Close
Home
Collections
Login
USC Login
Register
0
Selected
Invert selection
Deselect all
Deselect all
Click here to refresh results
Click here to refresh results
USC
/
Digital Library
/
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
/
Measuring young children's coping responses to interpersonal conflict
(USC Thesis Other)
Measuring young children's coping responses to interpersonal conflict
PDF
Download
Share
Open document
Flip pages
Contact Us
Contact Us
Copy asset link
Request this asset
Transcript (if available)
Content
INFORMATION TO USERS
This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI
films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some
thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be
from any type of computer printer.
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the
copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality
illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins,
and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete
manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if
unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate
the deletion.
Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by
sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and
continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each
original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced
form at the back of the book.
Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced
xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white
photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations
appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to
order.
UMI
A Bell & Howell Information Company
300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA
313/761-4700 800/521-0600
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
MEASURING YOUNG CHILDREN’S COPING RESPONSES TO
INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT
by
Christine Margaret Blasey
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Counseling Psychology)
August 1995
@1996 Christine Blasey
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
UMI Number: 9705076
UMI Microform 9705076
Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved.
This microform edition is protected against unauthorized
copying under Title 17, United States Code.
UMI
300 North Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90007
This dissertation, written by
C h r istin e B lasey
under the direction of h.$z........ Dissertation
Committee, and approved by all its members,
has been presented to and accepted by The
Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of re
quirements fo r the degree of
D O C TO R O F PHILOSOPHY
Date .^.?.V.?. 0.. 9 9 6
Dean of Graduate Studies
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
itrperson
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ii
Table of Contents
Page
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Review of the Literature 5
Hypotheses 30
Chapter 2 Method 39
Participants 39
Instruments 43
Procedure 48
Chapter 3 Results 50
Chapter 4 Conclusions 89
References 112
Appendix A 118
Appendix B 119
Appendix C 120
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
iii
Figures
Figure Page
1 The Lazarus and Folkman model of stress and coping. 6
2 Affective, cognitive and social-cognitive skills. 23
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Tables
Table Page
1 Descriptive Characteristics of Subjects 40-41
2 Interrater Reliability of Bears’ Picnic 51
3 Interrater Reliability of Bears’ Picnic with Subscales 52-53
4 Internal Consistency Reliability of Bears’ Picnic 53-54
5 Correlations Among Bears’ Picnic Coding Categories 55
6 Mean Log-Likelihood Ratios and Proportions 56
7 Mean Log-Likelihood Rations on Bears’ Picnic Subscales 57-58
8 Sample Mean Scores on the Louisville Behavioral Checklist 60
9 Mean Scores on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale 61
10 Pearson Correlations for Bears’ Picnic and LBC 64-65
11 Pearson Correlations for Bears’ Picnic Scale Scores and LBC 65-67
12 The Bear’s Picnic and Dyadic Adjustment: Pearson Correlations 72-73
13 Correlations of Bears’ Picnic Scale Scores and Dyadic Adjustment 75-77
Scores
14 Pearson R and Multiple Regression Results for Bears’ Picnic 82-83
Codes
15 Correlations and Multiple Regression Results for Bears’ Picnic 85-86
Scale Scores
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
V
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the coping styles of
four and five year-old children. Boys (n=80) and girls (n=92) from intact families
participated in a semi-structured play procedure. This procedure, which was
designed to assess children's responses to family, peer, and marital conflicts,
aimed to improve upon the methodological problems which have marred
previous research with the preschool population. High interrater reliability was
obtained for the procedure. Three scales were developed to measure reactions
to Family, Peer, and Marital conflict. Moderate interrater reliability was obtained
for the scales. Ten “ problem-focused” coping styles and four “ emotion-focused”
coping styles were generated. It was predicted that coping style would be highly
related to behavior and to home environment. In general, coping style was
highly independent of home environment, as measured by the Marital
Satisfaction Inventory. Coping style was also generally unrelated to aggressive
and inhibited behaviors, as measured by the Louisville Behavioral Checklist.
The cognitive development of the children, as measured by the LBCL Cognitive
Disability subscale, was significantly related to certain coping strategies. It was
predicted that home gender, and age would predict coping style. Regression
analyses revealed that age and gender were significantly predictive of four
coping styles, however the amount of variance explained by gender and age was
not large. Utilizing Fisher transformations to compare correlation coefficients,
interesting trends were identified in terms of gender. Boys and_girls relied on
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
similar coping strategies, however there were significant gender differences in
the frequency of use of certain coping strategies. The largest difference was
that boys were more likely than girls to cope with stories involving physically
aggressive behaviors. Girls were more likely to verbalize cooperative, prosocial
strategies. In addition, the use of certain coping strategies were differentially
related to behavior for boys and girls. Specifically, boys denial of negative affect
was related to poor home environment and to cognitive impairment. In addition,
boys who were aggressive tended to react to simulated interpersonal conflict by
verbalizing cooperative, tension reducing statements. Boys’ who verbalized
physically aggressive stories in response to conflict were less likely to actually
display aggressive behavior.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Interpersonal conflict is an inevitable part of children's lives. Like
adults, children face dilemmas in their relationships. Disputes, arguments,
and fights have been observed in the ongoing interactions of children in their
natural settings (Rende & Killen, 1992). In addition to those social conflicts
in which children are directly involved, there are also conflictual situations
which children observe. These conflicts can include tensions and fighting
among family or community members, as well as conflicts, violence, and
disasters represented by the media. Such vicarious experiences of conflict
can be as traumatic for children as direct involvement in conflict (DeAngelis,
1994). Although conflicts and problems inevitably occur in the course of
interpersonal interaction, there are a variety of ways in which these can be
resolved (Jones, Rickel, and Smith, 1980). How do children cope with social
and interpersonal conflict?
The existing literature demonstrates that children cope with stressful
events in a variety of ways. Many studies point to the negative effects of
conflict and stress on children, while others question why some children are
more "resilient" to conflict than are others (Luthar & Zigler, 1991; Quamma &
Greenberg, 1994) Thus, it is becoming increasingly important to evaluate
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
2
the effects produced by these situations and to identify protective factors
which moderate the impact of stress on children.
The ways in which children of all ages cope with stressful life events
have been studied from several different theoretical models and have been
measured by a variety of procedures (Compas, Malcame, & Fondacaro,
1988; Knapp, Stark, Kurkjian, & Spirito, 1991). Most studies of children's
coping utilize the models designed for the coping behaviors of adults. The
recent literature on coping most often relies on the formulation of Lazarus
and Folkman (1984). This model describes two interrelated coping
processes, “problem-focused” and “ emotion-focused”, which comprise
reactions to stressful events.
Coping models, including the nodal one developed by Lazarus,
suggest that children have skills which enable them to process conflict.
These skills may involve behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components.
One of the cognitive components, social problem solving, has been
frequently investigated.
Social problem solving is one particular cognitive skill which children
can utilize to process information about and manage their reactions to
conflict. The social problem solving capabilities of children have received
considerable attention in the literature (Shure & Spivack, 1980; Denham &
Almeida, 1987). The emphasis placed on the function of social problem
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
3
solving in children's coping behaviors is likely due to the well-demonstrated
relationship between this skill and children's behavioral adjustment (Denham
and Almeida, 1987). Of greater significance is the suggested role of social
problem solving as a protective factor in children’s experiences of life stress
(Quamma & Greenberg, 1994).
Although children's social problem solving strategies have been
frequently investigated, much of the research has been marred by
methodological issues including problems with reliability, difficulties
replicating findings, and varying definitions of the constructs being identified
(Denham & Almeida, 1987; Crick & Dodge, 1994). One consequence of
these problems is how to integrate findings across studies from disparate
age groups, outcome measures, and research designs (Denham & Almeida,
1987 -p.393).
Additional difficulties arise in the assessment of younger children. As
a result, much of the research on children's social-cognition has focused on
adolescents or elementary school children (Crick & Dodge, 1994;Compas et
al 1988). Younger children, preschoolers, have been neglected in this area
of inquiry and thus there is a lack of normative data. Other difficulties have
resulted from deficiencies in the assessment instruments themselves, and
from the inherent challenges of assessing children of this age group. (Crick
& Dodge, 1994). Since the majority of the prior research on ways which
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
4
children process social dilemmas has focused on adolescents and latency
aged children, most of the assessment procedures have been tailored for
these age groups. In their review of the literature on social adjustment,
Crick and Dodge (1994) point out that while reliable and valid tests do exist
for younger or "preschool" children, these instruments take significantly
more time and often require more costly methods (i.e. individual interviews
rather than group assessment and use of puppets and/or pictures rather
than written questionnaires to elicit responses). As a result of such
difficulties, preschoolers have been understudied (Crick & Dodge, 1994).
This study presents a new measure for assessing the social-cognitive
coping strategies of the understudied population preschool children. The
introduced measure aims to improve upon the deficiencies of previous
measures. First, it offers an engaging way to evaluate children's reactions
to conflict. The use of physical stimuli with which the children interact and
the semi-structured nature of the questions facilitate the subject's
involvement in the assessment procedure. Other instruments, such as
structured questionnaires, are often too difficult for four and five year old
children (Caplan, Benetto, & Wienberg, 1991). However, open and
unstructured procedures invite other challenges such as keeping the subject
engaged (Cataldo & Geismar, 1983). The Bear's Picnic is a semi-structured
play assessment procedure, designed to assess the coping responses of
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
5
preschool children. This procedure aims to combine the beneficial elements
of both structured and unstructured procedures while minimizing the
liabilities.
Review of the Literature
A full review of the literature on the assessment of coping in young
children requires an integration of research from several areas. Of primary
importance perhaps is the coping literature regarding adults and children. In
addition, the research concerning the effects of family conflict on children is
also key to understanding the theoretical and empirical issues concerning
this study of preschooler’s interpersonal coping strategies. Thus, both areas
of research will be discussed.
Theoretical Background
The primary theoretical formulation of coping is the Lazarus and
Folkman (1984) model. Although this framework was designed to
conceptualize coping in adults, it has also been used to understand the
coping behaviors of children and adolescents (Knapp et al, 1991; Compas et
al, 1988). The transactional framework defines coping as "constantly
changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or
internal demands" (Knapp et al, 1991; Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). This
definition suggests that children's coping styles are situation-specific, and
thus children can be expected to utilize a variety of coping strategies across
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
6
the myriad of stresses which they encounter (Knapp et al, 1991). The
coping approaches can be characterized as "problem-focused" or "emotion-
focused". The former are strategies which are directed at changing
behaviors of the participants or aspects of the conflictual situation. The
latter serve to regulate or release emotional tension (Knapp et al, 1991).
Coping strategies, defined as learned, deliberate, and purposeful
emotional and behavioral responses to stresses are vital components of
children's stress-coping process (Knapp et al, 1991; Ryan, 1988). The
importance of coping strategies is highlighted below in Figure 1. Other
factors which are known to be related to the coping process among children
include personality or temperament, gender, locus of control, social support,
parental child-rearing behavior, and previous stressful experiences (Ryan,
1988).
STRESSORS < >Cognitive Appraisal <------ > Sensorimotor responses
Physiological changes
Psychological defense
mechanisms
Coping Strategies
TIME
>
Figure 1. The Lazarus and Folkman (1984) model of stress and coping.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
7
Of the factors highlighted in the Lazarus model, the cognitive
appraisal of stresses are the coping strategies that are most directly
controlled by the individual and therefore are the most amenable to change
(Ryan, 1988). For this reason as well as others, the cognitive process of
coping is of great interest to researchers in this area. This cognitive process
of coping refers to the cognitive mechanisms which children utilize to
process and manage social and interpersonal conflicts. The social-cognitive
theoretical perspective focuses on the thinking and "skills" which children
possess when coping with conflictual situations. These skills or "strategies",
which are developed during early childhood, can be effective under a variety
of stressful circumstances and can defuse the negative effects of stress
(Ryan, 1988). While most researchers have approached children's
reactions to conflict from a skills or strategies model, it should be noted that
some researchers have emphasized a "scripts" theory which examines
young children's internal working models for handling dilemmas (Bretherton,
Ridgeway, & Cassidy, 1990). The proposed measure is designed to assess
the social problem solving skills of preschoolers. It is consistent with the
social-cognitive perspective which view children's reactions and abilities to
cope with conflict as a function of interpersonal problem solving skills.
Of vital importance is the moderator role which social problem solving
skills can play in the relationship between stress and adjustment. In
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
8
understanding why children appear to respond to different types of stressors
in different ways, it is helpful to understand how social problem solving skills
can moderate the impact of stress on children's lives (Quamma and
Greenberg, 1994).
The literature on children's social cognition demonstrates that
considerable attention was given to examining children's social cognitive
abilities, including social or interpersonal problem-solving, during the 1980's
(Denham & Almeida, 1987; Shure & Spivack, 1980). This was in part due to
the development of the Preschool Interpersonal Problem Solving Test
(PISPST) which is the most widely used instrument for measuring young
children's social problem solving (Shure & Spivack, 1980; Denham &
Almeida, 1987).
An initial and continuing challenge for research on social problem
solving is the definition and conceptualization of the construct being
measured. Social cognitive skills, including interpersonal problem solving,
are components of social cognition. Social cognition refers to one's
understanding of the world of relationships and social behavior (Branden-
Muller et al, 1992). Interpersonal problem solving skills are an important
part of determining social competence, which includes prosocial and
assertive behavior (Denham & Almeida, 1987). However, it must be
recognized that these skills are only part of the cognitive chain to social
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
9
competence. Other key factors include 1) individual's information
processing abilities, 2) situational demands, 3) current concerns, and 4)
others' responses (Miechenbaum, Butler, & Gruson, 1981; Denham &
Almeida, 1987). Elias et al (1987) also suggest that both personal factors
within children and features of their social environment impact the
relationship between responses to interpersonal situations and behavior.
These factors, in addition to the skills for social problem solving skills,
include the frequency and duration of stressors (i.e. Lazarus), the amount of
support, and the individual's self-concept (Elias et al, 1987).
Preschoolers' Social and Cognitive Development
Of interest in the study of preschoolers is the development and the
interrelationship of social cognition skills, cognitive skills, and affect.
Understanding where preschoolers are in terms of social, cognitive, and
affective development is a necessary antecedent for understanding their
social cognition.
In terms of general cognitive development, preschoolers' cognitive
skills can be characterized by Piaget's "preoperational stage" of cognitive
development. During this stage, which lasts from 2-6 years of age, young
children are able to represent things with words and images but lack logical
reasoning (Bretherton, Prentiss, & Ridgeway, 1990; Wright, 1980; Branden-
Muller et al, 1992). Preschoolers, who are typically four and five year-olds,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
10
are at the end of this stage and thus may exhibit rudimentary logical
reasoning abilities which exemplify the beginnings of the subsequent stage
of concrete operations. Such cognitive skills appear to be related to
children's intellectual competence as well. Simultaneously with this
Piagetan stage of development is the beginning of children's development of
social understanding. It is suggested that while studying cognitive
development, Piaget underestimated the level of interpersonal knowledge
which preschooler's possess (Bretherton, Prentiss, & Ridgeway, 1990).
Are children's social problem solving abilities related to their
intelligence? While it may intuitively seem that intellect and cognitive ability
would be highly related to social problem solving abilities, the relationship
has not been well demonstrated. In fact, it is often asserted that social
ability is not highly dependent upon traditional notions of intelligence
(Branden-Muller et al, 1992). More specifically, it may be that only certain
social skills are dependent upon general intellectual ability while others are
not. There is considerable evidence that the specific social cognitive skill of
interpersonal or social problem solving is not directly related to one's
intellect or level of cognitive skill. For example, measures of social problem
solving ability have consistently little or no correlation with WPPSI scores
(Branden-Muller et al, 1992).
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
11
While intellectual development appears to be unrelated to social
problem solving, it does appear that social development does impact these
skills. In terms of social development, preschooler's are well past the
Eriksonian stage of trust versus mistrust and the critical phase of
attachment. Based on their successes or failures of these challenges, their
future social development, and in turn their social cognitive development,
can be somewhat predicted. In contrast to cognitive abilities, it is clear that
the social development of children is highly related to social competence.
For example, Sroufe and his colleagues have found that infants who were
securely attached at 12 to 18 months of age were more confident, persistent,
and enthusiastic when faced with challenges at age 2-3 (Sroufe, Fox, &
Pancake, 1983).
Social Problem-Solving
Given the theoretical and developmental understanding of how social
problem solving relates to affect and cognition, the practical importance of
social problem solving in its effects on behavior can now be highlighted. The
importance of social cognitive competence, which is largely characterized by
adequate social problem solving skills, is the well-demonstrated relationship
to children's social and behavioral adjustment (Branden-Muller et al, 1992;
Denham & Almeida, 1987; Elias et al, 1981; Wright, 1980; Shure & Spivack,
1980; Rubin & Krasnor, 1983). Social cognitive competence is key to
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
12
children's healthy development, and social cognitive skills are an essential
determinant of social adjustment throughout the lifespan (Branden-Muller et
al, 1992). Given that conflict and problems are inevitable in the course of
interpersonal interactions, it is imperative that children and adults possess
skills to respond to various dilemmas (Jones, Rickel, & Smith, 1980). Lack
of such skills, or inadequate social cognitive competence, is usually
manifested in children's difficulties joining activities with their peers,
perceiving group norms, responding to provocations and interpreting
prosocial interactions (Branden-Muller, 1992).
Since social problem solving skills are key predictors to behavioral
adjustment, it is important to clarify what constitutes these skills. The
research which utilizes measures of social problem solving skills for either
predictors or outcome variables contains a variety of definitions. A general
definition suggests that social problem solving skills include abilities to
understand, analyze, and form reactions to conflicts (Elias et al, 1987;
Denham & Almeida, 1987). How children conceptualize such interpersonal
problems and their solutions is indicative of their skill level (Denham &
Almeida, 1987). Successful use of skills during conflicts is considered
necessary for coping with stress, and deficits in these skills can result is
atypical behavior (Elias et al, 1987). To be more specific, social problem
solving skills can include interpersonal sensitivity, methods of problem
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
13
definition, and types of strategies employed for handling interpersonal
dilemmas. The role of these skills is to both accompany and direct
behavioral performance (Elias et al, 1987). Social problem solving skills can
also be categorized into subtypes. Brochin and Wask (1992) focus on three
types of skills which apply to young children: maintaining social interactions,
managing conflicts, and entering peer groups. Other research has defined
social problem solving skills as the ability to attain personal goals when
facing interpersonal conflict (Rubin & Krasnor, 1983). Finally, the most
widely used operational definition of social problem solving has been
generated by the Shure and Spivack (1980) studies. From their perspective,
interpersonal problem solving mediates behavioral adjustment when defined
as the increased ability to conceptualize alternative solutions to
interpersonal problems (Shure & Spivack, 1980) In other words, children
who have adequate social problem solving skills can generate a variety of
options to approach conflict. This underlying premise is the basis for The
Preschool Interpersonal Problem Solving Test, the "PIPST", which scores
the skills by counting the number of alternative solutions which children can
suggest for handling interpersonal dilemmas (Shure & Spivack, 1980). Most
studies on preschooler's reactions to conflict have utilized this measure.
The measure proposed by this study, The Bears' Picnic, is based on a
different definition of social problem solving.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
14
While the importance of interpersonal problem solving as a predictor
of behavior has been discussed, it should also be noted that interpersonal
problem solving measures are also useful as outcome measures. Because
of the strong interrelationship between social cognitive competence and
behavioral adjustment, researchers argue that social competence indicators
are superior to IQ as outcome measures for children's overall adjustment
(Luthar & Zigler, 1991). For instance, children characterized as "resilient",
as opposed to "vulnerable" in terms of reaction to stress, usually possess
better social problem solving skills (Luthar & Zigler, 1991). Their IQs,
however, may or may not be superior. Thus, the appropriateness of IQ as
the outcome or dependent measure for child adjustment is currently being
examined. Social problem solving measures, such as the Bear’s Picnic, may
be more useful as measures of adjustment.
There is consistent agreement that the relationship between social
problem solving skills and behavioral adjustment is robust (Denham &
Almeida, 1987). In their metaanalysis of social problem solving skills and
behavioral adjustment, Denham and Almeida (1987) provided a quantitative
integration of independent experiments. The common finding that adjusted
children score higher in social problem solving measures than nonadjusted
children had strong support. Even stronger was the effect size for
demonstration that children trained in social problem solving skills showed a
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
15
higher level of these skills at post-test than no-treatment controls (Denham &
Almeida, 1987). In addition a moderate effect between increased social
problem solving skills and improvement in behavioral adjustment was shown
(Denham & Almieda, 1987).
Although the relationship between adjustment and social problem
solving skills appears robust, it has been shown that several variables can
moderate this relationship and can mediate the magnitude of intervention
effects (Denham & Almeida, 1987; Rubin & Krasnor, 1983; Elias et al, 1987;
Jones, Rickel, & Smith, 1980). These variables include, but are not limited
to: age, gender, and sociometric status of the subject, and the child-rearing
practices of the subject's parents. In addition, it has been shown that the
expertise of the investigators, the type of assessment instrument used, and
the source of publication play a role in the measurement of social problem
solving skills and adjustment (Denham & Almeida, 1987).
The sociometric status of young children is related to their social
cognitive skills, including interpersonal problem solving. Intuitively, it seems
that children with poor problem solving skills would suffer in terms of
popularity. Conversely, sociometric status can enhance social cognition and
thus influence later social adjustment (Brochin & Wasik, 1992). In a study of
unpopular and popular children, it was found that deficits in social problem
solving ability could be identified in unpopular children as young as ages
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
16
five and six (Brochin & Wasik, 1992). Children who were rated most
favorably by their peers were superior in social problem solving as defined
by peer entry behaviors, maintaining social interaction, and managing
conflict. The investigators concluded that these abilities were predictive of
effectiveness and social competence (Brochin & Wasik, 1992). Other
researchers, however, have asserted that social competence is not related
to peer status for preschool through second grade children (Crick & Dodge,
1994).
The family provides an important context for children’s coping with
social interactions (Gettinger, Doll, & Salmon, 1994). Characteristics of the
family also relate to social problem solving. The coping strategies of
adolescents have been found to associate with family satisfaction.
Specifically, the use of avoidance strategies were negatively associated with
family satisfaction (Gettinger, Doll, & Salmon, 1994). Parenting styles also
influence the relationship between children's social problem solving and
their adjustment. For instance, maternal child rearing practices have been
correlated with preschooler’s social problem strategies (Jones, Rickel, &
Smith, 1980). Using the PIPST, Jones and colleagues found that higher
restrictiveness in parenting styles resulted in more evasive strategies used
by young children when faced with conflict (Jones, Rickel, & Smith, 1980).
Aae. Gender, and Social Problem-Solvino
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
17
Age and gender may also influence the social problem solving
abilities of children, including preschoolers, and therefore are of particular
interest to the presented study. Previous findings suggest that the age and
gender of the subject as well as the age and gender of the person with
whom there is a conflict, often referred to as the "target" person, effect a
child's approach to a social conflict (Rubin & Krasnor (1983). For instance,
Rubin and Krasnor demonstrated that both preschoolers and kindergartners
used more prosocial strategies when the "target" was an older person and
more agonistic strategies when the "target" was a younger person.
Since it is assumed that social problem solving skills are
developmental and therefore change with age, it seems logical that studies
would find correlations between age and types of social problem solving
strategies employed. In Rubin and Krasnor's (1983) investigation,
kindergartners were found to be more flexible in their solutions to social
dilemma than preschoolers. However, they asserted that among
preschoolers and kindergartners, age differences appear to be minimal in
terms of number and types of social problem solving strategies (Rubin &
Krasnor, 1983). While age did not significantly correlate with different types
of strategies, this study found that flexibility in response to the conflict
stimulus did increase with age. Specifically, older children were more likely
to shift their social problem solving strategies if their original strategies were
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
18
not effective (Rubin & Krasnor, 1983). For all ages, it was found that
prosocial strategies for obtaining access to an activity or object were the
most frequent. Prosocial strategies are also the most commonly elicited
responses from adults (Rubin & Krasnor, 1983). Another age-related
finding is that older children utilize social problem solving skills which
increase peer interaction whereas younger children will more likely utilize
strategies which require interaction with adults (Pellegrini, 1991). A
suggested interpretation of this finding is that children who choose to
interact with adults may still lack the social skills needed to interact with their
peers (Pellegrini, 1991). Crick and Dodge (1994) point out that little is
known about the social information processing of younger, preschool-aged
children and that the majority of studies have focused on nine through twelve
year olds. What is known is that, on the average, children become less
physically aggressive with age (Crick & Dodge, 1994). Therefore, in
response to social dilemmas, older children are likely to elicit fewer
aggressive responses in handling social conflicts.
In addition to age, gender is an important variable in relation to social
problem solving. Previous research has focused on the relationship
between gender and social problem solving and has generated mixed
results. When measuring children's responses to marital conflict, gender
differences very seldom appear; whenever gender differences are obtained,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
19
they generally indicate that boys are more reactive (Grych & Fincham,
1990). One study of adolescents noted that by the age of adolescence, girls
generate more effective solutions, and boys generate a significantly higher
percentage of physically aggressive responses (Caplan, Benetto, and
Weissberg, 1991). For fourth and fifth graders, whose mean age was ten
years, Quamma and Greenberg (1994) found that gender played a
significant role for special education student but not for regular students. In
this study, sex as well as IQ accounted for the largest amount of variance in
predicting adjustment. Adjustment was significantly correlated with social
problem solving skills (Quamma & Greenberg, 1994). For nine year olds, it
has been found that boys and rejected children are more likely to provide
aggressive solutions to social dilemmas (Dorsch & Keane, 1994). Studies of
seven and eight year old children have found no sex differences in their
responses to videotaped portrayals of peer conflicts (Vitaro & Pelletier,
1991).
Whether or not gender differences in social problem solving are
apparent in preschool-aged children is also unclear. Shure and Spivack
(1980) found that no sex differences occurred in average interpersonal
cognitive problem solving scores as measured by the PIPST. In addition, no
sex differences were demonstrated in the relationship between social
problem solving skills and behavior (Shure & Spivack, 1980). Rubin and
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
20
Krasnor (1983) report that prior to their investigation, few sex differences
have been reported in the literature. In their investigation, however, it was
shown that girls used more prosocial strategies and less agonistic strategies
than did boys. Girls also generated more alternate solutions than did boys
(Rubin & Krasnor, 1983). The investigation of disruptive preschoolers'
reactions to hypothetical conflict by Zahn-Wexler (1994) demonstrated
prevalent gender differences. They found that girls expresses more themes
of social connection, cohesion, and accommodation but also more anger
than boys. Girls also expressed more themes of fearfulness than boys.
Crick and Dodge (1994) assert that the relations among gender, social
information processing, and social adjustment have not been adequately
addressed. According to these authors, small sample sizes and samples
which contain mostly boys are partly to blame (Crick & Dodge, 1994). They
propose that differences should be expected in that the cognitions or social
information processing patterns of girls are different than those of boys
(Crick & Dodge, 1994).
The mixed results obtained by studies of age and gender effects on
social problem solving call for further investigation. Furthermore, it is
suggested that the dearth of studies addressing the gender issue in
conjunction with age precludes any current conclusions (Vitaro & Pelletier,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
21
1991). The proposed study aims to clarify age and gender effects in
preschoolers' social problem solving.
Emotion-Focused Coping
In addition to what has been discussed thus far in terms of the social
problem-solving skills which facilitate coping, emotional responses to conflict
are also a vital component of young children’s coping styles. Emotions
function as vital regulators of children's intra- and interpersonal behavior
(Denham, Zoller, & Couchoud, 1994). According to the Lazarus model of
coping, both “ problem-focused’ ’ and “ emotion-focused” coping While
problem-focused coping is aimed at managing or altering a distressing
situation, emotion-focused coping involves regulating one’s emotional
reactions to the situation. Reactions to most stressors involve both problem-
focused and emotion-focused coping responses. However, while problem
solving coping may be more suitable for situations which are controllable,
emotion-focused coping is more appropriate for managing stressors which
can not be controlled (Lazarus, 1993).
What is the nature of preschoolers’ emotional development, and how
does this influence social cognitive development? The answer to such
questions is best viewed from both a family and a developmental
perspective. Early childhood is a crucial period for the developmental task
of emotional control (Lindahl &Markman, 1990; Branden-Muller et al, 1992;
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
22
Dodge, 1989). While consistent ability to regulate emotions and
expressions is not evident until ages 10 and 11, preschoolers are beginning
to require some of the internal structures necessary for emotional regulation.
The development of internal structures to organize emotional experiences
will impact the quality of children's future interpersonal relationships
(Lindahl and Markman, 1990). In acquiring these structures, it is theorized
that preschoolers learn how to regulate emotions; this learning involves
preschoolers acquiring regulatory behaviors through interaction with their
parents (Lindahl and Markman, 1990). Families establish external
structures such as rules for dealing with the negative feelings which arise
from conflict. The regulation of negative affect effects the parent-child
relationship which influences the child's psychological development (Lindahl
and Markman, 1990). This learning can be interrupted by factors such as
marital conflict within the home (Dodge, 1989). The link between emotional
regulation and social problem solving is complex. It is probable that
cognitions and rule internalizations are involved in achieving affect
regulation (Lindahl and Markman, 1990). The function of cognition in terms
of emotional reaction has also been delineated by the Lang Tripartite Model
(Dodge, 1989). From this standpoint, emotional responses result from the
responses of three systems to aversive stimuli: physiological, behavioral,
and experiential or cognitive (Dodge, 1989). Empirically, the relationship is
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
23
suggested by the ability to differentiate school-aged children described as
"emotionally disturbed" based on their social cognitive skills (Elias, Gara, et
al, 1987).
Because of the complex nature of the relationships between
cognition, emotion, and social cognition, it is helpful to represent a figure
which shows the relationship. A working model of social problem solving
and its relationship with cognition, social cognition, and affect is
represented below in Figure 2.
affective skills
interpersonal
problem-solving skills
cognitive skills
social-cognitive skills
Figure 2. Anective, cognitive, and social-cognitive skills may interrelate
if interpersonal or social problem solving skills are considered just one
part of social-cognitive skills
In sum, the emotion-focused coping mechanisms employed by young
children are likely influenced by their family environment Recent research
supports a model of interpersonal predictors of the individual differences in
preschooler’s understanding and expression of emotion. Parental
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
24
socialization is identified as a key factor in children’s emotion-focused
coping (Denham et al, 1994).
Assessment of Preschoolers’ Coping
How are the social and emotional components of coping assessed?
As mentioned previously, there are many challenges inherent in the
investigation of young children. For assessing young children's social
problem solving, a variety of procedures have been used. These
procedures include direct observations of real conflicts and, more frequently,
the introduction of hypothetical conflicts to which children respond. Physical
stimuli such as hand puppets or pictures to accompany the stimulus
questions are often used to engage younger children in the assessment
procedure (Crick and Dodge, 1994). Less frequently used are
questionnaires, which have not been able to demonstrate validity and
reliability for this age group (Pellegrini, 1992). These difficulties continue to
exist as children become older. Reliance on paper-and pencil tests with
kindergartners has produced questionable data (Pellegrini, 1991). In sum,
young children are poor test-takers because of their susceptibility to
extraneous factors in the testing context (Pellegrini, 1991).
The typical social problem solving procedure in the literature involves
the presentation of a series of hypothetical social dilemmas and a request to
reflect about the possible causes and consequences of the social dilemmas
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
25
(Rubin & Krasnor, 1983). The proposed measure, the Bear's Picnic,
involves vignettes of hypothetical conflict situations which are presented to
the child.
Presenting children with vignettes which involve social conflict and
subsequently probing for their response is a common procedure to assess
children's social problem solving styles. Dubow and Tisak (1989) examined
the social problem solving skills of third and fifth graders by presenting them
with ten vignettes depicting conflictual situations with peers and parents.
Quamma and Greenberg (1994) utilized the Social Problem-Solving
Measure (Greenberg & Kusche, 1988) which consists of three vignettes.
These vignettes, which are presented with corresponding illustrations, depict
children being teased, being rejected from a group, and having an object
taken away. The child is asked what would happen next in the story,
whether they thought they could solve the problem, and what they would do
or say in that situation (Quamma & Greenberg, 1994). This instrument is
scored by coding children's responses for its level of effectiveness (e.g.
prosocial, nonconfrontational, and aggressive) Quamma p. 296, Crick p. 88
A similar measure was used by Brochin and Wasik (1992) to assess what
they prefer to call social competence. The Social Knowledge Interview also
presents hypothetical problem situations to children and is appropriate for
kindergartners and first grade children. The nine vignettes represent three
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
26
types of social situations: initiating social interaction, maintaining social
interaction, and managing conflict. Like many of the other assessment
procedures for younger children, the instrument utilizes pictures which
accompany the vignettes (Brochin and Wasik, 1992). Another vignette-style
procedure, the Social Problem Solving Test, has been used to assess both
qualitative and quantitative features of social problem solving (Rubin &
Krasnor, 1983). This procedure presented conflicts and corresponding
pictures, which involve a child wanting to play with another child's toy. The
strategies presented by the children were coded for quality (i.e. prosocial,
agonistic, authority intervention, bribe or finagle, and manipulate affect) and
then computed for quantity (Rubin & Krasnor, 1983).
By far the most popular existing measure of social problem solving
which uses vignettes of hypothetical conflicts is Shure and Spivack's
Preschool Interpersonal Problem Solving Test or "PIPST" (Shure & Spivack,
1980; Denham & Almeida, 1987; Jones, Rickel, & Smith, 1980). Part of the
popularity of this measure is due to its reliability (Denham & Almeida, 1987)
This measure does have both reliability and validity information available
(Brochin & Wasik, 1992). This measure is also noted for its demonstrated
efficacy of the measure for interventions which increase children's social
problem solving capabilities. Like the Social Problem Solving Test, the
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
27
PIPST consists of vignettes and pictures which involve a child trying to
acquire a desired toy from another child who is playing with that toy.
However, the PIPST has not gone without criticism. The
psychometric adequacy of the test has been questioned by several authors
(Brochin & Wasik, 1992; Denham & Almeida, 1987). The suggested
problems include: 1) lack of normative data, 2)lack of evidence that the
content, conflict over an object and attempting to preclude anger from a
child's mother following a misdeed, is representative of children’s encounters
in the preschool years, and 3) the range of interpersonal problems assessed
is too narrow in scope (Brochin & Wasik, 1992) Furthermore, it appears that
the Hahnemann group, who developed the PIPS, are reporting reliability
estimates much higher than those found by other groups (Denham &
Almeida, 1987).
This proposal highlights additional difficulties with the PIPST. First,
there are questions concerning the scoring of the PIPST. Specifically,
scores on the PIPST depend upon the number of alternative solutions which
a preschooler can generate when given a social conflict. Types of
responses which a subject receives credit for include "asking” and "saying
please" as well as "finagling" and "manipulating affect". Therefore, these
latter types of responses are equal to the two former types of responses in
terms of scoring. As a result, children who have been taught that deceiving
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
28
is "bad" will not offer these types of responses. Therefore, there PIPST
scores, which counts the number of alternative solutions generated, will be
lower and there social problem solving abilities will appear to be less
developed. By equalizing these kinds of responses and considering them to
all to be effective problem solving strategies differentiates the PIPS from the
proposed measure, the Bear's Picnic. The underlying premise and the
coding system of the proposed measure considers the consequences of the
strategies. Specifically, responses which include finagling and manipulating
are seen as increasing or "escalating" the conflict, whereas requests or
saying please are viewed as "deescalations" of conflict.
An additional difficulty with the PIPST is in its administration.
Specifically, our experimenters found it difficult to engage the child in the
testing procedure. The three-dimensional stimuli used in the Bear's Picnic
may increase the preschooler’s engagement in the task and therefore
increase its psychometric value.
It is apparent that several instruments are available for assessing
problem-focused coping. Less available are procedures to measure
emotion-focused coping strategies. Given the existing theoretical models
and research on younger children, it is important to assess both their social-
cognitive strategies, as well as their emotional regulation of distressing
situations.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
29
The previously-discussed inherent challenges of engaging and
assessing the behaviors of younger children are, of course, present in the
measurement of childrens’ emotions, including their emotion-focused coping
strategies. However, several researchers have devised creative approaches
to evaluate young children’s emotional processes. As standardized
checklists are not generally feasible for the younger age-groups, semi
structured play procedures have been frequently used. To measure
emotionality and other reactions to interpersonal distress, common
procedures have involved presenting children with hypothetical dilemmas
and measuring children’s verbal responses (Eisenberg et al, 1994).
Recently, having children enact strategies using three-dimensional stimuli
have become popular. Enactive procedures are more likely than verbal
assessments to elicit the social scripts that guide children’s actual,
spontaneous behavior. Verbal assessments, such as the PIPST, may pull
for higher level reasoning than is actually used in real life situations
(Eisenberg, 1994). By using such enactments, Eisenberg and her
colleagues (1994) found significantly relationships between negative
emotionality and enacted aggression.
