Why regulate? Understanding the role of perceived parental emotion regulation in offspring emotional development

Objective

The current study aimed to examine the role of perceived parental emotion regulation in adult–offspring internalizing symptoms, investigating emotional intelligence (EI) as a mediator and gender as a moderator.

Background

EI is well researched and associated with numerous benefits including academic achievement, physical and mental health, and success throughout life. While some research suggests EI can be taught, the relationship between perceived parent emotionality and offspring EI has yet to be empirically tested.

Methods

To increase participant diversity, two samples were collected and combined: one from a southwestern university and a second through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Participants (N = 866) reported their EI and internalizing symptoms along with their perception of parents' emotion regulation during childhood.

Results

Results showed a significant relationship between perceived parental emotion regulation and internalizing symptoms that was mediated by EI, with gender serving as a significant moderator.

Conclusion

Both maternal and paternal regulation play important roles in offspring EI and internalizing symptoms but perceived maternal emotion regulation may be particularly beneficial for women.

Implications

Future research is needed to investigate the intricacies of specific emotions, gender, and culture, as well as the impact of discrepancies in emotionality between parents and frequency of regulation versus dysregulation.