Poster #140 - The Relationship Between Parent-Child Characteristics and Emotion Regulation: The Mediator Role of Emotion-Related Socialization Behaviors

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

Emotion socialization is a crucial part of socialization since parents influence children’s emotional experiences. Emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) of parents, such as supportive (e.g., expressive encouragement) and non-supportive (e.g., punitive) reactions, are closely related to children’s emotion regulation (Eisenberg et al.,1998). Children’s (temperament) and parents’ (personality and self-construal) characteristics may influence the emotion regulation of children through parenting behaviors. The current study investigated the mediator role of emotion-related socialization behaviors in the relations between child-parent characteristics, and child emotion regulation.

The sample was composed of 200 mothers (M = 33.84, SD = 4.56) of preschool children. Age range of children were between 47 to 66 months (M = 57.15, SD = .36) at time 1, 45 % were girls (N=90) and 55% were boys (N=110). Mothers aged between 28 to 48 years filled in the questionnaires at time 1. This study is a longitudinal one with one-year interval. Child temperament, maternal personality, and maternal self-construal were measured with the Child Behavior Questionnaire, Basic Personality Traits Inventory, and Autonomous-Related Self in Family Scales, respectively. Supportive and non-supportive reactions as emotion-related socialization behaviors were measured with the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale. Emotion regulation strategies which are distraction, seeking support, emotion venting, and no action, were assessed with the Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire. AMOS 23 was used to perform Path analysis.

Since the sample size is decreased at Time 2, two path models were tested with the Time 1 data. In the first path model (see Figure 1), supportive reactions are the mediator variable, and distraction/constructive approach and seeking support are the dependent variables. According to path model 1, supportive reactions mediated the relationship between personality (agreeableness and openness to experience) and child emotion regulation strategies (distraction/constructive approach and seeking support). Higher agreeableness and openness to experience were related to higher supportive reactions, which in turn were associated with higher distraction/constructive approach and seeking support. Mothers with higher agreeableness and openness to experience may approach their children to discover their feelings. Therefore, they may show more support, and encouragement to their children, and be more focused on the problems to solve and modulate children's emotional states.

According to path model 2 (see Figure 2), non-supportive reactions mediated the relationship between perceptual sensitivity and frustration with no action. However, non-supportive reactions did not mediate the relationship between frustration and perceptual sensitivity with emotion venting. But, frustration strongly and directly predicted emotion venting. Children with high frustration and low perceptual sensitivity were related to higher non-supportive reactions, which in turn related to higher no-action, an ineffective emotion regulation strategy.

Lastly, neither supportive nor non-supportive reactions mediated the links between self-construal and emotion regulation.

The current study may contribute to the understanding of the role of emotion socialization on emotion regulation. Variables such as emotional context, emotional arousal, and parents’ emotion regulation can be included, and fathers can be recruited for further studies. Based on the findings, intervention programs may be designed to increase parents’ awareness of emotions and support for their children.

Keywords: temperament, personality, emotion-related socialization behaviors, emotion regulation

Authors

• Merve Gölcük, Antalya Bilim University
  Presenting Author

• Sibel KazakBerument, Middle East Technical University