.

Alfred Bryant, Jr. is currently a Full Professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He earned his Ph.D. in Counselor Education. He was a member of the 2008-2009 ACE Fellows class and completed an academic year in residence at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research interests include Native American racial identity, Native American child development, as well as Parent-Child emotional interactions.

Julie A. Thompson is currently a Medical Instructor in the School of Nursing at Duke University. She earned her Ph.D. in lifespan developmental psychology. Her research interests include sibling relationships throughout childhood in normative and nonnormative situations and the experiences of children and their parents undergoing treatment for a chronic or lifethreatening illness.

Karen S. Beale is currently an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee. She earned her degree in Developmental Psychology. Her research interests include the socialization of emotion, emotional awareness and competence in familial and romanticrelationships, and beliefs and perceptions about emotion.