Table 2.

Exemplars From Dinnertime Story Stems of Children’s Responses

Family Involvement (in response to general family meal stem)
Exemplar of Response Rated 1 (Very Low) (Age 8)	“Mom, mom called everybody down because she says we’re having pizza tonight. And Michelle gets mad because she don’t like pizza so she leaves. She goes to her room. Susie start calling Michelle names because she, Susie got mad because her sister’s not going to have nothing to eat. So mom says, since you aren’t going to eat, you can go to bed. So then Susie leaves. And then mom and dad starts talking and then they get into a big argument and dad leaves outside. Then mom said, ’They don’t have no respect … so I think I should go on a vacation.’”
Explanation of Exemplar	Involvement is portrayed as solely negative, escalating, and resulting in dissolution of the family group at the meal and even beyond.
Exemplar of Response Rated 3 (Medium) (Age 7)	“Once upon a time there were three little girls and three little boys and they had a mom and a dad. It was dinnertime. It was such a big family that they couldn’t eat all together. There were only four chairs so they had to take turns. Two girls sat, one boy sat, and the momma was sitting and they were having pizza. The two little girls each got two little pieces and the boy got one pretty big piece which counts as two. And the momma had two big pieces because she was a grown up. They ate the pizza up and then it was time for the other part of the family’s turn to eat. There was only four big pieces left. So, one little girl, two little boys, and the dad. They each had one big piece. They ate it up and then it was the end of dinnertime. The end.”
Explanation of Exemplar	Interaction is minimal and not particularly negative or positive. There seems to be a preference for physical proximity, but it cannot be achieved.
Exemplar of Response Rated 5 (Very High) (Age 11)	“The mom tells Kim that it’s dinnertime and she needs to get her dad and her sister (Tasha). So she runs to go get her dad and her sister and they all went downstairs and the mom says, ’Sit at the dinner table,’ so they all sat down. The mom sits down, the daughter sits down, and then they all said grace. And then they eat their pizza, then they talk about how their days went and Tasha said that she had a rough day because some girls said that she wasn’t cool enough to be in the school and she didn’t like the way people were making fun of her and Kim doesn’t go to school yet and then, um, Kim gave her sister a great idea for school and then Kim said, ’Don’t let other kids make fun of you because it’s not nice.’ And then Kim said, ’Ya that don’t let people hurt your feelings.’ And then the dad and then the mom said, ’Honey how was your day?’ And then the father said it was OK, and then the father said that he got a Christmas bonus and then the mom and the kids gave him a round of applause.”
Explanation of Exemplar	Involvement is portrayed as consistently positive and supportive, with individual family members valued. Boundaries are maintained.
Relationship Expectations (in response to general family meal stem)
Exemplar of Response Rated 1 (Very Low) (Age 12)	“There is eight (pizza slices) – so they each get two pieces and he finishes first and says, ‘Bye, I am leaving’ (laughs) and the father says, ‘Where are you going?’ He says, ‘To hang out with friends’ (laughs). Then his father said, ‘Do you have permission?’ And he says, ‘No, dad’ (laughs). And then he is like, ‘Well, you can’t go’. ‘Oh, dad, it is a big party, can’t I go, please?’ ‘No, son’ (laughs). ‘Fine, then, don’t talk to me ever again.’ ‘Oh, daddy, he hit me.’ ‘Come here, son. Don’t you ever hit your sister.’ ‘Fine, I am leaving.’ He leave and then he be down with some gang and then they beating on somebody. Then he gets shot. Then he die.”
Explanation of Exemplar	Relationships both within and outside of the family are portrayed as disrespectful, dissatisfying, and dangerous. There are patterns of abandonment and willful harm.
Exemplar of Response Rated 3 (Medium) (Age 7)	“When they was eating dinner, he ate three and she ate two. I mean, he ate two, and she ate two, and he ate three, and then when they buyed another one, and the dad ate all of it. And then, he got um fat and then, and then when he got big, and then he says he didn’t want no more. And then the rest for their family and then he didn’t have no more pieces. He just wanted the pieces because there they was good but he can’t get more because he has to lose weight … that dad should share and then he had to share with everybody because he will get big again and then he don’t want no more. (The little girl was) hungry because he ate it all and then they had no more money to buy. So, when they got home, more money, they ate it together.”