Since a primary goal of the coping research is to examine the
relationship between coping and behavior, it is also important to briefly
address the ways in which young childrens’ behavior is assessed. In the
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
30
literature on coping, social problem solving, and emotional regulation,
behavior is usually measured through the use of standardized checklists
such as the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1983) and the Louisville
Behavioral Checklist (Miller, 1982). Such instruments are usually
completed by the parents. The use of teacher data to measure child
behavior is also frequently used. Finally, many researchers use direct
observation to collect data on child behavior (Denham & Zoller, 1994).
Hypotheses
The proposed instrument provides an engaging assessment
procedure which was designed to improve upon existing measures such as
the PIPST. However, the development and validation of the Bear's Picnic is
only one of the contributions of the present investigation. In addition, this
procedure will be used to address some of the specific needs and questions
which have arisen from previous research. First, it will be used to assess
the coping strategies of the highly understudied population of preschool
children. Second, the study will examine the role of gender and age in
children's coping responses. Previous studies concerning these variables,
as discussed above, have been inconclusive either because gender and age
influences are minimal or because the measurement procedures have
lacked reliability and validity.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
31
It is expected that the both reliability and validity will be demonstrated
for the proposed measure. Interrater reliability will be calculated in terms of
agreement between coders. Internal consistency reliability will be estimated
from the correlations among the scales. It is expected that the vignettes
whose content involves family members will comprise a scale of Coping with
Family Conflict, while the vignettes which involve stressors in peer
relationships will comprise a scale of Coping with Peer Conflicts, and a
single vignette which involves witnessing a spousal argument will be an
index of Coping with Marital Conflict.
Convergent validity will be demonstrated by correlations between
coping responses and scores on the Louisville Behavioral Checklist will be
calculated.
Specifically, it is expected that the log likelihood ratios of responses which
involve physical aggression between characters will inversely correlate with
the Aggression scale of behavioral adjustment as measured by the Louisville
Behavioral Checklist. The use of Bears' Picnic responses which involve
passive or avoidant behaviors may correlate with the Inhibition scale of the
LBCL. Correlations may appear between Bears' Picnic responses are the
Cognitive Disability scale of the Louisville, however, there are no
expectations that certain Bears' Picnic responses will show stronger
correlations than others. Finally, it is expected that Deescalating responses,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
32
or responses that decrease tension among characters, will be negatively
correlated with the three Louisville subscales.
It is expected that the log likelihood ratios of certain Bears' Picnic
responses will correlate with satisfaction of the children's parents as
measured by Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976). This hypothesis is
based on the indisputable association between marital conflict and child
adjustment (Grych & Fincham, 1990). While marital conflict is undoubtedly a
significant stressor for children, the nature of how marital conflict influences
children is less clear (Grych & Fincham, 1990). It is reasonable to assume
that children who have experienced interpersonal conflict in the home will
react differently than children who have not experienced conflict. However,
it is unclear whether such experience causes habituation or sensitization to
such experiences. Therefore, this study is expected to be of exploratory
value by revealing how different coping styles can be influenced by the
presence or absence of marital satisfaction.
Concerning the relationship between gender and coping style, large
gender differences are not expected. Previous literature has provided
contradictory evidence for estimating whether boys' and girls' will respond
with differing approaches to resolving social conflicts. While gender
differences are not expected in a general sense, there are certain specific
results of past literature that make it possible to make a few specific
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
33
expectations. Given the previous findings in the literature concerning the
effects of gender and age on social problem solving, it is expected that girls'
responses will more likely represent prosocial and cooperative approaches
(Rubin & Krasnor, 1983; Zahn-Wexler, 1994). Thus, girls may have a higher
proportion of Deescalating Responses. In addition, it is expected that girls
may elicit more responses which reflect passive or avoidant reactions to
conflict than will boys. In addition, it has been demonstrated with other
instruments that boys' responses reflect more aggressive approaches to
managing conflict. This is consistent with observational research indicating
that males show more direct and indirect forms of aggression (Rubin &
Krasnor, 1983; Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974). Thus, it may be more likely that
boys will provide more Escalating responses than will girls. Furthermore,
when comparing the Escalating responses of girls and boys, boys'
Escalating responses will probably involve more Physical Escalations ways
while girls' escalating responses will more likely reflect Verbal Escalations.
Since social problem solving skills appear to be developmental, it is
assumed that four and five year-olds will differ in their reliance on different
response strategies. This has been demonstrated in previous studies
(Rubin & Krasnor, 1983). For example, older children may utilize more
Deescalation responses and less Escalation strategies than will younger
children. It is also expected, given previous findings, that the younger
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
34
children in the sample will more often rely on the specific Deescalation
strategy of Authority Intervention than will the older children. This is
suggested by Pellegrini's (1991) finding that age was positively associated
with strategies which engage peers and negatively associated with
strategies which engage adults. In addition to more frequent use of
Escalating responses (i.e. responses that increase rather than decrease
tension of conflict) and Authority intervention Deescalating responses,
younger children may be more likely to utilize Passive/Escape strategies and
Story Maneuvering responses (responses which ignore the presented
conflict). Thus, it is expected that age will be inversely correlated with
Escalating and Story maneuvering responses, positively correlated with
overall Deescalating responses, and negatively correlated with the specific
Deescalating strategy of Authority intervention.
Concerning the use of Emotional responses, the inconsistency of
previous findings make it difficult to make predictions. However, both age
and gender will be examined in relation to the use of emotional responses.
Specifically, whether a child identifies a negative or positive emotion in
reaction to the presented conflict may be influenced by his/her age and
gender.
Finally, the relationship between age and gender in their effects on
social problem solving may be possible and will therefore be tested through
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
35
regression analyses. While previous research has revealed few gender
differences for this age group, concerns about the validity of instruments and
the dearth of studies on preschoolers suggest the necessity for further
investigation.
The following list serves to summarize and specify the expectations of
the
study:
1. Interrater Reliability is expected for the coding system. Agreement
between coders will be calculated on 20% of the data.
2. Internal Consistency Reliability will be demonstrated. Three scales will
be developed. Correlations among the vignettes within each of the three
scales and correlations between the three scales will be examined. Scale
One, Family Conflict, consists of Vignettes 1, The content of these
vignettes are comprised of interpersonal conflicts involving family members.
Scale Two, Peer Conflict, will consist of vignettes that involve conflicts
between peers. Scale Three, Reaction to Marital Conflict, consists of
Vignette 9, which involves the main character vicarious witnessing Marital
Conflict.
3. Convergent Validity will be demonstrated by calculating the relationship
between Escalating responses and Scores on the Louisville Behavioral
Checklist (Miller, 1982). A positive correlation is expected between the log
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
36
likelihood ratio of Escalation responses and elevations on the Aggression
Scale of the Louisville Behavioral Checklist. The Inhibition Scale of the
Louisville is expected to positively correlate with log likelihood ratios of
Passive, Escape responses on the Bears' Picnic. Scores on the Louisville
subscale of Cognitive Disability is expected to correlate with age but not with
particular Bears' Picnic Responses.
4. A replication of previous findings concerning the relationship between
coping and family satisfaction is expected. This will be demonstrated by
calculating the relationship between the log likelihood of children's coping
responses on each of the three Bears' Picnic Scales and their parents
marital satisfaction which will be represented by scores on the Dyadic
Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976). It is expected that children from families
with more conflict will have more difficulty reducing the tensions presented
in the Bears' Picnic. Thus, an inverse relationship is expected between
Escalation responses and marital satisfaction. Because previous research
has found a relationship between the use of avoidance strategies and family
satisfaction, correlations are expected between Passive/Escape responses
on the Bears’ Picnic and the parents’ marital satisfaction as measured by the
Dyadic Adjustment Scale.
5. Because previous research has been equivocal, large gender differences
are not expected. However, girls and boys may differ in their reliance on
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
37
certain specific coping strategies. Specifically, Girls are expected to utilize
more strategies which reduce tension through cooperation or "deescalate"
conflict. They may also more heavily utilize responses in the Passive,
Escape, Avoidant category. Boys are expected to utilize more strategies
which Escalate conflict and more which use Physical Escalation Strategies.
Responses which utilize Verbal Escalation strategies may be more used by
girls.
6. Gender differences may also be detected in terms of Emotional Coping
Strategies. Correlations between gender and each type of Emotion
response will be calculated including Feeling-Mad, Feeling-Sad, Feeling-
Negative (not mad or sad), and Feeling Positive. Since there is a lack of
research in the area of emotion and preschool coping, it is impossible to
make specific expectations.
7. Age differences may also be detected in terms of use of strategies.
Since social problem-solving is developmental in nature, then it is
reasonable to expect that older children will respond differently than younger
children. Thus, age is likely to predict the probability of each of the fourteen
coping responses.
8. Age and gender together are expected to predict the log likelihood ratios
of each of the fourteen response types of the Bears' Picnic on the three
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
38
scales (Family Conflict, Peer Conflict, and Reaction to Marital Conflict).
Forty-two regression statements will be calculated.
In sum, it is difficult to make specific hypotheses. This is due to two
major factors. First, previous research has been equivocal concerning
gender, coping, and family conflict. Second, the lack of valid instruments
question the conclusions of the existing research. Therefore, this study
aims to be exploratory and descriptive in terms of many of the research
questions.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
39
CHAPTER II
METHOD
Participants
The participants in this study were part of a larger investigation by the
U.S.C. Family Studies Project. Participants were solicited in several ways.
First, advertisements were listed in L.A. Parent magazine. Second, fliers
were distributed to preschools throughout the Los Angeles area. Third,
participants referred other potential subjects to the Project.
There were several requirements for participation. The participating
children had to be either four or five years of age. In addition, they had to be
currently living with both of their biological parents. The children's parents
were required to participate in the larger project. In addition, all family
members were required to speak and read English in order to participate.
One hundred eighty families participated in the overall procedures.
The data for this particular study was collected from the children of these
families. Data was analyzed for 172 subjects. Eight subjects were dropped
because of procedural errors.
The ages of the female subjects (n=92) ranged from 49 to 72 months
with a mean of 60.36 months. The ages of male subjects (n=80) ranged
from 48 to 71 months with a mean of 59.5 months.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
40
A summary of the descriptive statistics for the children and their
parents is presented in Table 1.
Table 1:
Descriptive Characteristics of Subjects
Girls Bovs
Number of Subjects (N) 92 80
Child's Aae (months)
Mean 60.36 59.50
Range 49-72 48-71
Parents'Aae (years)
Mean 34.0 32.9
Range 24-47 21-46
Parents' Ethnicity (%)
Mother
African American 22 19
Caucasian 65 56
Hispanic 8 16
Asian American 3 4
Other 2 5
Father
African American 21 24
Caucasian 61 59
Hispanic 6 11
Asian American 3 4
Other 9 2
Parent's Employment
Status (%)
Mother
Full-time 32% 26%
Part-time 22% 25%
Unemployed 46% 48%
Father
Full-time 78% 83%
Part-time 7% 4%
Unemployed 14% 14%
Parents Education fvrs)
Mother
Mean 14.7 14.4
Range 10-25 11-20
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
41
Father
Mean 14.9 15
Range 9-20 11-20
Parents - Years Married
Mean 8.7 8.2
Range 3-19 1.8-21.3
Previous Marriaaes (%)
None 64%
One or More 31.5%
Girls' Parents
Mother's of the girl subjects ranged in age from 24 to 47 years with a
mean age of 34 years. Fathers of the girls subjects ranged in age from 25 to
50 years with a mean age of 36 years. In term of number of years married,
the parents of the girls had been married from 3 to 19 years with an average
of 8.7 years. The education level of the girls' mothers ranged from 10 to 25
years with a mean of 14.7 years. The education level of the girls' fathers
ranged from 9 to 20 years with an average of 14.9 years. For the parents of
the girls, 64% of the couples reported that the current marriage was their
first marriage and 31.5% reported that at least one of the spouses had been
previously married.
Concerning employment status of the girls' mothers, 46% were
unemployed, 22% percent were employed part-time, and 32% were
employed full-time. Of the girls' fathers, 14% were unemployed, 7 percent
were employed part-time, 78% were employedfull-time, and 1% were
retired.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
42
Concerning ethnicity, mothers and fathers self-reports were used
using the following categories: Asian American, African American,
Caucasian, Hispanic, and Other. Of the girls' mothers, 65% were
Caucasian, 22% were African American, 8% were Hispanic, 3% were Asian
American, and 2% reported Other. Of the girls' fathers,61 % identified
themselves as Caucasian, 21 % as African American, 9% as Other, 6% as
Hispanic, and 3% as Asian American.
Bovs' Parents
The mothers of the boy subjects (n=80) ranged in age from 21 to 46
subjects with an average age of 32.9 years. The fathers of the boy subjects
ranged in age from 25 to 56 with an average age of 36 years. In terms of
number of years married, the parents of the boys had been married from 1.8
to 21.3 years with a mean of 8.2 years. The education level of the boys
mothers ranged from 11 to 20 years with an average of 14.4 years. The
education level of the boys fathers ranged from 11 to 20 years with a mean
of 15 years.
Concerning employment status, 48% of the boys' mothers reported
being unemployed, 25% reported part-time employment, and 26% reported
full-time employment. Of the boys' fathers, 14% reported being
unemployed, 4% reported part-time employment, and 83% reported full-time
employment.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
43
Of the boys' mothers, 56% identified themselves as Caucasian, 19%
as African American, 16% as Hispanic, 5% as Other and 4% as Asian
American. Of the boys' fathers, 59% reported their ethnicity as Caucasian,
24% as African American, 11 % as Hispanic, 4% as Asian, and 2% as Other.
For the entire sample, family income was computed by taking the
maximum report of the father's income and averaging it with the maximum
report of the mother's income. The Family income for the entire sample
(n=172) ranged from 0 to 35,832 dollars per month. The median income for
the parents was 4,000 dollars per month.
Instruments
The Bear's Picnic
The Bear's Picnic is a semi-structured play procedure designed for
assessing preschool children's reactions to simulated conflict. This
instrument was designed by Eve Zukowski, a research assistant and
graduate student in Counseling Psychology. The idea for the procedure was
generated from the previous research on social problem solving. As
discussed earlier, most studies of social problem solving and coping have
utilized a vignette format. Unlike previous instruments such as the PIPST,
this instrument did not solely include vignettes involving stressful
interactions with peers. The ten vignettes of the Bears' Picnic were
designed to capture a myriad of stressful events. Interpersonal conflicts that
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
44
involved peers, siblings, and parents both at home and at school were
presented. A vignette was also included to capture children’s responses to
witnessing marital arguments. The Bear’s picnic was also designed to
improve upon the two-dimensional presentation utilized by the PIPST.
Instead of presenting children with pictures of other children and describing
conflicts, three-dimensional figures of bears were used. Bear figures were
used as an attempt to more successfully engage preschoolers in the
assessment procedures. The use of bears, which the participants were
encouraged to hold and manipulate, provided a non-threatening, engaging
way of introducing conflict. Although other play procedures exist that utilize
bears, none are known that are specifically designed to assess interpersonal
conflict.
The Bear’s Picnic procedure involves presenting the child with a story
or vignette and asking the child, through the use of probes, to continue the
story. Specifically, the child was asked “ What happens next?” after each
vignette. Physical stimuli are also used which serve to engage the subject
and sustain their attention. These include small figures of a Bear Family, a
peer bear, a teacher bear, and props relevant to stories about a picnic,
school, and home.
The Bear’s Picnic consists of twelve vignettes. The first and last
represent a warm-up to the procedure and a wind-down and are not scored.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
45
The ten core vignettes describe different conflictual social or interpersonal
situations.
Prior to the introduction of the first vignette the child is given a bear
and told that "he/she is your special bear". The remaining members of the
bear family are then introduced to the child. After each vignette is
presented, the child is asked "What happens next?". The child is probed
with this question four times per vignette. The mean number of response
statements per vignette was eight, however the number of responses ranged
from one to thirty.
The Bear's Picnic story stems are represented in Appendix A.
Coding. The coding system was developed by two graduate students
in Counseling Psychology who were research assistants for the U.S.C.
Family Studies Project. The responses of ten participants to the Bears’
Picnic story stems were carefully reviewed in order to identify and name the
types of coping strategies. Seven major themes were identified among the
responses. These seven major content categories were: Escalation,
Deescalation, Passive/ Escape/Disempowered, Additional Story Events,
Story Maneuvering, Emotion, with several subcategories within each. A list
of the major categories and subcategories is represented in Appendix B.
The procedures for coding were as follows. First, transcripts of the
Bear's Picnic were typed. The transcripts were then segmented by the two
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
46
coders into action units. In other words, the children's responses to the
vignettes were divided into sentences or phrases which included subject(s)
and a verb or action. A sample the response statements to one vignette is
provided in Appendix C.
Once coding was completed, scores for each coding category were
obtained by computing the proportion of each coping response and
converting that proportion into log likelihood ratios for each of the 14 major
codes. Scores were obtained in two separate ways. First, log-likelihood
ratios were computed for the fourteen codes across all ten Bears' Picnic
vignettes. Second, based on the vignette content, three scales were
developed. These include Conflict with Family, Conflict with Peers, and
Reactions to Marital Conflict. The Conflict with Family scale consists of
Vignettes 1, 3, 4, 5, 10. The Conflict with Peers scale consists of Vignettes
2, 6, 7, 8 and the Reactions to Marital Conflict scale is represented by
Vignette 9.
Louisville Behavioral Checklist
The Louisville Behavioral Checklist (Miller, 1982) is a 164 item true-
false inventory. The LBCL is available in three forms, and Form E1 is the
appropriate form for children ages four to six. In this study, the father and
the mother filled out form E1, and their scores were averaged into a
combined score. The three major broad band scales of the Louisville were
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
47
scored for purposes of analysis. These scales are: Aggression
(undercontrol), Inhibition (overcontrol or internalization), and Cognitive
Disability. The Aggression scale contains items which describe egocentric,
emotionally demanding, hyperactivity, and belligerent behavior. The
Inhibition scale contains items which relate to social withdrawal, sensitivity,
and fear. The broad band scale of Cognitive Disability includes items which
reflect failure to master age-specific cognitive tasks and physical and social
immaturity.
The psychometric properties of the LBCL show good reliability and
validity. Spearman-Brown Split Half reliability estimates for Form E1 range
from .80 for Cognitive Disability to .90 and .91 for the Inhibition and
Aggression scales respectively. Criterion validity have demonstrated that
the LBCL clearly differentiates children with pathological disorders from the
general population (Miller, 1982).
Dyadic Adjustment Scale
The Dyadic Adjustment scale (Spanier, 1976) is a 32-item
questionnaire which utilizes Likert-type scales to measure overall marital
adjustment. Both husbands and wives filled out the DAS separately and
their scores were averaged together to get a combined score. A "minimum"
score was also calculated which represents the lower of the two scores
which reflects the satisfaction of the less content spouse.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
48
The psychometric properties of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale include
demonstrated reliability and validity. Coefficient alphas have ranged from
r=.73 to r= 94. Concerning validity, the DAS has been used to discriminate
well-adjusted couples from distressed couples (Spanier, 1976).
