This study examined the relationships between the emotional traits of mothers and their children. 285 mothers of 4, 5, and 6 year old children completed a scale that measures how often a mother and her child experience 10 emotions common in daily life. Results indicated moderate associations between the emotional traits of mothers and their children in the case of the same emotion. This suggests that the emotional traits of children are formed before 4 years of age and that they are closely related to their mother's traits. Associations for a number of different emotions between mother and child were found, but positive emotions and negative emotions were not found to be associated. These findings suggests that the emotional development of children is related closely to the same category (i.e., positive or negative) of emotions as their mothers. Further, for the traits of guilt and pride, children become more strongly related to their mother's traits as they grow from 5 to 6 years old. Because guilt and pride appear later than other emotions, these emotions may not develop as traits until after 4 years of age.