Explanation of Exemplar	Relationship are portrayed with a balance of positivity and negativity: Disappointing (when the father, who should fulfill a protective role, eats all of the food and leaves the target child hungry) but also salvageable (when the father learns to share and they all eat together the next time).
Exemplar of Response Rated 5 (Very High) (Age 10)	“Dis their house. One day, it was cousins, and family, and then they said, ‘let’s have pizza tonight” and they ordered pizza. They ordered pepperoni, anchovies, and stuff, and everybody had a coke. They all shared. And then they all got a slice and then the boy said, ‘This pizza good. Mom, can we get some more later?’ And the girl said, ‘Mom, this pizza is so good. It make me want to have some more.’ And then her mother said, ‘Do you want some more mines?’ She said, now, okay. Eat it …. And then the mother, then their mother had a drink and then they both of their mother had a drink, and then her mother’s cup fell and then they had to go get a mop. And then, they started eating again. And then she said, ‘Do you know what time it is? Because you got a sleepover. You know what time it is – that time. Oh, yeah, you can all play the game.’ And the girl said, ‘Thank you mom. I love you’. And … then they went upstairs. And then they played the game for a little while. Then mom went upstairs … and they both picked their kids up and put them in bed and tuck them under and sang a song. Then went good night.”
Explanation of Exemplar	Relationships are portrayed as safe, reliable, rewarding, and fulfilling. Relationships provide opportunities for success and satisfaction, and interactions are happy and easy.
Security (in response to asthma attack stem)
Exemplar of Response Rated 1 (Very Low) (Age 8)	“He is coughing. He is just laying down and he drooled on the floor because he is having trouble breathing. And then he can’t breathe too good, so he dies. They (the family) are trying to find help but then when he – when the help gets there, he is already dead. So, the family starts crying.”
Explanation of Exemplar	Even within a relatively short response, the family is portrayed as ineffectual in helping the child and therefore engendering little security. The threat goes beyond short-term, mild distress from the asthma attack and has clear and serious implications for the child’s health.
Exemplar of Response Rated 3 (Medium) (Age 9)	“(Celia says) ‘Mommy, I am not feeling so good. My chest hurts really bad’ and the mother says, ‘Uh oh, let’s get out your nebulizer.’ (Celia) is thinking she is really scared about having an asthma attack and having to go to the hospital. (The mother says) ”I will put you on the nebulizer” (takes deep breaths). Robert (the brother) says, ‘Mom, I think she is faking’. The brother doesn’t like the sister. The mother says, ‘Why would she be faking?’ ‘I don’t know, but I think she is.’ The mother says, ‘We are going to have to take you to the hospital. Let me call. Okay. They will be here any minute.’ And then (Celia) gets put in the truck and the brother and the mom come with her and the end.” … (Celia) was feeling very painful … and she was thinking that she was going to die because she couldn’t breathe. She just wasn’t feeling good at all.”
Explanation of Exemplar	The family is portrayed as relatively effective in protecting the child, but the threat is still strong enough that the child expects to have to go in the ambulance. While the parents are protective, the brother attempts to undermine the asthma care by claiming she is faking.
Exemplar of Response Rated 5 (Very High) (Age 10)	“Andrew gets out of the chair, runs up to his mom and says, I am having an asthma attack. And mom gets up from cleaning and runs and tells her son to sit down and runs over to the cabinet, opens up the bottom door, and gets his asthma inhaler and his spacer out. Closes the door, runs it over to him, and gives it to him. He takes a puff. And then the kid takes deep breaths and he says, ‘Thank you mom’ and then they give each other a hug.”
Explanation of Exemplar	The family is portrayed as a source of safety, predictability, and support. The family competently resolves challenges and problems while improving family harmony, effectively regulating any negative affect, and supporting the physical and emotional welfare of the child.