Procedure
The Bear’s Picnic was administered to the children as part of a larger
battery of testing procedures. The children participated for one session of
assessment which lasted approximately two hours. The battery of
procedures was included a warm-up procedure with one parent followed by
six individually-administered tests. The Bear’s Picnic was the first procedure
of the six measurements and took approximately thirty minutes to administer.
While the child subject was participating in the procedures, the parents were
participating in procedures for the larger Family Studies Project. Research
assistants, who were graduate students in Clinical and Counseling
psychology and were trained in the assessment procedures, administered
the Bears’ Picnic to the children. Prior to administering the Bears’ Picnic,
the child and one parent were allowed a “ warm-up” time of thirty minutes in
order to acclimate the child to the testing environment. The ten vignettes of
the Bears’ Picnic were presented in the same order to each child. The 172
participants were seen across a one-year period.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
49
The Bears’ Picnic was videotaped and audiotaped. The experimenter
would repeat the child’s responses to each vignette. This was done for the
purposes of transcription. The transcriber, a clerical assistant for the Family
Studies Project, transcribe the statements which were made by the
experimenter. Once all the participants’ responses had been transcribed,
the statements were segmented and prepared for coding (see Coding
section).
The Louisville Behavioral Checklist (Miller, 1982) and the Dyadic
Adjustment Scale (Spanier,1976) were filled out by the parents at home.
When the participants arranged an appointment to participate in the Family
Studies Project Procedures, the family was mailed a home packet which
included several questionnaires. Among these questionnaires were the
Louisville Behavioral Checklist and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The
parents were asked to complete these inventories prior to the family coming
in for the remaining procedures.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
50
CHAPTER III
RESULTS
The following section will report the results of the reliability, validity,
correlation, and regression analyses. Reliability and validity of the Bears’
Picnic will be discussed first, followed by the results of the correlations and
regressions.
Reliability
Interrater Reliability
Estimates were based on the 25% of the subjects that were coded by
two coders. To demonstrate reliability, the agreement between the two
coders was calculated. Specifically, intraclass correlation procedures for
rater reliability were utilized based on the formula outlined by Shrout and
Fleiss (1979). This formula is based on analyses of variance (ANOVAs)
which generate the mean squares between the two coders across all
vignettes within a given scale, the error mean squares which indicates the
variation or error between the two coders. Relationships were measured for
the log-likelihood ratios of each of the fourteen coding categories on each of
the three scales (Family, Peer, Marital) for a total of 42 interrater reliability
estimates. The majority of estimates ranged from 85-100% . A complete
listing is delineated in Table 2.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Interrater Reliability: Intraclass Correlation Coefficients for Coder Agreement
on Bears' Picnic
Bears Picnic
Code
Additional
Events
Deescalation
Anger
Deescalation
Controlled
Deescalation
General
Escalation
General
Escalation
Physical
Escalation
Verbal
Feeling Mad
Feeling
Negative
Feeling
Positive
Feeling Sad
Neutral
Passive/
Escape
Manuever
ICC fN=291
.95
1.00
.92
.98
.86
.97
.89
1.00
.91
.96
.97
.74
.86
.95
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
52
The scales were also collapsed and interrater reliability was calculated to
estimate agreement on the fourteen codes across ail ten vignettes. The
interrater reliability estimates for the Bears' Picnic codes (unsealed) are
reported in Table 3.
Table 3:
Interrater Reliability: Intraclass Correlation Coefficients for Bear's Picnic with
Subscales
FAMILY PEER MARITAL
(n=5) (n=4) (n=1)
CODE
Additional .90 .95 .92
Events
Deescalation 1.00 .99 .97
Anger
Deescaiation .96 .96 .96
Controlled
Deescalation .84 .91 .98
General
Escalation .94 .76 .65
General
Escalation .95 .98 .94
Physical
Escalation .93 .82 .85
Verbal
Feeling Mad .98 1.00 .97
Feeling .77 .93 .77
Negative
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
53
Feeling
Positive
.94 .94 .86
Feeling Sad .98 .99 .91
Neutral .63 .94 .84
Passive/
Escape
.88 .90 .80
Story
Maneuvering
.93 96 .83
Internal Consistency
Reliability estimates were calculated to examine the psychometric
properties of the Bears' Picnic Scales. The intercorrelations for the 14 code
types among the Family Scale (n=5) and the Peer Scale (n=4) are
represented in Table 4.
Table 4:
Internal Consistency Reliability Coefficients for Bear's Picnic with Subscales
FAMILY CONFLICT PEER CONFLICT TOTAL
CODE (n=5) (n=4) (n=10)
Additional Events .53 .54 .71
Deescalation General .44 .53 .69
Deescalation .56 .70 .73
Authority - Anger
Deescalation .44 .52 .64
Authority-Controlled
Escalation General .37 .30 .50
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
54
Escalation Physical .45 .66 .72
Escalation Verbal .23 .36 .47
Feeling Mad
.47 .65 .74
Feeling Negative .46 .63 .75
Feeling Positive .56 .59 .73
Feeling Sad .52 .63 .74
Neutral .32 .49 .60
Passive/Escape .46 .46 .56
Story Maneuvering .41 .50 .63
Internal Consistency reliability estimates were also computed for the log-
likelihood ratios of the fourteen codes on all ten Bears' Picnic vignettes. In
other words, internal consistency reliability was calculated for the unsealed
version of the Bears' Picnic. The reliability estimates for the Bears' Picnic
scores on each code across all vignettes (n=10) is also reported in Table 4.
Bears’ Picnic Coping Responses
As discussed above, the Bears’ Picnic responses were segmented
and coded. Each statement was identified and coded as one out of fourteen
possible coping strategies. Correlations among the codes were calculated
to determine the relationship of between the types of strategies. The coding
strategies that were most highly correlated with each other tended to be
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
55
categories that were conceptually distinct, and therefore the categories were
not merged. Table 5 shows the correlations between the coding categories.
Table 5: Correlations Among Bears’ Picnic Coding Categories
AE DA DC DD
IQ IE
EV FM FN FS
EE
NN
AE - -
DA -.22*
DC -.26* .31* - -
DO -.40** .06 .03
EO .12 .13 .00 -.40 - -
EP .09 .14 -.01 -.46
to
- -
EV .06 .17 .19 -.05 .20* .12 - -
FM -.17 .29* .31* -.13 .19 .16 .07 - -
FN -.33** .53** .33* .24* .10 .01 .17
t
GO
CO
- -
FP -.15 .33** .07 .03
1
O
CO
-.12 -.03 .00 .21*
FS -.08 .22* .13 .21* -.10 -.07 .01 -.19 -.03 -.21* - -
NN -.17 -.25* -.26 -.10 -.23* -.17 -.36** -.18 -.14 .19 -.20* - -
PP .09 .44** .11 -.11 .15 .10 .28** .05 .18 .22* .05 -.27*
SS -.08 .36** .00 -.17 -.05 .08 .04 .07 .26 .23 .19 .08
*p<.05
**p<.01
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
56
Log likelihood ratios were computed based on the proportions of each of the
fourteen types of coping response across all ten vignettes. The mean log
likelihood ratios for boys and girls are presented in Table 6.
Table 6: Mean Loo-Likelihood Ratios and Proportions for Fourteen Types of
Bears’ Picnic Coping Responses
Loa-Likelihood Ratios
Girls Bovs T rtwo-tailedl
ProDortions
Girls Bovs T-value
(n=92) (n=80) (n=92) (n=80)
AA -2.70 -2.34 2.28* .13 .15 1.81
DA -3.91 -3.86 2.03* .00 .01 1.11
DC -3.42 -3.50 .41 .04 .04 .87
DD -1.27 -1.64 2.01* .28 .23 2.98
EO -3.20 -3.09 1.74 .05 .06 1.26
EP -3.51 -3.11 4.59*** .02 .06 4.29*
EV -3.37 -3.50 1.73 .03 .01 3.05*
FM -3.29 -3.14 1.80 .04 .05 1.53
FN -3.79 -3.81 .11 .01 .01 1.23
FP -3.51 -3.43 1.03 .03 .04 .29
FS -2.85 -3.06 1.88 .07 .06 .73
NN -1.88 -1.78 .53 .21 .21 .05
PP -3.67 -3.55 1.06 .02 .03 .25
SS -3.73 -3.65 .87 .02 .01 .11
• p<.05, **p< 01, ***p<.001
Two-tailed t-tests were performed to see if the means for girls and
boys were significantly different from one another. Significant gender
differences appeared for the coping responses of Additional Story Events,
Deescalation via Angry Authority Intervention, Physical Escalation, and
Deescalation General (Cooperation), and. Boys utilized the first three
strategies significantly more often than did girls, while girls utilized the latter
(Cooperation) significantly more often than did boys.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
57
Log likelihood ratios were also calculated for each coping response
on the three subscales of the Bears Picnic (Family, Peer, Marital). The
mean log likelihood ratios for boys and girls for the fourteen codes on the
three scales is presented in Table 7.
Table 7: Mean Loq-likelihood Ratios of Bovs’ and Girls’ Coping Responses on Bears' Picnic
Subscales
Girls (n=92) Bovs (n=80) T rtwo-tailecfi
Familv (n=5)
AA -12.44 -10.97 -2.27*
DA -19.58 -18.95 -2.03*
DC -17.05 -17.24 .41
DD - 6.40 - 8.27 2.91**
EO -16.79 -15.98 -1.74
EP -18.26 -16.18 -4.59***
EV -18.01 -18.63 1.73
FM -16.77 -15.86 -1.80
FN -18.87 -18.84 - .11
FP -17.24 -16.76 -1.03
FS -14.22 -15.23 1.88
NN - 9.29 - 8.95 - .53
PP -17.98 -17.51 -1.06
SS -18.86 -18.54 - .87
Peer fn=4t
AA -11.49 -10.09 -2.65**
DA -15.49 -15.58 .40
DC -13.34 -13.77 1.07
DD -5.29 - 6.66 2.36*
EO -11.74 -11.54 - .46
EP -13.41 -12.00 -2.68**
EV -12.55 -13.11 1.44
FM -12.91 -12.58 - .69
FN -15.17 -15.26 .32
FP -13.91 -13.87 - .11
FS -11.11 -11.85 1.41
NN -7.51 - 6.87 -1.19
PP -14.21 -14.42 .61
SS -14.84 -14.23 -1.85
Marital Scale
AA -3.11 -2.38 -3.37***
DA -4.02 -4.06 .42
DC -3.88 -3.98 .73
DD - .98 -1.38 1.85
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
58
EO -3.52 -3.41 - .64
EP -3.39 -2.94 -2.09*
EV -3.13 -3.26 .63
FM -3.19 -3.00 -1.08
FN -3.88 -3.46 .61
FP -3.91 •3.68 -1.76
FS -3.17 -3.48 1.71
NN -2.02 -2.01 - .05
PP -3.46 -3.52 .33
SS -3.56 -3.74 1.07
Two-tailed t-tests were performed. As indicated in Table 6, results obtained
were similar to the results of the total Bears’ Picnic without looking at the
subscales.
For girls, the most frequent coping responses were Deescalation
General, Neutral, Additional Events, and Feeling Sad. The least frequent
coping responses were Deescalation via Angry Authority Intervention,
Feeling Negative (nonspecific), Passive/Escape, and Story Maneuvering.
Like the girls’ responses, boys’ most frequent coping responses used
were Deescalation General, Neutral, Additional Events, and Feeling Sad.
Also similar to girls’ was the boys’ least used coping strategies:
Deescalation via Angry Authority Intervention, Feeling Negative
(nonspecific), Passive/Escape, and Story Maneuvering.
The proportion of each of the fourteen coping responses on the three
subscales of the Bears’ Picnic (Family, Peer, Marital) were also converted
into log likelihood ratios. On the Family subscale, several gender
differences were noticed thru two-tailed t-tests which compared the mean log
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
59
likelihood ratios for boys and girls on each coping response. Girls utilized
the coping strategy of General Deescalation more often than did boys. The
difference in the mean log likelihood ratios was significant (t=2.91, p<01).
Significant differences were obtained for the use of Additional Events (t= -
2.27, p<05) with boys using the Additional Events coping style more
frequently than girls. Boys also used the Deescalation via Angry Authority
Intervention coping response more frequently (t= -2.03, p<.05). Also used
more frequently by boys than girls was the Escalation Physical coping
strategy (t= -4.59, p<001). On the Family Subscale, this was the largest
difference between boys and girls.
On the Peer Subscale, similar gender differences were obtained. As
on the Family subscale, boys used the coping response of Additional Events
significantly more than did girls (t= -2.65, p<01). Deescalation General
responses were used more frequently by girls (t=2.36, p<05). The largest
difference was again in the Escalation Physical category, where boys’ use of
this type of coping being significantly greater than girls (t= -2.68, p<01).
On the Marital Subscale, again significant differences were obtained
for Additional Events and Escalation Physical responses. As in the prior two
subscales, boys used Additional Events and Physical Escalations more
frequently than did girls. The gender difference for Additional Events (t= -
3.37, p<001) was highly significant. The gender difference for Physical
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
60
Escalation was also significant (t= -2.09, p< 05), yet the difference was not
as large as it was in the Peer and Family subscales.
Louisville Behavioral Checklist
The LBCL (Miller, 1982) was used to measure child behavior.
Parents filled out the LBCL prior to coming in to the lab. All three Louisville
scales were calculated. The aggression scale measures "undercontrol" of
behavior. The Cognitive Disability Scale is the most heterogeneous of the
three scales and measures cognitive immaturity. The Inhibition Scale
measures "overcontrol" of behavior. On the Aggression (undercontrol)
scale, girls had a mean score of 8.20, while boys had a mean of 7.95. On
Cognitive Disability, the sample of girls had an average score of 7.21, while
boys had an average score of 8.21. On the third scale, Inhibition
(overcontrol), girls had an average score of 6.55, while boys obtained a
mean score of 7.25. These means, as well as z-score test statistics which
compare the sample to the normative data on the LBC, are presented in
Table 8.
Table 8: Sample Mean Scores on the Louisville Behavioral Checklist and Z-score
test statistic comparing sample means to LBC normative data.
Z-score test statistic
Girls Boys Girls Boys
(n=92) (n=80)_______________________________
LBCL Scale
Aggression 8.20 7.95 -2.82** -2.98**
Cognitive Disability 7.21 8.21 -3.17** -1.21
Inhibition 6.55 7.25 -2.73** -2.98**
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
61
As indicated in Table 7, the Bears’ Picnic sample obtained
significantly higher means on the LBCL than did the sample on which the
LBCL was normed. This indicates that the sample is significantly “ healthier"
than the LBCL normative sample, which including both “ normal” and
“ clinical” participants.
Dyadic Adjustment Scale
The wives (mothers) and (husbands) fathers completed the Dyadic
Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976) separately. Their separate DAS scores
were calculated as well as an average or Combined DAS score. For girls
parents, the wives’ yielded an average DAS of 105.07, and the husbands’
average was 106.07. For the boys’ mothers, the average DAS score was
104.74, and their fathers mean DAS score was 103.98. A summary of the
means are represented in Table 9.
Table 9: Mean Scores on the Dyadic Adjustment Scales for Bovs’ and Girls'
Parents
Girls Boys
(n=92) fn=801
Wife's DAS 105.07 104.74
Husband's DAS 106.07 103.98
Combined DAS 105.57 104.36
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
62
Relationships between Cooina Responses and Other Measures
Three large sets of correlations were computed. The first set which
will be discussed served to check the validity of the Bears’ Picnic and
involved testing the relationship between coping responses as measured by
the Bears’ Picnic and child behavior as measured by the Louisville
Behavioral Checklist. The second set, which will follow the results of the
Bears’ Picnic and the LBCL, includes the relationship between the children’s
coping responses and parents marital satisfaction as measured by the
Dyadic Adjustment Scale. As with the Louisville, correlations will be
reported for both the scaled and unsealed version of the Bears’ Picnic. The
third set of correlations to be discussed will address the relationship
between age, gender, and coping responses on the Bears’ Picnic.
Bears’ Picnic and Louisville Behavioral Checklist
In order to check the convergent validity of the Bears’ Picnic,
correlations between the fourteen Bears’ Picnic coping responses and the
three subscales of the Louisville Behavioral Checklist were obtained. In
addition, correlations were also computed for the fourteen coping responses
on each the Bears’ Picnic subscales and the LBCL.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
63
To test the relationship between coping style and behavior, the log-
likelihood ratios for the 14 Bears' Picnic Codes were tested for association
with the Aggression (undercontrol), Inhibition (overcontrol), and Cognitive
Disability (cognitive, physical, and social immaturity) subscales of the
Louisville Behavioral Checklist.
Girls - LBCL & Bears' Picnic (Without scalesl. Significant correlations
were obtained between Bears’ Picnic responses and Cognitive Disability
LBCL scores. Girls’ Deescalating General and Feeling Mad scores showed
significant inverse relationships (r= - 26,p< 05; r= -.22, p<.05) with LBCL
Cognitive Disability Scale scores No significant correlations were obtained
between girls' Bears' Picnic responses and the LBCL Aggression and
Inhibition Scale scores.
Bovs - LBCL & Bears' Picnic (Without scales). Similar to girls, boys'
Bears' Picnic responses did not correlate significantly with LBCL Aggression
scores nor with LBCL Inhibition scores. Boys' Feeling Positive responses
showed a significant positive association (r=.37,p<01) with LBCL Cognitive
Disability results.
Gender Differences - LBCL & Bears' Picnic (Without ScalesV To
summarize this data, the correlation coefficients demonstrating the
relationship between the log-likelihood ratios of Bears' Picnic (unsealed)
codes and the LBCL scores is presented in Table 10. In comparing
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
64
correlations and examining differences in relationship between boys and
girls, Fisher transformations are presented. When looking across all three
Louisville scales, the largest differences in relationship appear to be in the
use of Deescalation thru Controlled Authority Intervention, Feeling Positive,
and Feeling Sad responses. However, these differences were not
significant.
Table 10: Pearson Correlations for Bears' Picnic and Loiusville Behavioral
Checklist
LBCL Aggression Cognitive Disability Inhibition
Girls Bovs Z diff. Girls Bovs Z diff. Girls Bovs
Code
Additional
Events .15 -.07 1.47 .07 .06 .07 .00 -.08
Deescalate -.07 -.13 .41 -.06 .12 1.20 .03 -.03
Anger
Deescalate -.06 -.01 .33 -.11 -.10 .07 -.05 .05
Controlled
Deescalate -.11 .21 2.15* -.26* -.05 1.44 -.02 .15
General
Escalate -.02 -.11 .60 -.04 .08 .80 .03 -.05
General
Escalate .04 -.17 1.41 -.03 -.10 .47 .11 -.14
Physical
Escalate .05 .03 .13 .15 .00 1.01 .08 -.01
Verbal
Feeling Mad -.01 -.06 .33 -.22* -.12 .69 -.04 .05
Feeling -.13 -.06 .47 -.17 -.04 .88 .03 .17
Negative
Z diff.
