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Abstract
Children’s feelings and beliefs about peer relationships were examined as a possible mediator between mothers’ positive and negative emotional framing and children’s (n = 46) behavior with peers. Mothers’ emotion framing was assessed as they and their young children read a picture book depicting emotionally‐laden content, but no printed text. Feelings and beliefs about self and peers were assessed during a puppet interview focusing on beliefs about self and peers. Teachers rated children’s aggressive, competent and withdrawn behavior. Mothers’ emotion framing was significantly associated with children’s cognitive representations of self and peers (r = 0.35 and −0.44, both p < 0.01, for positive and negative emotional framing, respectively) and with withdrawn social behavior (r = −0.39 and 0.41, p < 0.01 for positive and negative framing, respectively). Findings suggest that children’s beliefs about self and peers may mediate the association between mothers’ emotion framing and children’s withdrawn behavior.