Research Information System
Society for Research in Child Development, Utah, United States Of America, 23 - 25 March 2023, (Unpublished)
Investigating parental responses to children’s emotions is critical to understand children’s psychosocial development in general and emotion regulation abilities in particular (Hooper et al., 2018; Morris et al., 2007; Price & Kiel, 2022). Hence, focusing on factors leading to parents' negative reactions to children’s negative emotions might provide a unique way to capture parent-child interactions (Hajal & Paley, 2020). In this regard, the current study aimed to investigate the mediator role of maternal responses to children’s negative emotions in the link between maternal attachment style and children’s emotion regulation. More specifically, we investigated whether the relation between maternal attachment avoidance and children’s emotion venting behaviors is mediated by mothers’ unsupportive emotion socialization practices. In total, 60 mothers (Mage = 35.59, SD = 4.34) and their 50 to 71 months-old children (Mage in months = 65.46, SD = 5.29) participated in the study (% 51.7 girls; % 48.3 boys). Mothers’ attachment avoidance was measured by the Turkish version of Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R; Fraley et al., 2000; Selcuk et al., 2005) and the Turkish version of Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES; Altan-Aytun et al., 2013; Fabes et al., 1990) was used to assess mothers’ emotion socialization practices. Additionally, the Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire (Gölcük, 2020) was used to evaluate children’s emotion regulation skills. Results revealed that mothers’ attachment avoidance positively predicted mothers’ unsupportive emotion socialization practices (B = .24, SE = .09, p = .01). Additionally, mothers’ unsupportive emotion socialization practices positively predicted children’s emotion venting behaviors (B = .31, SE = .10, p < .01). Finally, although the direct effect of maternal avoidance did not predict children’s emotion venting behaviors (B = .01, SE = .07, p = .85); mothers’ unsupportive emotion socialization practices revealed a full mediator role (B = .07, SE = .04, % 95 CI [.01, .16]). These findings offered information about the roles of maternal attachment style and emotion socialization practices on children’s emotion regulation abilities. The findings can be important to develop some intervention programs by aiming at mothers’ emotion socialization practices.