.53
.40
.67
1.14
.53
1.67
.60
.60
.98
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
65
Feeling
Positive
-.19 -.04 1.00 .14 .37** 1.67 -.10 .01 .73
Feeling Sad .02 -.17 1.28 .02 -.21 1.55 .03 -.08 .73
Neutral -.07 -.06 .07 .17 .06 .75 -.01 -.03 .13
Passive -.01 -.13 .81 .04 .03 .07 -.06 -.04 .13
Story
Maneuver
.02 -.11 .87 .18 .04 .95 .12 -.10 1.48
Pearson Correlation coefficients utilizing a two-tailed test for
significance were calculated separately for the log-fikefihood rations on the
three Bears’ Picnic Scales (Family, Peer, Marital) and also for the unsealed
log-likelihood ratios. Table 11 outlines the correlations for girls and boys
Bears' Picnic scores on the three scales (Family, Peer, Marital) with the
LBCL
Table 11: Pearson Correlations for Bear's Picnic Scale Scores and LBCL
Scale Scores
AGGRESSION COGNITIVE DISABILITY INHIBITION
Girls Bovs z Girls Boys Z Girl
e
Boys Z
Additional
Events
FAMILY .12 -.05 1.17 .08 .18 .68 -.07 -.09 .13
PEER .07 -.01 .53 .05 -.01 .40 .07 .06 .07
MARITAL .22* -.21 2.91** .00 -.12 .80 .08 -.32** 2.75
Deescalate
Anaer
FAMILY -.06 -.07 .07 -.10 .13 1.53 -.02 -.03 .07
PEER
C O
^ —
t’
C D
O
r
.47 .00 .02 .13 .09 -.05 .93
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
MARITAL -.01 -.21 1.35 .00 .15 1.01 .00 .03 .20
Deescalate
Controlled
FAMILY -.03 .02 .33 -.16 -.15 .06 -.03 .07 .67
PEER -.09 -.01 .53 -.05 -.02 .20 -.09 .00 .60
MARITAL .05 -.14 1.27 .10 -.01 .73 .09 .02 .47
Deescalate
General
FAMILY
PEER
-.13
-.02
.18
.18
2.08*
1.35
-.16
-.26* -.06 1.37
.02
-.02
.15
.10
.87
.80
MARITAL -.14 .06 1.33 -.22* -.07 1.03 -.09 .07 1.07
Escalate
General
FAMILY -.07 -.06 .07 -.01 .18 1.28 -.05 -.01 .27
PEER .02 -.10 .80 -.06 -.04 .13 .03 -.09 .80
MARITAL .04 -.09 .87 -.01 -.04 .20 .16 .00 1.07
Escalate
Physical
FAMILY .00 -.21 1.79 -.01 -.24* 1.98* .11 -.17 2.3 T
PEER .08 -.11 1.60 -.01 .03 .34 .11 -.11 1.85
MARITAL -.06 .00 -.50 -.13 -.03 -.8 5 -.05 -.01 -.34
Escalate
Verbal
FAMILY -.08 -.02 1.42 -.02 -.04 .14 -.04 -.04 .00
PEER .11 -.01 1.27 .17 -.04 1.41 .15 -.02 1.14
MARITAL .10 .16 .40 .22* .14 .55 .05 .08 .20
Feeling Mad
FAMILY -.07 .02 .60 -.21* .00 1,42 -.07 .11 1.20
PEER .08 -.12 1.33 -.18 -.15 .21 .06 -.06 .80
MARITAL -.08 -.02 .70 -.11 -.23* .83 -.18 .10 1.88
Feeling
Neaative
FAMILY -.09 -.06 .20 -.15 -.08 .53 -.01 .09 .67
PEER -.11 -.02 .60 -.17 -.03 .95 .10 .23* .87
MARITAL -.14 -.12 .14 -.09 .06 1.00 -.02 .12 .94
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
67
Feeling
Positive
FAMILY -.18 .00 1.21 .07 .36** 2.05* -.15 .04 1.27
PEER -.13 -.05 .53 .18 .30** .87 .01 -.02 .20
MARITAL -.12 -.06 .40 .03 .30** 1.87* -.09 .01 .67
Feeling Sad
FAMILY .03 -.21 1.62 .11 -.22 2.23* .04 -.10 .93
PEER .02 .07 .33 -.07 -.22* 1.03 .00 -.01 .07
MARITAL -.03 -.16 .87 .04 .05 .07 .05 -.13 1.20
Neutral
FAMILY .03 -.06 .60 .02 .00 2.23* .09 .01 .93
PEER -.16 .01 1.01 .25* .14 1.03 -.09 -.08 .07
MARITAL -.02 -.15 .87 .13 .03 .07 -.06 -.09 1.20
Passive
FAMILY .06 -.11 1.14 .04 -.03 .47 -.02 -.09 .47
PEER -.02 -.06 .27 .06 .03 .20 -.05 -.03 .13
MARITAL -.15 -.06 .60 -.05 .14 1.27 -.06 .14 1.33
Maneuverina
FAMILY .03 -.12 1.00 .16 -.08 1.60 .15 -.14 1.95
PEER .06 -.05 .73 .06 .08 .13 .12 -.04 1.07
MARITAL -.08 -.09 .07 .24* .15 .63 -.05 .00 .33
Girls - LBCL & Bears1 Picnic (With scales). Several statistically
significant relationships were demonstrated between girls Bears' Picnic
responses and LBCL scale scores. Specifically, the log-1 ikelihood ratio of
girls Feeling Mad in Family Conflict scenarios (Scale 1) showed a
statistically significant inverse relationship (r= -.21, p<.05) with scores on the
LBCL Cognitive Disability Scale. During Peer Conflict scenarios (Scale 2),
the log-likelihood ratios for girls Deescalation (general) showed a
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
68
statistically significant inverse relationship with LBCL Cognitive Disability
Scale scores (r = -.26, p<.05). Neutral responses during Peer Conflict were
positively associated (r = .25, p <.05) with LBCL Cognitive Disability scores
for girls. In responding to Marital Conflict scenarios (Scale 3), girls' log-
likelihood ratios of Deescalation (general) were negatively associated with
LBCL Cognitive Disability scores (r = -.22, p<05). Statistically significant
positive associations were demonstrated between girls' log-likelihood ratios
for both Verbal Escalation (r = .2167, p<05) and Story Maneuvering (r =
.2387, p<.05) Bear's Picnic responses and LBCL Cognitive Disability Scale
scores.
Bovs - LBCL & Bears' Picnic (With Scalesl. For boys, several
significant relationships were also demonstrated between Bears' Picnic
responses and LBCL Scale scores. In response to Family Conflict
scenarios, boys' log-likelihood ratio of Physical Escalation was negatively
associated with LBCL Cognitive Disability Scale scores (r = -.24, p<05).
More significant was the relationship between Feeling Positive responses to
Family Conflict and LBCL Cognitive Disability Scale scores (r = .36, p<01).
In response to Peer Conflict vignettes, boys' Feeling Positive responses
were significantly positively related to Cognitive Disability scores (r = .30,
p<01). In addition, Feeling Sad responses on Bears' Picnic Scale 2 (Peer
Conflict) were negatively associated with Cognitive Disability LBCL scores (r
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
69
= -.22, p< 05). Finally, boys' Feeling Negative responses to Peer Conflict
were positively correlated with the Inhibition subscale of the Louisville (r =
.26, p<05). In reactions to Marital Conflict, boy's Additional Story Events
responses were negatively associated with Inhibition LBCL scores (r = -.32,
p<05). Feeling Mad in response to Marital Conflict was negatively
associated with Cognitive Disability scores on the LBCL (r = -.23, p<05).
More significant was the positive relationship between Feeling Positive
Bears' Picnic responses and Cognitive Disability (r = .30, p<01).
Gender Differences - LBCL & Bears' Picnic (With scales).
Concerning the relationship between Bears’ Picnic subscale responses and
scores on the Louisville Aggression, Cognitive Disability, and Inhibition
Scales scores, the correlation coefficients for girls and boys were compared
using the Fisher transformation (Glass & Stanley, 1970) For the majority of
correlations, differential relationships were not detected. However, several
comparisons of correlation coefficients revealed differential relationships.
Differences were detected when looking at the correlations between
using Additional Events to respond to Marital Conflict on the Bears’ Picnic
and the scores on the three Louisville scales. For girls, the relationship
between Additional Events (Marital subscale) and Aggression was positive
and significant (r=.22,p<05), while boys’ use of Additional Events responses
was negative (r= -.21, nonsignificant). The z-difference between boys and
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
70
girls was significant (z= 2.91, p< 05). This differential direction of
relationship also appeared for Additional Events (Marital) and LBCL
Inhibition scores. Again, girls use of Additional Events was positively related
to Inhibition, while boys’ use of Additional Events was negatively associated
with Inhibition. The z-difference was significant (Z= 2.75, p<05). There
was also a moderate discrepancy between boys’ and girls’ Additional Events
correlations with Cognitive Disability, however this difference was not
significant.
Another Bears’ Picnic response type that yielded differential
relationships for boys and girls to Louisville scores was General
Deescalation responses. For girls, such responses on the Family, Peer, and
Marital Bears’ Picnic subscales tended to be negatively associated with
Aggression scores on the LBCL, while boys’ use of such responses tended
to be positively associated with LBCL Aggression scores. Differential
relationships were also evident on the Cognitive Disability and Inhibition
Scales, however they were not statistically significant.
When looking at Physical Escalation responses, gender differences
were also revealed on the Bears’ Picnic subscales. The largest differences
appeared on the Family Conflict Subscale. Boys’ had negative relationships
between Physical Escalation response and Louisville Aggression, Cognitive
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
71
Disability, and Inhibition scores, while girls showed little correlation between
Physical Escalation responses and Louisville scores.
When looking at Story Maneuvering responses on the Family
Subscale and Louisville scores, differences in the direction of relationships
for boys and girls were detected. Girls tended to show a positive
relationship between Story Maneuvering and Louisville Aggression,
Inhibition, and Cognitive Disability scores, while boys’ use of Story
Maneuvering responses was negatively associated with Louisville Scale
scores. The relationship difference approached significance when looking
at the Cognitive disability (z=1.60, p>.05).
On all three Bears’ Picnic subscales (Family, Peer, Marital)
differences in the boys’ and girls’ correlation between Feeling Positive
responses and LBCL Cognitive Disabilty scores were obtained; however,
this difference was only significant on the Bears’ Picnic Family subscale.
Girls showed only a very slight positive relationship between Feeling
Positive responses and Cognitive Disability LBCL scores, while boys’ had
moderate to strong statistically significant positive correlations between
Feeling Positive and Cognitive Disability. The standardized difference
between boys’ and girls’ correlations for the Feeling Positive response to
Family conflict and LBCL Cognitive Disability was significant (z=2.05,
p< 05). For responding to Marital conflict, the difference in relationship
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
72
approached significance (z=1.87, p>.05). These gender differences in terms
of relationship are indicated by their Fisher standardized z-scores in Table
10.
Bears' Picnic and Dyadic Adjustment Scale
First to be outlined are the correlations between the DAS and the total
log-likelihood ratios of each of the fourteen Bears' Picnic codes without the
subscales. Subsequently, the correlations between Bears’ Picnic coping
responses among the three subscales (Family, Peer, Marital) will be
discussed. For the fourteen coping responses across all ten Bears’ Picnic
vignettes, the results for boys and girls are demonstrated in Table 12.
Table 12: The Bears Picnic and Dyadic Adjustment: Pearson Correlations and
Fisher Standardized Z -difference scores
Wife's DAS Husband’s DAS Combined DAS
Additional
Events
Deescalate
Anger
Deescalate
Controlled
Deescalate
General
Escalate
General
Girls Bovs Z-diff Girls
.13 .11 .14 .02
-.05 .07 .80 .02
-.07 -.14 .47 .06
.21* .00 1.42 .13
-.12 .01 .87 .11
Bovs Z-diff Girls Bovs Z-diff
.00 .13 .08 .06 .13
.06 .27 -.02 .08 .67
.02 .27 -.01 -.07 .40
-.09 1.47 .19 -.05 1.61
-.02 .87 -.13 .00 .87
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
73
Escalate
Physical
-.18 .05 1.55 -.11 .15 1.74 -.14 .12 1.75
Escalate
Verbal
.03 -.03 .40 .05 .13 .54 .04 .06 .13
Feeling Mad -.02 .08 .67 .06 .21 1.02 .02 .17 1.01
Feeling
Negative
.09 .05 .27 .11 -.02 .87 .11 .01 .67
Feeling
Positive
.15 -.23* 2.57** .06 -.22* 1.89 .12 -.26* 2.58*
Feeling Sad -.05 .20 1.67 -.02 .08 .67 -.04 .16 .20
Neutral .02 -.09 .73 -.02 -.26* 1.64 .00 -.21 1.42
Passive .02 .11 .60 .01 .09 .67 .02 .12 .67
Maneuver -.21 -.03 1.22 -.02 .15 1.14 -.13 .07 .20
Girls - Bears' Picnic (Without Scales^ & DAS. When looking at Bears'
Picnic responses without the subscales or across all of the vignettes,
correlations between girls' coping strategies and parents' DAS were mostly
nonsignificant. Two significant correlations were obtained. First, the
positive correlations between girls use of Deescalate General Strategies and
Wives’ DAS scores was significant (r=.21,p<05). Second, a negative
significant relationship was detected between girls' use of Story
Maneuvering.
While the remaining correlations were nonsignificant, it should be
noted that certain coping strategies on the part of the girls tended to be
positively associated with DAS scores while others tended to be negatively
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
74
associated with DAS scores. Table 12 reveals the correlations between
coping response and DAS scores.
Bovs - Bears' Picnic (Without Scales) & DAS. When looking at Bears'
Picnic responses without the subscales or across all of the vignettes, several
significant correlations were obtained for boys. Boys' Feeling Positive
responses were significantly negatively associated with Dyadic Adjustment.
This was true for the correlations with Wives' DAS (r= -.23, p<05),
Husbands' DAS(r= -.22, p<.05), and with Combined DAS (r= -.26, p<05).
A significant relationship was obtained between Boys' Neutral
responses and DAS, however this relationship was only significant when
using the Husbands' DAS scores (r= -.26, p<.05).
Gender differences - Bears' Picnic (Unsealed) & DAS. When looking at
Bears' Picnic responses without the subscales or across all of the vignettes,
Fisher transformations yielded several significant differences for boys and
girls in their relationship between Bears' Picnic coping responses and
Dyadic Adjustment. These occurred in the Feeling Positive category. For
girls, Feeling Positive was positively associated with the Wives', Husbands',
and Combined DAS scores. Boys' Feeling Positive responses were
negatively correlated with the three versions of DAS scores. Standardized
differences based on the Fisher transformation yielded a significant
difference in relationship for boys and girls between Feeling Positive and
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
75
Wives' DAS (z=2.47, p< 05) and Combined DAS (z=2.48,p< 05). These
standardized difference scores, as well as the correlations between coping
strategies and DAS scores are presented in Table 12.
Having outlined the results for the fourteen coping responses on the
Bears’ Picnic without the subscales, the Pearson Correlations which were
calculated separately for boys and girls to test the relationship between the
fourteen code types on each of the Bears' Picnic scales (Family, Peer,
Marital) and DAS scores. Two-tailed tests of significance were performed.
Furthermore, Fisher transformations were calculate the difference between
correlation coefficients for boys and girls. The correlations for boys and girls
with DAS scores as well as the standardized difference scores are
represented in Table 13.
Table 13: Correlations of Bears' Picnic Scale Scores and Dyadic Adjustment
Scores
Wives' DAS Husbands' DAS Combined DAS
Girls Bovs z Girls Bovs z Girls Bovs z
Additional
Events
FAMILY .13 .08 .43 -.02 -.01 -.08 .07 .04 .25
PEER .10 .15 -.43 .04 .02 .17 .08 .10 -.17
MARITAL -.01 .02 -.25 .06 -.07 1.09 .02 -.03 .42
Deescalate
Anaer
FAMILY -.11 .00 -.92 -.01 .03 -.37 -.07 .02 -.76
PEER .07 .12 -.43 .07 .10 -.25 .08 .13 -.43
MARITAL -.08 .10 -1.51 -.02 .03 -.42 -.06 .08 -1.18
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
76
Deescalate
Controlled
FAMILY .02 -.17 1.61 .17 .01 1.36 .10 -.09 1.60
PEER -.11 -.10 -.08 -.04 .06 -.8 4 -.08 -.03 -.42
MARITAL -.16 .08 -2.03* -.10 -.08 -.1 7 -.15 .00 -1.27
Deescalate
General
FAMILY .13 .00 1.12 -.02 .03 -.4 2 .07 .11 .42
PEER .22 -.02 2.05* .25* -.21 3.93*** .26* -.14 3.42***
MARITAL .13 .05 .68 .03 -.01 .34 .09 .02 .59
Escalate
General
FAMILY -.10 .00 -.84 .02 .06 -.37 -.05 .03 -.67
PEER -.10 -.06 -.37 -.20 -.11 -.7 8 -.16 -.10 -.51
MARITAL .00 .15 -1.27 -.03 .02 -.4 2 -.01 .10 -.92
Escalate
Physical
FAMILY -.07 .08 -1.26 .13 .10 .26 .03 .10 -.59
PEER -.20 .01 -1.79 -.20 .17 -3.15** -.22 .11 -2.81**
MARITAL -.09 -.02 -.59 -.03 .07 -.8 4 -.07 .03 .34
Escalate
Verbal
FAMILY -.02 .08 -.84 .06 .16 -.85 .01 .14 -1.09
PEER .08 -.15 1.94 .01 .13 -1.01 .05 -.01 .50
MARITAL -.02 -.03 .08 .05 -.08 1.09 .02 -.06 .67
Feelina Mad
FAMILY -.04 .06 -.84 .07 .16 -.76 .01 .13 -1.01
PEER -.05 .04 -.76 .02 .24* -1.89 -.02 .16 -1.52
MARITAL .12 .06 .51 .03 .02 .08 .09 .05 .34
Feeling
Neaative
FAMILY .04 .06 -.17 .11 .00 .92 .08 .03 .42
PEER .10 .01 .79 .05 .00 .39 .09 .01 .71
MARITAL .16 .06 .85 .13 -.14 2.28* .16 -.04 1.69
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
77
Feelina Sad
FAMILY -.12 .13 -2.10* -.03 .07 -.84 -.09 .11 -1.6*
PEER .05 .24 -1.64 -.02 .05 -.59 .02 .17 -1.2*
MARITAL -.08 .18 -2.20* .03 .18 -1.27 -.03 .21 -1.9*
Feeling
Positive
FAMILY .12 -.26* 3.25** .08 -.25 2.77** .11 -.29** 4.36’
PEER .11 -.16 2.27* -.02 -.16 1.18 .06 -.19 2.12’
MARITAL .14 -.11 2.11* .13 -.09 -.34 .15 -.12 2.29’
Neutral
FAMILY -.05 -.08 .25 -.07 -.30** 2.02* -.07 -.22 1.26
PEER .02 -.06 .67 .04 -.14 1.52 .03 -.12 1.26
MARITAL .17 -.04 1.78 .00 -.13 1.11 .10 -.10 1.68
Passive
FAMILY .00 .03 -.25 -.03 .04 -.5 9 -.02 .04 -.50
PEER .04 .14 -.85 .11 .14 -.2 6 .08 .16 -.68
MARITAL .00 .02 -.14 -.11 -.01 -.8 4 -.05 .01 -.50
Maneuvering
FAMILY -.22* -.01 -1.79 .04 .19 -1.28 -.10 .10 -1.68
PEER -.15 .00 -1.26 -.13 .09 -1.86 -.16 .05 -1.77
MARITAL -.06 -.11 .42 .03 -.03 .50 -.02 -.08 .50
Girls - Bears' Picnic (With Scales) & DAS. On the Bears' Picnic
Family Conflict Scale, girls' responses tended not to be strongly associated
with DAS scores. Only one significant relationship was obtained; girls use of
Story Maneuvering responses to Family Conflict was negatively associated
with Wives’ DAS scores.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
78
On Bears' Picnic subscale of Peer Conflict, girls' Deescalating
(general) responses were significantly positively correlated with Wives' (r =
.22, p < 05), Husband's (r = .25, p<05), Combined (r = .26, p<05), and
Minimum (r = .24, p<05) scores on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. In
addition, girls' Physical Escalation responses to Peer Conflict had a
significant inverse relationship with Combined Dyadic Adjustment (r = -.22,
p<05) and Minimum Dyadic Adjustment (r = -.21, p<05). In response to
Marital Conflict, the only significant relationship for girls was between
Feeling Negative Bears' Picnic responses and Minimum Dyadic Adjustment
(r = .21, p< 05).
