ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how maternal reminiscing may be related to more specific concepts of self, specifically, children’s developing understanding of their traits and proclivities, and their evaluations of self in terms of their social relationships. It focuses on the specific ways in which mothers elaborate on emotional experiences, and how this plays a critical role in children’s developing understanding of their own and others’ emotional lives. Mothers who displayed higher levels of coping, using active problem solving and reframing of events, were also more highly elaborative in discussing chronic stressors with their children, focusing more on the emotional experience and impact of the event, as well as on explanations of the emotional experience. More highly elaborative, emotionally expressive, and explanatory maternal reminiscing about difficult experiences helps children cope with both everyday and substantial, long-term challenges in their lives. Expressions of positive emotions are not socially sanctioned, whereas intense expressions of negative emotions often are.
