The present study examined family dinner conversations about positive and negative emotions over the course of four years (Time1 to Time4). The target family comprised a mother, a father, their sons aged five and nine, and their seven -year old daughter at Time1. The family was observed in two contexts: when the mother was present with her children (mother-child sessions, Time1 to Time4) and when both parents were present with their children (parent-child sessions, Time3 to Time4). Family

more »

... rse about negative emotions involved a greater variety of vocabulary over time, as opposed to that of positive emotions. At the same time, conversations between parents and children depended on the pragmatic context in which they occurred. Children discussed negative emotions more in mother-child sessions especially during their school period (Time3, 4). In a pragmatic context, although family members spoke more about positive and negative emotions when they spoke about "dinner (their preferences and manners)" in parent-child sessions, they spoke more about both emotions when they spoke about "everyday events" in mother-child sessions. The results highlight the significance of family discourse about negative emotions in school children's emotional understanding.