Bovs - Bears' Picnic (With Scales) and DAS. For Boys, several
Bears' Picnic responses to Family Conflict were significantly related to
Dyadic Adjustment. Specifically, Feeling Positive responses were negatively
correlated with Wives' DAS scores (r = -.26, p<05), with Husband's DAS
scores (r = -.25, p<05), with Combined DAS (r = -.29, p<01) and with
Minimum DAS scores (r= -.29, p<05). Neutral responses to Family Conflict
were negatively associated with Husbands' DAS scores (r = -.30, p< 01),
with Combined DAS (r = -.22, p<05) and with Minimum Dyadic Adjustment (r
= -.23, p<05).
In their responses to Peer Conflict, boys' log-likelihood ratios for
Escalating (general) were negatively associated with Minimum DAS scores
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
79
(r = -.23, p< 05). Feeling Mad responses were positively associated with
Husbands' DAS scores (r = .24, p<.05) and Feeling Sad responses were
positively associated with Wives’ DAS scores (r = .24, p<05).
The responses to Marital conflict revealed no significant relationships
for boys between Bear's Picnic codes and dyadic adjustment. The strongest
relationships were the positive associations between Feeling Sad and DAS
scale scores; however these were not significant.
Gender differences - Bears’ Picnic (With Scales) and DAS.
Standardized difference scores based on Fisher transformations
demonstrated that for most of the 42 subscales (14 Coping strategies on the
Marital, Peer, and Family subscales), boys and girls do not have differential
relationships between Bear's Picnic Scale scores and their parents' Dyadic
adjustment. However, for the response of Feeling Positive, girls and boys
showed significant differential relationships with parents DAS scores on the
Marital, Peer, and Family Subscales. For boys, the relationship between
Feeling Positive in response to conflict was negatively related to Dyadic
Adjustment, while girls Feeling Positive responses were positively related to
Dyadic Adjustment. Standardized differences scores were significant for
Wives' DAS report and Feeling Positive-Family (z=3.25, p<01), Feeling
Positive-Peer(z=2.27, p<05), and Feeling Positive-Marital (z=2.11, p<05).
Significant differential relationships were also detected between Combined
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
80
DAS and the Feeling Positive-Family subscale (z-4.36, p< 001), the Feeling
Positive-Peer subscale (z-2.12, p<-05), and the Feeling Positive-Peer
subscale (z-2.29, p<05). While the relationship between Husbands' DAS
score and Feeling Positive showed a difference in terms of direction for
boys and girls, the difference was only significant on the Feeling Positive-
Family subscale.
When looking at coping responses on the Peer Subscale only,
several significant differential relationships were obtained. The relationship
between Deescalate General responses and Dyadic Adjustment was
significantly different for boys and girls on the Peer subscale but not on the
Marital and Family subscales. On the Peer Subscale, girls' use of
Deescalate General Strategies were positively related to the Dyadic
Adjustment Scores of each spouse independently and their combined DAS
scores. Boys' use of Deescalate General responses to peer conflicts were
negatively associated with the Husband, Wife, and Combined DAS scores.
The standardized difference score yielded significant differences for
Deescalate General responses to Peer conflict and Wives' DAS (z=2.05,
p<05), Husbands’ DAS (z=3.93, p<001), and Combined DAS (z=3.42,
p<001). Also on the subscale measuring coping with Peer Conflict, the
relationship between Escalate Physical coping strategies and Dyadic
adjustment was different for boys and girls. For girls, the use of physical
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
81
escalation strategies was negatively related to Dyadic Adjustment, while
boys' use of physical escalation strategies were positively related to Dyadic
Adjustment. Standardized differences scores were significant for the
Husbands' DAS report (z=3.15, p< 01) and Combined DAS score (z=2.81,
p< 01) and approached significance for Wives’ DAS scores (z=1.79, p<.10).
Additional relationship differences for boys and girls were detected on
certain isolated subscales with only one of either the Wives', Husband's, or
Combined DAS scores. These are indicated in Table 13.
Aoe. Gender, and Cooing Responses
In addition to the Pearson correlations, regression analyses were
computed to examine whether age and gender were predictive of coping
style.
Multiple regressions were performed using age and gender to predict
the log-likelihood ratios of the fourteen types of coping responses across all
ten vignettes. This was to investigate whether a child’s gender (male or
female) and age (four to six-years old) were predictive of how a child would
cope with interpersonal conflict. Thus, fourteen regression equations were
obtained.
As with the previous analyses, regression results were also computed
for the three scales (marital, family, and peer). This was to see if age and
gender had different predictive value depending upon the type of
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
82
interpersonal conflict presented. These analyses, which will be discussed
after the regression results for the total Bears' Picnic responses, yielded
forty-two regression equations.
Multiple Regressions for Bears' Picnic
Of the fourteen regression analyses, five yielded significant
regression equations. Significant in predicting the log-likelihood ratios of
Additional Story Events, Deescalating General, Escalating Physical, Feeling
Mad, and Feeling Positive. The results of all fourteen multiple regressions,
including correlations and beta weights, are delineated in Table 14.
Table 14: Pearson R and Multiple Regression Results for Bears' Picnic Codes
Correlations Beta Weights
Code Z-Aqe Sex Z-Aqe Sex R2
Additional Events -.24 .24 -.24 .24 .12***
Deescalate
Anger
-.05 .07 -.05 .07 .02
Deescalate
Controlled
.14 -.07 .13 -.07 .10***
Deescalate
General
.20 -.24 .19 -.23 .01
Escalate General -.04 .11 -.03 .11 .09***
Escalate Physical -.03 .31 -.02 .30 .02
Escalate Verbal .04 -.15 .03 -.15 .02
Feeling Mad .20 .12 .20 .12 .06*
Feel Negative .14 -.02 .14 -.01 .03
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
83
Feel Positive -.27 .07 -.28 .07 .09’
Feeling Sad .04 -.15 .04 -.15 .02
Neutral -.05 .07 -.04 .07 .01
Passive .01 .02 .01 .02 .00
Maneuvering -.16 .09 -.16 .08 .03
When looking at the predictive value of age and gender for coping
style, Pearson Correlations and Multiple Regressions were calculated for
the fourteen Bears’ Picnic coping responses. For age, a significant inverse
relationship was detected for the coping response of Additional Story Events
(r= -.24, p< 0 ). For sex and Additional Story events, the correlation
coefficient was positive and significant (r=.24, p<.05). The multiple
regression equation yielded a significant coefficient of determination
(R2= 12, p< 001) suggesting that 12% of the variance in the log-likelihood
ratios of Additional Events responses can be explained by gender and sex.
Feeling Positive responses to conflict was also predicted by age and
gender. The Pearson correlations suggested a negative relationship
between age and Feeling Positive and a positive association between
gender and Feeling Positive. The regression equation was significant for
age and gender (R2=.09, p<.01).
The use of Deescalation via Authority Intervention was positively
associated with age (p=.14,p<.05) and negatively associated with sex (r= -
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
84
.07). The regression equation suggested that age and sex are significant
predictors (R2= 10, p< 001) of this type of coping strategy.
Feeling Mad responses were also significantly correlated with age
and gender. Age was positively correlated with Feeling Mad in response to
conflict (r=.20, p<.01) Sex was also positively related to Feeling Mad, yet
this relationship was not significant.
The regression equation was also significant (R2=.06, p<05), suggesting
that age and gender can predict part of the variance of Feeling Mad
responses.
Responding to conflict with General Escalation was also influenced
by age and gender. Pearson correlations suggested a very slight negative
association with age and a positive association with gender. While these
correlations were not significant, they were significant in the multiple
regression equation. Age and gender do appear to be of predictive value for
Escalating coping strategies (R2=.09, p<.01).
In sum, the regression equations which tested the role of age and
gender for the responses on the Bears’ Picnic were significant for Additional
Events, Deescalate (Authority Intervention -Controlled), Escalate General,
Feeling Mad, and Feeling Positive coping responses.
For the remaining coping responses, the regression equations using
age and sex as predictors were not significant.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
85
Multiple Regressions for Bears' Picnic (With Scales)
Regression models were utilized to test whether gender and age
predicted Bears’ Picnic responses on each scale: Family, Peer, and Marital
Conflict. The Pearson correlation coefficients and the Beta weights for
gender, age, and their interaction are reported in Table 15.
Table 15: Correlations and Multiple Regression Results for Bears' Picnic Scale
Scores
Correlations Beta Weights
Scale/ Code Z-Aae Sex Aae Sex Aae x
Additional Events
FAMILY .32 .17
/Beta)
-.31***
(Betai
.15*
Sex
(Beta)
.04 .13**1
PEER -.14 .20 -.12 .19* -.02 .05*
MARITAL -.04 .25 -.02 .25 -.08 .07**
Deescalate
General
FAMILY .12 -.22 .11 -.21** -.04 .06**
PEER .26 -.18 .25*** -.16* -.06 .10
MARITAL -.08 -.14 .06 -.14 .10 .03
Deescalate Anaer
FAMILY -.08 .15 -.07 .15* -.05 .03
PEER -.05 -.03 -.04 -.03 -.10 .01
MARITAL .08 -.03 .09 -.02 -.14 .03
Deescalate
Controlled
FAMILY .22 -.03 .22** -.01 -.04 .05
PEER .01 -.08 .01 -.08 -.03 .01
MARITAL .01 -.06 .01 -.05 -.02 .00
Escalate
General
FAMILY -.10 .13 -.09 .13 .00 .02
PEER .00 .04 .00 .04 -.04 .00
MARITAL .08 .05 .08 .06 .00 .01
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
86
Escalate Physical
FAMILY .09 .33 .11 .34*** .07 .13’
PEER
-.12 .20 -.11 .19* -.03 .05’
MARITAL -.08 .16 -.06 .15* .00 .03
Escalate
Verbal
FAMILY .08 -.13 .08 -.12 -.10 .03
PEER .07 -.11 .06 -.11 .09 .02
MARITAL -.14 -.05 -.15* -.06 -.03 .02
Feeling Mad
FAMILY .18 .14 .19* .15* -.10 .06**
PEER .16 .05 .17* .07 -.12 .04*
MARITAL .08 .08 .08 .08 .09 .02
Feeling Negative
FAMILY .08 .01 .09 .02 -.06 .01
PEER .17 -.03 .17* -.01 -.13 .04’
MARITAL .12 -.05 .12 -.03 -.09 .02
Feeling Positive
FAMILY -.24 .08 -.24** .07 -.06 .07’
PEER -.24 .00 -.24** .00 -.06 .06’
MARITAL -.10 .13 -.08 .14 -.19** .06’
Feeling Sad
FAMILY .03 -.14 .02 -.14 .00 .02
PEER .04 -.11 .03 -.11 .02 .01
MARITAL .09 -.13 .08 -.12 -.13 .04
Neutral
FAMILY .06 .04 .06 .04 .00 .00
PEER -.14 .09 -.14 .08 .08 .03
MARITAL -.06 .00 -.06 .00 .09 .01
Passive
FAMILY .03 .08 .03 .08 .03 .01
PEER -.07 -.05 -.07 -.05 -.02 .01
MARITAL .10 -.03 .11 -.02 -.05 .01
Maneuvering
FAMILY -.11 .07 -.11 .06 .06 .01
PEER -.14 .14 -.13 .14 -.09 .04’
MARITAL -.13 -.08 -.13 -.09 -.02 .02
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
87
Using age and gender as predictors, two Bears’ Picnic responses
were significantly predicted by age and gender on all three Bears’ Picnic
subscales: Additional Events and Feeling Positive. The regression
equations for Additional Story Events responses were significant on the
Family (R2=13, p< 001), Peer(R2=05, p< 0 5 ), and Marital (R2=.07,p< 01)
subscales. On all three Bears’ Picnic subscales, Pearson correlation
suggested a negative relationship between age and Additional Events,
whereas sex was positively related to Additional Events. Several of these
correlation coefficients were significant as indicated in Table 14. Feeling
Positive Responses were significantly predicted by age and sex. Like the
Additional Events coping responses, age was inversely related to Feeling
Positive Responses, while sex was positively associated with such
responses. The role of age and sex in predicting Feeling Positive
responses was significant for the Family subscale (R2=.07,p<01), the Peer
subscale (R2=.06, p<01), and the Marital subscale (R2=.06, p<01).
Deescalating General responses were significantly predicted for the
Family (R2=.06,p<.05) and Peer (R2=.10, p<.01) subscales. For the
equations predicting Deescalation Controlled responses, significant results
were obtained on the Family Scale (R2=.05,p<05) but not on the other two
Bears' Picnic Scales. Predicting Escalating Physical responses showed
significance on the Family (R2=.13, p<001)and Peer Scales (R2=.05, p<05)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
88
but not on the Marital Scale. Predicting Feeling Mad responses with age
and sex also revealed significance on the Family (R2=.06,p< 01) and Peer
Scales (R2= 04, p< 05) but not on the Marital Scale. When looking at the
predictive value of sex and gender for Feeling Negative responses, the
regression equation was significant on the Peer Scale (R2=.04) yet not on
the other two scales.
For Story Maneuvering responses, the regression equation was significant
on the Peer subscale (R2=.04, p<05) of the Bears’ Picnic yet not on the
other subscales.
In sum, of the forty-two regression analyses involving the fourteen
Bears’ Picnic codes on each of the three subscales (Family, Peer, Marital),
nine yielded significance in terms of the predictive value of age and sex. For
the remaining types of Bear’s Picnic subscale responses, regression
equations were non-significant when examining the log-likelihood ratios on
the three scales.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
89
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSIONS
This chapter will discuss the implications of the previously outlined
results. The implications of the results in terms of the stated hypotheses will
be discussed as well as the limitations of the current study. Suggestions for
future theoretical and empirical work will also be delineated.
Implications of Hypotheses
Although similar previous research had been marred by measurement
problems and equivocal findings, certain results were expected.
Reliability and Validity
As expected, the Bears’ Picnic coding system is a reliable measure
for assessing young children’s coping styles. The Interrater reliability
estimates indicate that independent coders were able to consistently identify
and agree upon fourteen coping styles. Ten of these coping styles reflected
“ problem-focused” strategies, whereas four reflected “ emotion-focused”
strategies. Considering that only 25% of the data was rated by two
independent coders, such high estimates suggest that young children's
coping styles can be readily identified, which approach was used?
Regarding internal consistency reliability, it was expected that
children would respond to Family, Peer, and Marital conflicts in different
ways. For example, it was predicted that responses to Family conflict
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
90
vignettes would correlate with each other more than with responses to Peer
and Marital conflict scenarios. Thus, the three scales were expected to
emerge. The analyses provided moderate support for this expectation,
revealing moderated internal consistency of the Bears’ Picnic subscales.
Internal consistency estimates revealed moderate alpha values. This was
true for the subscales as well as for the overall instrument. As indicated in
Table 4, the alpha values for the subscales were lower than for the overall
instrument. There are two possible explanations for this pattern. It could be
that the estimates for the overall Bears’ Picnic were higher than those for the
subscales merely because the number of items in the subscales were low
(i.e. n= 4 for the Family subscale and n=5 for the Peer subscale). An
alternative explanation is that coping styles is a broader construct. The
coping strategies of young children may not differ across different social
situations. Hence, coping styles used to deal with peer conflicts would be
similar to those used when dealing with family conflicts. A final possibility for
explaining the higher internal consistency estimates of the overall
instruments is that while the general content of the items (vignettes) within
the scales may be related, the specific content of each item in the scales
may be different; this would suggest that the collection of items which relate
to “Family” or “Peer" may be more appropriately viewed as an index rather
than a scale.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
91
Convergent validity was expected via relationship between coping
and behavior, environment. Convergent validity data for the Bears’ Picnic
was based on the correlations between the Bears' Picnic and the Louisville
Behavioral Checklist.
Given the previous findings demonstrating the strong relationship
between coping, including social problem-solving skills, and behavioral
adjustment, strong correlations were expected between the coping styles
measured by the Bears' Picnic and behaviors measured by the Aggression,
Inhibition, and Cognitive Disability scales of the LBCL. Such findings would
support the convergent validity of the Bears’ Picnic. However, strong
relationships between the more “ behavioral” scales of the LBCL (Aggression
and Inhibition) were not detected, while significant relationships were
detected between the Cognitive Disability Subscale of the LBCL and the
Bears’ Picnic. Specifically, significant inverse relationships were found for
the girls’ use of Deescalate General and Feeling Mad coping responses.
