CCiittyy UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff NNeeww YYoorrkk ((CCUUNNYY)) CCUUNNYY AAccaaddeemmiicc WWoorrkkss Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects CUNY Graduate Center 9-2015 MMaatteerrnnaall DDiissssoocciiaattiioonn,, EEmmoottiioonnaall AAcccceeppttaannccee aanndd CChhiilldd EEmmoottiioonn RReegguullaattiioonn:: AA SSttuuddyy ooff RReessiiddeennttss iinn aa FFaammiillyy HHoommeelleessss SShheelltteerr ffoorr VViiccttiimmss ooff DDoommeessttiicc VViioolleennccee Brian S. Mueller Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit you? Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1063 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] MATERNAL DISSOCIATION, EMOTIONAL ACCEPTANCE, AND CHILD EMOTION REGULATION: A STUDY OF RESIDENTS IN A FAMILY HOMELESS SHELTER FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE by Brian S. Mueller, M.A. A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2015 ii © 2015 Brian S. Mueller All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in Psychology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Margaret Rosario, Ph.D. Date Chair of Examining Committee Joshua Brumberg, Ph.D. Date Executive Officer Denise Hien, Ph.D. Elliot L Jurist, PhD., Ph.D. Lesia Ruglass, Ph.D. Benjamin Harris, Ph.D. Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv ABSTRACT MATERNAL DISSOCIATION, EMOTIONAL ACCEPTANCE, AND CHILD EMOTION REGULATION: A STUDY OF RESIDENTS IN A FAMILY HOMELESS SHELTER FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE by Brian Mueller Adviser: Professor Margaret Rosario The present study examined the relationships between maternal dissociation, mothers’ self-described parenting behaviors in child emotion regulation, and the emotion regulatory capacity of their children. These relationships were investigated in a sample of predominately low-income African-American and Latino mothers and children residing in a domestic violence shelter. In this study, I investigated a mediational model relating maternal dissociation, mother’s acceptance of child emotions, and child difficulties in emotion regulation and behavior. I predicted that mothers who reported more dissociative experiences would demonstrate less awareness and acceptance of emotions when they responded to children’s sadness, fear, happiness, and anger. I also predicted that the children of those mothers with more dissociation would experience more difficulties with emotion regulation and behavior problems. Finally, I predicted that mothers who demonstrated more emotional acceptance would have children with fewer emotional and behavioral problems, and that emotional acceptance would mediate the relationship between maternal dissociation and child emotional and behavioral problems. Results provided support for two of the three relationships present in the model, but not for the mediational model as a whole. Mothers who reported more dissociation demonstrated less acceptance of their children’s emotions. Mothers with more dissociation also reported more intervention when their children were upset or disruptive, an indicator of child emotion v regulation difficulties. However, no relationship was found between maternal emotional acceptance and child emotion regulation. The relationships identified between study variables added to the small but growing literature on dissociation and parenting. The finding suggests that, through direct and indirect effects on child emotion regulation, maternal dissociation may be implicated in the intergenerational transmission of the effects of trauma. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank first and foremost the parents and children who participated in the Fresh Start for Families study. I will always be grateful to these families for their willingness to share their stories of remarkable strength under tremendous stress. I would like to thank committee members past and present who generously shared their support and guidance over the course of this project. Thanks to Dr. Peter Fraenkel who opened a door for me into the field of Psychology by bringing me on to the Fresh Start for Families project. Thank you to Dr. Denise Hien for her guidance in turning an idea into a project, and for her essential support and assistance throughout. And thank you to Dr. Margaret Rosario for helping me find and communicate the stories held in these data. Thank you to Dr. Elliot Jurist for his contributions to this project and to our program. Thanks also to Ben Harris for his teaching and encouragement throughout my years at City. Thank you to Lesia Ruglass for generously bringing her expertise in the field of trauma to this project. Thank you to the many research assistants and staff members of the Fresh Start for Families project for their fellowship and inspiration, and for the many hours they spent collecting data, interviewing and transcribing. From my years at Help Crotona, thank you to Jason Kruk and Leora Trub; from the Help Harbor project, thank you to Tzachi Slonim, Mougeh Yasai, Gabrielle Cione and Neta Tal. Thanks also to Leticia Perez for her support and clinical wisdom throughout. Thank you to Jon Lentz for his important part in coding the interviews. Thank you also to the Ackerman Institute for the Family for funding and support over the many years of this study. Thank you to my family for believing in me, and especially to my wife, Laurie Berkner, for her unwavering support and encouragement. vii This project is dedicated to my wife, Laurie, and daughter Lucy, for their love and inspiration. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures x List of Tables xi Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review 1 Emotion Regulation, Meta-Emotion, and Parenting Behavior 2 Emotion Regulation in Children Exposed to Domestic Violence 9 Dissociation 10 Studying a Risk Factor in a Population of Multi-Stressed Families 23 Conclusion 23 Statement of Hypotheses and Qualitative Insights 24 Chapter 2: Method 26 Larger Study 26 Participants 28 Procedures 32 Mothers’ Measures 32 Child Self-Report Measure 38 Data Analysis 40 Chapter 3: Results 43 Descriptive Statistics 43 Tests of Model (Figure 1) 47 Secondary Analyses 51 Qualitative Insights from Emotional Acceptance Interview 55 ix Chapter 4: Discussion 58 Relationship between Maternal Dissociation and Emotional Acceptance 59 Relationship between Maternal Dissociation and Child Emotion Regulation 62 Relationship between Emotional Acceptance and Child Emotion Regulation 65 Mediational Model 66 Study Limitations 67 Directions for Future Research 70 Appendix: Measures Used in the Study 73 Demographic Questionnaire 73 Dissociative Experiences Scale 75 Emotional Awareness/Acceptance Interview 79 Child Behavior Checklist 80 Child Regulation Index 84 Children's Emotion Management Scales-Anger and Sadness (CEMS) 88 References 89