Examining a Conceptual Model of Maternal and Paternal Warmth, Emotion Regulation and Social Competence among Preadolescent Children in Malaysia

Abstract Although parental warmth has been shown to be related to children’s social competence, the mediating role of preadolescent children’s emotion regulation in this context has been less explored, particularly in Asian cultures. Thus, this study examined the role of emotion regulation as a mediator in the relationship between parental warmth (i.e., paternal and maternal warmth) and social competence among preadolescent children in Malaysia. Preadolescent children (N = 720; Mage = 10.95; SD = 0.59; 58.8% female) completed self-administered questionnaires. Results of correlation analysis showed that higher levels of paternal and maternal warmth were associated with greater emotion regulation in preadolescent children and a greater level of social competence. However, analysis of structural equation modeling revealed that emotion regulation significantly mediated only the relationship between maternal warmth and social competence. These findings underscored the importance of maternal warmth in promoting Malaysian preadolescent children’s social competence as well as their emotion regulation as a mediating pathway. This study also highlights the direct effect of paternal warmth on preadolescents’ social competence. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.