The development of an understanding of comforting messages

Abstract

This study investigates the relationships between two developmental variables (physical development and intellectual development) and two comforting variables (comforting message construction and understanding of comforting communication). It also examines the interrelationship between the two comforting variables, and then studies the relationship between these two variables and two related measures of peer acceptance. Eighty‐two subjects (ages seven to nine) rated their classmates using a roster‐and‐rating sociometric measure, responded to a hypothetical situation in which a same‐sex friend was experiencing emotional distress, and matched the values 1 through 9 to a randomized listing of Burleson's (1984) nine age‐appropriate comforting responses. Analyses indicated significant correlations between the developmental variables and the comforting variables, significant correlation between the two comforting variables, and a significant difference in the understanding of comforting messages between accepted and rejected children as designated by same‐sex peers. These results are discussed within the context of previous research on children's understanding of functional communication skills and communication skill development.

Notes

Barbara L. Clinton is a Lecturer in the Department of Speech Communication and Gregory R. Hancock is a Teaching Associate in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA.