Poster #82 - Turkish Mother’s Self-Construal and Children’s Socioemotional Development: The Role of Emotional Socialization

• In Event: Poster Session 07

Abstract

Parents’ socialization of children’s negative emotions have been shown to be associated with socioemotional development in middle childhood (Acar-Bayraktar et al., 2019; Morris et al., 2007). The growing body of evidence indicates that parents’ emotion socialization (ES) is influenced by cultural values of autonomy and relatedness (i.e, self-construal; Çorapçı et al., 2018). While the role of child, parent, and socio-contextual characteristics have been examined previously in relation to parent’s ES and children’s socioemotional development, research pertaining to the role of parent’s culturally mediated self-construal is scarce. Moreover, considering the critical changes in parent-child interactions and children’s self-concepts in middle childhood, there is a need to examine parents’ ES attempts in this period (Collins & Madsen, 2019). To address this gap, the present study sought to examine the role of mother’s self-construal (i.e., autonomous, and autonomous-relational) in their socialization of negative emotions as well as children’s socioemotional development (i.e., prosocial and problem behaviors). Specifically, the aim of the study is to investigate whether mothers’ ES acts as a mediating variable between maternal self-construal and child socioemotional development. We recruited 276 mothers (Mage = 36.69, SD = 5.16) of 7-11- year-olds (Mage = 8.94, SD=1.36). Mothers completed questionnaires to report on their self-construal (Autonomous-Relational Self Scale; Kağıtçıbaşı, 2013), supportive and non-supportive reactions to children’s negative emotions (Emotions as a Child; Hastings et al., 2008; Magai & O’Neal, 1997), and children’s prosocial and problem behaviors (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire; Goodman, 1997). Mothers had significantly higher scores on autonomous-relational (AR) self-construal (M = 3.21, SD = .59) than relational (R) self-construal (M = 2.94, SD = .60), t(275) = -5.58, p < .001. Whereas maternal education was not significantly correlated with self-construal, family income was negatively and significantly correlated with AR self-construal, r = -.14, p <.05. The indirect role of mother’s self-construal in children’s socioemotional development through emotion socialization was tested through four mediation analyses. Results indicated that both R and AR self-construal positively predicted supportive emotion socialization (B = .11 and .15, respectively), while only AR self-construal had a direct effect on prosocial behaviors, B = .08. Further, both R and AR self-construal predicted a significant increase in children’s prosocial behaviors through supportive ES behaviors (B = .04, SE = .02, 95% CI [.007, .074], and B = .05, SE = .02, 95% CI [.023, .091], respectively). Moreover, both types of self-construal predicted a significant decrease in problem behaviors through supportive ES behaviors (B = -.03, SE = .01, 95% CI [-.049, -.004], and B = -.04, SE = .01, 95% CI [-.063, -.014], respectively. Findings shed light into the significant role of cultural values about autonomy and relatedness on parents’ ES behaviors and consequently on children’s socioemotional development and will be discussed in relation to their cultural implications.

Authors

• Ladin Gurdal

• Pınar Karan, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi (BOUN)

• Burcu Bugan-Kisir, Bogaziçi University
  Presenting Author

• Zeynep Kömbe-Elazab, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi (BOUN)

• Feyza Corapci, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi (BOUN)

• Nebi Sümer, Sabancı University