For boys, feeling good in response to conflict was positively associated
with Cognitive Disability. There are several possibilities in interpreting this
data. First, since coping styles consist of more than social-problem solving
skills, therefore the relationship between coping and behavior is not as clear
and direct as the known relationship between social-problem solving skills
and behavior (cite sources which support this relationships). Recent
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
92
research with preschoolers and kindergartners has revealed that children’s
interpersonal strategies are related to their behavior in problem contexts yet
not related to their general social behavior (Eisenberg, Fabes, & Minore,
1994). More validity data is needed to clarify the relationship between
coping style and behavior.
An alternate possibility questions the construct validity of the
instrument. If coping is highly related to behavior, it may be that the stories
which children tell do not reflect coping, rather they may measure some
other construct.
Coping. Behavior, and Marital Satisfaction
Coping style was expected to be highly related to behavior. However,
the link between coping and behavior is questionable from this data.
Specifically, the low correlations between coping responses and scores on
the Louisville Behavior Checklist indicate that preschoolers’ responses to
simulated conflict are not highly related to parents’ reports of their actual
behavior. When looking at the major Louisville subscales of Aggression,
Inhibition, and Cognitive Disability, it appears that children’s verbal
responses to simulated conflict are unrelated to aggressive
(“undercontrolled”) and inhibited (“ overcontrolled") behavior. There was
some evidence of relationship to Cognitive Disability, suggesting that coping
style reflects more of an internal process that is unrelated to overt behavior.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
93
The marital satisfaction of a child’s parents was also expected to
relate to their coping style based on previous findings of the relationship
between marital distress and child behavior (Katz & Gottman, 1995; Grych &
Fincham, 1992). It was presumed that the level of interpersonal conflict in
the home environment would be related to the types of interpersonal coping
strategies employed by the children. The low correlations between the
Bears’ Picnic and Dyadic Adjustment indicate that in general, this is not the
case. Thus, coping responses, as measured by the Bears' Picnic, were
mostly independent of marital satisfaction. While important relationships
were demonstrated for a few specific instances, such as the feeling good
responses of boys, the hypothesis regarding marital satisfaction and
children’s coping was not supported.
Gender and Age
The expectations concerning gender differences was somewhat
supported by the data. In other words, both similarities and differences
between boys’ and girls’ coping responses were revealed. Previous
research has demonstrated gender differences in coping (Zahn-Wexler,
1994) yet other research has failed to show gender differences (Grych &
Fincham, 1992).
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
94
Gender similarities were indicated by the fact that the most frequently
used coping strategies and the least frequently used strategies were the
same for both boys and girls.
The four most common coping responses for both boys and girls were:
cooperation, neutral statements, introducing new situations or persons into
the conflict, and sad emotion. The four least frequently-used coping styles
for both boys and girls were: punishment from authority, negative emotion,
denying and changing the presented conflict, and escaping/avoiding the
conflict. Both boys and girls tend to cope similarly with interpersonal
conflict.
While such evidence exists for gender similarity in coping, gender
differences were also revealed. Concerning differences between boys and
girls, differences were detected consistently for several coping strategies. As
expected, boys coped with conflict by increasing tension physically (i.e.
fighting, hitting) than did girls. This difference in Physical Escalation was
expected in that boys were more likely to respond to conflict by increasing
the conflict thru the use of physical force. However, it should be noted that
the relationship between using Physical Escalation coping responses on the
Bears Picnic tended to be negatively associated with LBCL Aggression
scores, indicating that boys who tell stories which involve physically
aggressive behavior are actually less likely to display aggressive behavior.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
95
This is an important finding because it questions the validity of using the
content of children’s stories as an assessment of their behavior. Two
important questions arise: Do children who tell violent, physically
aggressive stories actually engage in aggressive behavior more than
children who do not tell such stories? Do aggressive children speak about
physically aggressive acts more than nonaggressive children? The data
suggest that the answer to these questions is “ no” for boys. In fact, the trend
suggests the opposite. For girls, the data suggest that there is no
relationship between the physical violence in their behavior and the amount
of physical violence in their stories.
The gender differences in General Deescalation suggest that girls are
more likely to respond to a simulated conflict through prosocial behavior
which reduces tension in the story than are boys. Similar findings were also
recently demonstrated. Zahn-Wexler (1994) found prevalent gender
differences among four and five year-olds including the girls' more frequent
use of prosocial, accommodating, constructive resolutions. The current
study revealed additional gender differences regarding deescalating coping
strategies. When comparing the use of tension reducing responses to
actual behavior, it is interesting that the use of such coping responses was
positively related aggressive behavior on the Louisville for boys and
negatively related to aggressive behavior for girls. This suggests that girls
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
96
who use tension reducing coping responses are less likely to display
problems with aggressive behavior, yet boys who use tension reducing
coping responses are more likely to display aggression. Zahn-Wexler
(1994) recently reported that disruptive girls showed high levels of prosocial
resolutions during simulated conflict. In the current study, it is also
interesting that the use of tension reduction responses for girls was
positively associated with marital satisfaction, while there was no
relationship between tension reduction responses and marital satisfaction
for boys. All of these findings lend support to the theory that girls internalize
societal and familial norms for dealing constructively with conflict (Zahn-
Wexler, 1994).
It is hard to interpret the gender difference in the use of Additional
Events. Introducing new characters or situations into a simulated conflict
was significantly predicted by age and gender. This strategy was utilized
more by boys than girls, yet the use of this strategy was unrelated to actual
behavior or to the family environment as measured by dyadic adjustment.
The significant inverse relationship between using external characters or
situations and age suggest that as children develop during the preschool
period, they are less likely to cope by bringing in external factors.
By far the most consistent significant findings concerned the Feeling
Positive coping response. Boys and girls did not show significant
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
97
differences in their likelihood of using this response. However, several
interesting gender differences were noted. Concerning behavior, as
measured by the Louisville Behavioral Checklist, boys’ use of Feeling
Positive responses was significantly positively related to Cognitive Disability
on the overall Bears’ Picnic and the Family, Peer, and Marital subscales.
This suggests that boys’ identifying a positive emotion in response to conflict
is related to cognitive and social immaturity. In other words, boys’ use of
this coping response is perhaps indicative of two factors: intellectual deficits
and immaturity. The intellectual deficits measured by the LBCL refers to the
failure to master age-specific cognitive tasks such as knowing the left from
right hand, reading simple words, and adding simple numbers (Miller, 1982).
Immaturity refers to both social and physical processes, including
babyishness, dependency, whining, slow physical growth, and poor
coordination (Miller, 1982). The very low correlation between Feeling
Positive and Cognitive Disability for girls and the large difference when
comparing boys and girls correlation coefficients, indicates that this
interesting relationship is true for boys yet not for girls. Boys’ reports of
feeling good in response to conflict was also indicative of the level of marital
satisfaction in the home. For boys, feeling good in response to conflict was
significantly associated with a lack of marital satisfaction whether it be from
the wive’s or husband’s perspective. The relationship difference for boys
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
98
and girls was significantly different, demonstrating that the relationship
between feeling good and marital satisfaction was different for boys and
girls. For girls, there was a slight positive relationship between feeling good
in response to conflict and dyadic adjustment of the parents.
The regression results also yielded significance for the Feeling
Positive coping response. On the overall Bears’ Picnic and with the three
subscales, Feeling Positive was significantly predicted by age and gender. It
should be noted that age and gender only explained less than 10% of the
variance in Feeling Positive responses which suggests that age and gender
are not the primary factors which determine this particular coping response
or the other coping responses detected by the Bear's Picnic. Age was
negatively associated with Feeling Positive suggesting that preschoolers are
less likely to say that they feel good during simulated interpersonal conflict
as they develop. The fact that age does play a role in the use of Feeling
Positive coping responses is consistent with the developmental theory of
coping, which suggests that “ problem-focused” skills emerge in early
childhood, followed by a more rapid development of “ emotion-focused"
coping skills during later childhood and early adolescence (Compas, Banez,
Malcame, & Worsham, 1991).
The current study found several interesting gender differences in
children's coping with interpersonal conflict, for As previously mentioned,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
99
some of these differences support the notion that differential socialization of
girls and boys can be seen at an early age. It can be argued that by age
four, girls may have already internalized societal and familial norms for
reducing conflict. This is congruent with recent findings as well (Zahn-
Wexler, 1994).
The most interesting gender difference was the pattern regarding
boys and girls reports of feeling good in response to conflict. Both boys and
girls used this response with the same frequency, however the correlations
with measures of behavior and with marital satisfaction yielded interesting
patterns. Why is it that boys' reports of feeling good during simulated conflict
was correlated with marital satisfaction, while girls’ reports were not? Why
were boys’ Feeling Positive responses highly related to cognitive and social
immaturity and girls’ Feeling Positive responses were not?
While gender and age are related to the use of certain coping
strategies, they were not highly predictive of coping style. There are several
possibilities. The age range was limited, and therefore future investigation
may wish to compare coping styles with other age groups to examine the
role of age. Given the young age of the sample, it may be that by the
preschool years, gender differences have not yet emerged. The effects of
socialization and school have not yet influence the children. Finally, the
LBCL and DAS data indicate that the sample is more “ normal” than other
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
1 0 0
samples; more clinical samples may find different results concerning age
and gender.
In sum, the presence of both gender similarities and differences add a
new perspective for the inconsistencies of previous research. This study
provides an example of how the type of analysis can influence the detection
of gender differences. When looking at the frequency of coping responses
used, gender differences are not indicated, yet when comparing means of
boys and girls, and examining differential relationships, some gender
differences were detected.
Implications for Intervention
Which coping strategies are optimal and which ones are poor? The
answer to this question depends upon several factors, including gender.
This study suggests that certain coping strategies can be identified as
indicative of aggressive behavior while others can be indicative of cognitive
difficulties. For girls, the coping strategy of bringing in persons outside the
family to a presenting conflict is the strongest predictor of aggressive
behavior. These results suggest that perhaps aggressive girls deal with
conflict by expanding the scope of the conflict by drawing outsiders into the
stressful situation. Conversely, responding to conflict with a positive feeling
is the coping style most indicative of non-aggressive behavior for girls.
This use of denial of negative affect seems to go along with internalizing
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
101
behavior, which would account for the lack of aggression or the “ overcontrol’
of behavior.
Girls’ use of denying and manipulating the given elements of an
interpersonal conflict, using verbal threats (i.e. yelling, screaming) to
increase tension, and verbalizing irrelevant topics are the coping strategies
that are most indicative of cognitive impairment. Least indicative of
cognitive impairment for girls is responding to conflict with cooperation,
angry emotion, or general negative emotion.. Girls who are cognitively
immature will increase a conflict by verbally escalating interpersonal
tensions. For girls, yelling and screaming appears to be an inappropriate
coping strategy. Cooperative and prosocial behavior (e.g. helping others in
distress) and feeling angry in response to conflict seems to be a sign that
girls are developing appropriately in terms of both cognition and behavior.
Like with girls, boys’ use of certain coping strategies are indicative of
both positive and negative behavior; specifically, certain coping strategies
are highly associated with levels of aggression and cognitive development.
Surprisingly, the best indicator of boys’ aggressive behavior is the strategy
of cooperation and tension reduction while responding to conflict with
physical aggression was indicative of the opposite, a lack of aggressive
behavior. Responding to conflict with sadness is also a sign that preschool
boys are likely to not have problems with aggressive behavior. Boys’
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
102
coping through cooperation and through anger is indicative of good
cognitive development, while positive emotional repsonses were indicators
of poor cognitive development. It is interesting that the strategy of
cooperation is indicative of both positive cognitive development and of
aggressive behavior. In terms of intervention, this creates an interesting
dilemma. Are aggressive boys a “ problem” ? While their behavior may
cause interpersonal distress at home or school, it appears that boys who
externalize during conflict are healthy in terms of cognitive development.
The coping style which was the strongest indicator of problematic
behavior was boys’ feeling good (i.e. happy) in response to interpersonal
conflict; this type of coping was highly associated with cognitive impairment.
Again, this was not true for girls. The interesting pattern of 'feeling good” is
in response to conflict may have interesting implications for intervention with
children. By the preschool age, it seems that boys’ feeling good during
conflict or denial of negative affect is associated with several negative
conditions, including marital distress and cognitive impairment. Positive
emotion during interpersonal conflict is correlated with poor cognitive
development and may be indicative of problems with affect regulation. This
may be promoted by the presence of marital tension in the home. Boys who
are exposed to marital conflict appear to be at risk for denial of negative
affect. It may be that marital conflict impairs affect regulation for boys.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
103
Experiencing parents who are unhappy in their marriage may promote the
use of denial of negative feelings for boys. However, the data do not reveal
directionality. Therefore, it could be that having a boy who is cognitively
impaired will promote tensions in the parents’ marriage.
Regardless of direction, there are implications for intervention with
preschool boys. Teaching social problem-solving skills and affect regulation
may be necessary. The efficacy of such interventions has already been
demonstrated (Spivack & Shure, 1989). Boys who deny negative affect
during interpersonal conflict may need special attention. The presence of
marital conflict in the home may necessitate further intervention such as
marital or family counseling. This may ensure that the negative ramifications
of denial in terms of cognitive development are communicated to the
parents.
These results demonstrate that for children in healthy families, gender
and developmental differences in coping appear as early as the preschool
years. Thus, difficulties in social problem-solving skills or affect regulation
may need to be addressed early on in order to prevent coping problems later
in life. This appears to be especially true for boys from families with marital
distress who may be establishing faulty internal structures for handling
conflict.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
104
Implications for Theory
Interesting theoretical questions concerning coping have developed
from this study. The theoretical assumption made by Lazarus was that
coping is situation-specific. The results of this study show similar trends in
coping responses across situations. Specifically, the results obtained were
similar for interpersonal conflicts involving parents, peers, and family. This
raises the possibility that coping is perhaps is comprised of a more universal
set of skills that are employed across all stressful situations. The internal
consistency of the scales may also support this notion. Because the internal
consistency of the Family, Peer, and Marital subscales attained were low to
moderate, it appears that the coping strategies mobilized during all types of
social conflict may not be dependent upon situation-specific aspects.
However, the alternative notion, that coping is dependent upon the type of
conflict presented should not be entirely discounted. The low to moderate
internal consistency estimates may be due to other factors, such as the low
item numbers on each scale. Further efforts at scale development and
further investigation of coping with different types of interpersonal stress
may be necessary before this particular theoretical question can be
answered.
The theoretical link between coping and behavior has also been
questioned. Children’s coping strategies were found to be highly
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
105
independent of their overt behavior. This highlights the major challenges of
understanding and measuring how young children think about and process
stressful situations. It appears that parent’s ratings of their child’s behavior
can not necessarily be used as indices of adjustment. Interestingly,
children who behave appropriately may or may not be coping effectively.
Although children’s coping strategies can be reliably identified, the
ramifications of using specific coping strategies remains unclear. Perhaps
longitudinal data is necessary to reveal the unfolding effects of interpersonal
stress across children’s development. Children’s coping strategies may not
be indicated in their current behavior, yet they may more related to future
behavior and adjustment.
Other major theoretical questions that are raised from this study
concern the utility of the Lazarus and Folkman Coping model. Like the
majority of existing research on coping, this study has utilized the Lazarus
and Folkman model. As mentioned previously, this model was formulated
for adults yet has been used extensively with adolescents and older children
(Compas et al., 1988). Extending the model to apply to preschoolers is
perhaps inadequate. Given the complex developmental processes that are
occurring during this period (Dodge, 1989), future theoretical models may
need to incorporate a developmental perspective. Previous authors (Dodge,
1989) have suggested that internal structures for handling conflict develop
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
106
from early external experiences. Preschoolers may be at a prime age for the
development of such structures, and therefore may be very amenable for
change.
The Lazarus and Folkman (1984) model is useful in that it does
incorporate both cognitive and physiological processes. While much of the
coping literature has focused on cognitive skills such as social problem-
solving, emerging research is looking at physiological variables (Katz &
Gottman, 1995). The current study yielded interesting results of the
emotional aspects of coping. While “ emotion-focused” coping has been
identified as an important process for dealing with uncontrollable events,
much of the coping research has focused on the more cognitive aspects of
coping such as social problem-solving skills. The link between the affect
regulation literature, the coping literature, and the child development
literature remains unclear. Future research which examines children’s
“ emotion-focused” coping may be needed before a comprehensive model of
children’s coping emerges.
An understanding of the relationship between cognitive and emotional
development may clarify the role of preschooler’s “problem-focused” and
“ emotion-focused” coping strategies. A developmental understanding of
coping has already been suggested in recent literature (Crick & Dodge,
1994). Crick and Dodge (1994) offer a reformulation of children’s social
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
107
information-processing. While retaining the notion that social-cognitive
processes such as coping are related to behavior, they suggest a
formulation that accounts for developmental interactions. According to this
model, preschoolers may not have yet developed efficient, skillful ways of
representing, organizing, and interpreting social information and social
knowledge (Crick & Dodge, 1994). This makes any measurement of how
social stress impacts their acquisition of such knowledge highly elusive.
Again, future research and longitudinal data that examines preschooler's
coping and behavior across time may be vital in addressing these theoretical
issues. Other suggestions for future research are highlighted in the
following section.
Limitations and Future Research
The results of this study are based on a very healthy sample (see
results), and therefore generalizability is limited. Future research may want
to include clinical samples. The nature of the sample may also account for
the generally low correlations with the Louisville, as the Louisville was
developed from a diverse population which included clinical samples.
The verbal responses that children gave were assumed to reflect
coping style, to be related to behavioral indicators, and to be related to
home background. However, the responses to hypothetical conflicts were
not related to parent's reports of the child’s behavior nor to the parent’s
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
108
reports of the quality of their marriage. As previously discussed, overt
behavioral difficulties have been defined as maladaptive responses to
interpersonal situations (Elias et al, 1987). Unlike this particular study,
previous research has demonstrated a mediating relationship between
social problem solving ability and social adjustment (Elias et al, 1987;
Gettinger, Doll, & Salmon, 1994; Quamma & Greenberg, 1994). Why did
coping skills, as measured by the Bears’ Picnic, appear to be independent of
behavior? Without additional validity evidence for the Bears’ Picnic, this can
not be confirmed. One possible explanation may be that young children's
verbalizations in response to conflict do not reflect their true behavior nor
their experiences with real life situations. Perhaps the emerging
methodology of having preschoolers enact their solutions to interpersonal
conflict (Eisenberg et al, 1994) will clarify the relationship between young
children’s’ coping and behavior.
Like previous studies which have attempted to validate preschool
assessment procedures, this study has been limited by psychometric
obstacles. While interrater reliability was established with confidence,
internal consistency results raised interesting statistical and theoretical
questions. Other psychometric limitations concern the validity of the Bears’
Picnic. The convergent validity hypotheses were not supported. Given
these limitations, caution must be used in interpreting the results. Finally,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
109
because of the number of statistical analyses performed, the chance of Type
1 error is rather high. Therefore, it is only reasonable to interpret patterns of
significant data rather than incidences of isolated significant correlations.
There are many challenges for the future investigation of young
children’s coping. These challenges concern theory and assessment. First,
considering that the theoretical model developed for adults is the primary
model for investigating with children, it is obvious that new models are
needed that are tailored to children’s coping processes. For instance,
coping models designed for children would need to consider the
developmental perspective of coping and social problem-solving skills.
Future research still faces the ongoing challenges of assessment for
the population of preschool children. As the Bears’ Picnic was able to meet
the needs for reliable measures, its use should be highly considered for
future projects. Future coping research using the Bears' Picnic will require
additional reliability such as test-retest measures and additional validity
data. Validity data is needed to address the construct validity of measures
of simulated conflict. The methodology of using enactments by young
children seems to hold promise both for improving the psychometric value of
assessing the preschool population and for clarifying the relationship
between coping and behavior (Eisenberg et al, 1994). However, the
internal processes of coping in young children are likely to remain elusive to
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
1 1 0
assessment procedures. While there is little doubt that children’s’ behavior
patterns are associated with their thoughts, feelings, and ideas regarding
conflict, such internal processes difficult to assess. This is because young
children have not developed the general metacognitive skills that allow them
to organize, report, and discuss their own thought processes (Zahn-Wexler
etal, 1994).
In addition to measurement refinement, additional methodological
considerations should be made in future research. Longitudinal studies may
better be able to reveal whether different developmental trajectories exist for
boys and girls. Because this study was confined to intact “ healthy" families,
its small yet meaningful results have limited generalizability. Future studies
may wish to explore families which are identified as high in conflict or
families which are not intact. Currently, other investigators are already
pursuing more heterogeneous samples (Denham et al, 1994, Zahn-Wexler,
1994; Eisenberg et al, 1994).
With the use of improved measures and methodologies, the role of
gender and age requires further exploration. It is vital that other factors
which influence coping should be explored as well. Emerging research on
physiological factors has yielded interesting results (Katz & Gottman, 1995).
Given that physiological factors are part of the Lazarus and Folkman
theoretical model of coping, it is important that research continue in this
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
111
area. Recently, the role of children’s physiology in their responses to family
conflict has been demonstrated. Katz and Gottman (1995) reported that
children’s physiological state, as measured by vagal tone, can provide a
buffer from the negative effects of marital conflict. Additional support for the
role of physiology has also been provided (Zahn-Wexler, Cole, Welsh, &
Fox, 1995). Physiological correlates of children’s responses to real and
hypothetical conflicts were identified (Zahn-Wexler et al, 1995).
In sum, the ways in which young children cope with distressing life
situations remains both interesting and elusive to researchers.
Developmental and psychometric challenges are likely to continue in the
investigation of young children’s thought processes. Such challenges are
already giving rise to new assessment procedures and methodologies.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
1 1 2
References
Achenbach, T.M., & Edelbrock, C. (1983). Manual for the child
behavior checklist and revised child behavior profile. Burlington, VT:
University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Belsky, J. (1990). Children and marriage. In F. Fincham & T.
Bradbury (Eds.). The Psychology of Marriage. New York: Guilford Press.
Branden-Muller, L., Elias, J., Gara, M., & Schneider, K. (1992). The
development and interrelationship of affective, cognitive, and social-
cognitive skills in children: Theoretical implications. Journal of Applied
Developmental Psychology. 13, 271-291.
Bretherton, I., Ridgeway, D., & Cassidy, J. (1990). Assessing
internal working models of the attachment relationship in M. Greenberg (ed.)
Attachment in the Preschool Years: Theory. Research, and Intervention
(273-307). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bretherton, I., Prentiss, C., & Ridgeway, D. (1990). Family
relationships as represented in a story-completion task at thirty-seven and
fifty-four months of age. New Directions For Child Development. 48. 85-105.
Bretherton, I., Prentiss, C., & Ridgeway, D. (1991). Preschoolers'
growing understanding of family relationships. Paper presented at the 1991
Bieenial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development. Seattle,
Washington.
Brochin, H., & Wasik, B. (1992). Social problem solving among
popular and unpopular children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.
20(4), 377-391.
Caplan, M., Bennetto, L., & Weissberg, R. (1991). The role of
interpersonal context in the assessment of social problem-solving skills.
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 12. 103-114.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
113
Cataldo, C., & Geismar, L. (1983). Preschoolers' views of parenting
and the family. Journal of Research and Development in Education. 16(4).
8-14.
Cicchetti, D., Ackerman, B., & Izard, C. (1995). Emotions and
emotion regulation in developmental psychopathology. Development and
Psychopathology. 7, 1-10.
Compas, B., Banez, G., Malcame, V., & Worsham, N. (1991).
Perceived control and coping with stress: A developmental perspective.
Journal of Social Issues. 47(4) 23-24.
Compas, B., Malcame, V., & Fondacaro, K. (1988). Coping with
stressful events in older children and young adolescents. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 56. 405-411.
Denham, S., & Almeida, M. (1987). Children's social problem-solving
skills, behavioral adjustment, and interventions: A meta-analysis evaluating
theory and practice. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 8, 391-
409.
Denham, S., Zoller, D., & Couchoud, E. (1994). Socialization of
preschooler's emotion understanding. Developmental Psychology, 30 (6),
928-36.
Dodge, K. (1989). Coordinating responses to aversive stimuli:
Introduction to a special section on the development of emotion regulation.
Developmental Psychology. 25. 339-342.
Dorsch, A., & Keane, S. (1994). Contextual factors in children's
social information processing. Developmental Psychology. 30 (5), 611-616.
Dubow, E.F., & Tisak, J. (1989). The relation between stressful life
events and adjustment in elementary school children: The role of social
support and social problem solving skills. Child Development. 60. 1412-
1423.
Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R., Minore, D., Mathy, R., Hanish, L., & Brown,
T. (1994). Children's enacted interpersonal strategies: Their relations to
social behavior and negative emotionality. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. 40 (2),
212-32.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
114
Elias, M., Gara, M., Rothbaum, P., Reese, A., & Ubriaco, M. (1987).
A multivariate analysis of factors differentiating behaviorally and emotionally
dysfunctional children form other groups in school. Journal of Clinical Child
Psychology. 16(4), 307-312.
Glass, G., & Stanley, J. (1970). Statistical methods in education and
psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Grych, J. & Fincham, F. (1990). Marital conflict and children’s
adjustment: A cognitive-contextual framework. Psychological Bulletin.
108(2),267-290.
Hart, K., Sciutto, M., & Stevens, K . (1993). Anger coping style and
perceived availability of social support. Paper presented at the joint
convention of the Western Psychological Association and the Rocky
Mountain Psychological Association. Phoenix, Arizona.
Jones, D., Rickel, A., & Smith, R. (1980). Maternal child-rearing
practices and social problem-solving strategies among preschoolers.
Developmental Psvcholoov. 16. 241 -242.
Katz, L.F., & Gottman, J. (1995). Vagal tone protects children from
marital conflict. Developmental and Psychopathology. 7, 83-92.
Knapp, L., Stark, L., Kurkjian, J., & Spirito, A. (1991). Assessing
coping in children and adolescents: Research and practice. Educational
Psvcholoov Review. 3 (4), 309-334.
Liautaud, J., & Taylor, A. (1993). Development of scripts in children.
Paper presented at the 72nd Annual Western Psychological Association
Convention. Phoenix, Arizona.
Lindahl, K., & Markman, H. (1990). Communication and negative
affect regulation in the family. In E. Blechman (ed.), Emotions and the
Family For Better or for Worse. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 99-115
Luthar, S., & Zigler, E. (1991). Vulnerability and competence: A
review of research on resilience in childhood. American Qrthopsvchiatric
Association. 61.(1), 6-22.
Margolin, G., John, R., & Burman, B. (1991). Marital stress,
individual adult stress, parent-child relations, and children's upset. Paper
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
115
presented at the 25th Annual Convention of the Association of the
Advancement of BehaviorTherapy. New York.
Miechenbaum, D., Butler, L., & Gruson, L. (1981). Toward a
conceptual model of social competence. In J.D. Wine & M.D. Smye (Eds.),
Social Competence (pp. 36-60). New York: Guilford.
Miller, L. (1982). The Loiusville behavior checklist.
Mosteller, F. &Tukey, J. (1977). Data analysis and Regression: A
Second Course in Statistics. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.
Pellegrini, A. (1992). Kindergarten children's social-cognitive status
as a predictor of first-grade success. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
7, 565-577.
Quamma, J., & Greenberg, M. (1994). Children's experience of life
stress: The role of family social support and social problem-solving skills as
protective factors. Journal of Clinical Child Psvcholoov. 23. 295-305.
Rende, R. (1992). Social interactional antecedents of conflict in
young children. Earlv Childhood Research Quarterly. 7, 551-563.
Rubin, K., & Krasnor, L. (1983). Age and gender differences in
solutions hypothetical social problems. Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology. 4, 263-275.
Ryan, N. (1988). The stress-coping process in school-age children:
Gaps in the knowledge needed for health promotion. Advances in Nursing
Science. 11 (1) 1-12.
Shure, M., & Spivack, G. (1980). Interpersonal problem solving as a
mediator of behavioral adjustment in preschool and kindergarten children.
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. V, 29-44.
Shrout, P. & Fleiss, J. (1979). Intraclass Correlations: Uses in
Assessing Rater Reliability. Psychological Bulletin. 86. 420-428.
Smirnova, E. (1985). Conditions for the transition from external acts
to internal acts in problem solving by preschoolers. Pedaoooika. 6, 45-54.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
116
Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New Scales
for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage
and the Family. 38 (1), 15-30.
Vitaro, F., & Pelletier, D. (1991). Assessment of children’s social
problem-solving skills in hypothetical and actual conflict situations. Journal
of Abnormal Child Psychology. 19(5), 505-518.
Wright, M. (1980). Measuring the social competence of preschool
children. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science. 12(1). 17-32.
Zahn-Waxler, C., Cole, P., Richardson, D., Friedman, R., Michel, M.,
Belouad, F. (1994). Social problem solving in disruptive preschool children:
Reactions to hypothetical situations of conflict and distress. Merrill-Palmer
Quarterly. 40 (1), 98-119.
Zahn-Waxler, C., Cole, P., Welsh, J., & Fox, N. (1995).
Psychophysiological correlates of empathy and prosocial behaviors in
preschool children with behavior problems. Develooment and
Psychopathology. 7, 27-48.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
117
Appendix A: Bear's Picnic Story Stems
Vignette # 1
One day the bear family went for a picnic. Bears' love picnics. The mommy and
daddy bear are over here busy setting up the picnic. Your bear is over here
playing with a ball. Just then, your bear hears a noise and runs over to see
what it is. When he/she gets back, brother/sister bear has the ball. What
happens next?
Vignette #2
Brother/sister bear finishes playing and goes back to the picnic. Your bear sees
two other Bears' playing on a see-saw and goes over to watch. Your bear
wants to see-saw and asks if he/she can have a turn. But when your bear does
this, the other Bears' keep on see-sawing. What happens next?
Vignette #3
Now all of the Bears’ are hungry. They start to gobble down the bear chow, but
your bear is so hungry that he/she knocks over the bowl and the bear chow
spills all over the picnic blanket. What happens next?
Vignette #4
Your bear and brother/sister bear go for a walk in the woods way over here.
Suddenly, brother/sister bear trips over a rock and hurts his/her leg.
Vignette #5
Mommy bear is busy picking blueberries from the bush. Your bear wants to play
ball with her.
Vignette #6
It's the next day and its time for school. Here’s the school and here’s the
teacher bear. At school, your bear sees another bear playing with a doll/car.
Your bear wants to play with it and has been waiting along time.
Vignette #7
The bell rings and its time to go outside and play. The friend bear says to your
bear " I can swing higher than you can!"
Vignette # 8
Next your bear and the friend bear go over to play on the slide. Your bear
slides down the slide and accidentally bumps into the friend bear. He/she says
"I’m not going to be your friend anymore".
Vignette #9
Now it's time to go home. Your bear goes inside and sees mommy and daddy
bear having a fight.
Vignette #10
After dinner it's time for dessert. There's only one piece of cake left and both
your bear and brother bear want it.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
118
Appendix A: Bear's Picnic Stcry Stems
Vignette # 1
One day the bear family went for a picnic. Bears’ love picnics. The mommy and
daddy bear are over here busy setting up the picnic. Your bear is over here
playing with a ball. Just then, your bear hears a noise and runs over to see
what it is. When he/she gets back, brother/sister bear has the ball. What
happens next?
Vignette #2
Brother/sister bear finishes playing and goes back to the picnic. Your bear sees
two other Bears’ playing on a see-saw and goes over to watch. Your bear
wants to see-saw and asks if he/she can have a turn. But when your bear does
this, the other Bears’ keep on see-sawing. What happens next?
Vignette #3
Now all of the Bears’ are hungry. They start to gobble down the bear chow, but
your bear is so hungry that he/she knocks over the bowl and the bear chow
spills all over the picnic blanket. What happens next?
Vignette #4
Your bear and brother/sister bear go for a walk in the woods way over here.
Suddenly, brother/sister bear trips over a rock and hurts his/her leg.
Vignette #5
Mommy bear is busy picking blueberries from the bush. Your bear wants to play
ball with her.
Vignette #6
It’s the next day and its time for school. Here’s the school and here’s the
teacher bear. At school, your bear sees another bear playing with a doll/car.
Your bear wants to play with it and has been waiting along time.
Vignette #7
The bell rings and its time to go outside and play. The friend bear says to your
bear " I can swing higher than you can!"
Vignette # 8
Next your bear and the friend bear go over to play on the slide. Your bear
slides down the slide and accidentally bumps into the friend bear. He/she says
"I’m not going to be your friend anymore".
Vignette #9
Now it’s time to go home. Your bear goes inside and sees mommy and daddy
bear having a fight.
Vignette #10
After dinner it’s time for dessert. There’s only one piece of cake left and both
your bear and brother bear want it.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
119
Appendix B : Coding System for the Bear's Picnic.
ESCALATING BEHAVIORS: A behavior or statement that causes or
aggravates tension or conflict among characters in the story. This includes
intentions or predictions.
EV - Verbal
EP - Physical
EO - Other
DEESCALATING BEHAVIORS: A behavior or statement that promotes
cooperation among characters, or that promotes a decrease in tension or
conflict among characters. This includes intentions and predictions.
DA - Authority intervention, with anger DC - Authority intervention, controlled
DO - Deescalating General
PASSIVE. ESCAPE. DISEMPOWERED BEHAVIORS: A behavior or
statement in reaction to a conflict situation where a character becomes
uninvolved, or retreats in defeat, and engages in neither a deescalating or
escalating behavior.
PP - Passive
ADDITIONAL STORY EVENTS: Events in the story involving incidents,
characters, forces, or any other source external to the characters in the story.
The subject introduces an additional character or force that has negative or
positive consequences for character(s) in the story, or describes a purely
fantastical event.
AA - Additional Story Events
STORY MANEUVERING: When the initial events of the vignette are changed
or controlled by the subject, or when events surrounding deescalation of conflict
happen incongruously, or without any clear reason or impetus. The change or
control serves to avoid conflict or place the main character away from the
source of conflict.
SS - Story Maneuvering
NEUTRAL: A behavior or statement that neither promotes or decreases
tension. These behaviors or statements usually occur in isolation from other
events.
NN - Neutral
EMOTIONS: When a character expresses an emotion, or it is stated that a
character is feeling a certain way.
FP - Positive Feeling
FS - Sad Feeling
FM - Mad Feeling
FN - Negative Feeling (not mad or sad)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
120
Appendix C: Sample coding sheet for Bears’ Picnic vignette #8
code______ response
EV she says can I fight with you and hit you and crash your little
head?
EV she yells “ she hit me”
NN the teacher asks what happened to little bear
EP I took her neck off
EV I said I have a knife
EP and I cut everything off the friend bear
EV your bear says I can swing and if I want I can have all the
toys
FM she felt mad
SM they were best friends again
DO she says I am sorry
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Abstract (if available)
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
Conceptually similar
PDF
Gender and expectancies of negative mood regulation as predictors of coping: A study of the 1993 Malibu firestorm survivors
PDF
Observed dyadic marital and triadic family conflict and child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems
PDF
Effects of test interpretation style and level of affiliation on client involvement, session impact, and counselor influence
PDF
Goal-directed behavior: Understanding the role of conflict and subjective expected utility in the timing of retirement
PDF
Linkages between marital aggression and sibling conflict: Moderating roles of marital conflict resolution and children's attitudes condoning aggression.
PDF
Violent video games: Aggression, arousal, and desensitization in young adolescent boys
PDF
Response Styles In Latency Age Children Dealing With Adjustment Following Parental Separation
PDF
The effects of family environment variables on young children's school behavior and peer interactions
PDF
The social cognitive functioning of gang members
PDF
The private language of families: Bringing us news of ourselves
PDF
Perceptions of parental behaviors by a sample of gifted and no gifted women: an exploratory study
PDF
HIV testers and non-testers at a university student health center: A study of college student sexual risk-taking
PDF
Risk-related differences in neurocognitive responses to an ethanol challenge
PDF
The relationship between human values and moral reasoning as components of moral behavior
PDF
Developmental and defensive foreclosure: A validation of identity status subcategories
PDF
Gender role conflict, cultural identity, and self-esteem among African-American men
PDF
The social psychology of grief work in e-mail suicide survivor support groups
PDF
Parental psychopathology and offspring criminal behavior: A prospective longitudinal study
PDF
Maternal risk factors and child behavior problems
PDF
Differences in the eating behaviors among elite, recreational, and non-athletic women on four comparative measures: Dependency, self-criticism, self-efficacy, and alexithymia
Asset Metadata
Creator
Blasey, Christine Margaret
(author)
Core Title
Measuring young children's coping responses to interpersonal conflict
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree Program
Psychology
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
OAI-PMH Harvest,psychology, developmental,psychology, personality,psychology, social
Language
English
Contributor
Digitized by ProQuest
(provenance)
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c17-511717
Unique identifier
UC11353016
Identifier
9705076.pdf (filename),usctheses-c17-511717 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
9705076.pdf
Dmrecord
511717
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Blasey, Christine Margaret
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA
Tags
psychology, developmental
psychology, personality
psychology, social