Parent emotional regulation: A meta-analytic review of its association with parenting and child adjustment

• Published in: International journal of behavioral development Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 63 - 82
• Main Authors: Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J., Rudolph, Julia, Kerin, Jessica, Bohadana-Brown, Gal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.01.2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adjustment; Adolescents; Age Differences; Associations; Behavior; Behavior Problems; Behaviour disordered children; Child Behavior; Child Rearing; Children; Children & youth; Effect Size; Emotional regulation; Emotional Response; Externalizing behaviour; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Geographic Regions; Internalization; Meta Analysis; Moderators; Parent Child Relationship; Parenting Styles; Parents; Parents & parenting; Self Control; Canada; Israel; Australia; United States; Europe; China; meta-analysis; emotion socialization; externalizing behavior; Emotion regulation; parenting; internalizing symptoms
• DOI: 10.1177/01650254211051086
• ISSN: 0165-0254

We conducted a meta-analytic review of 53 studies published between 2000 and 2020 to quantify associations of parents’ emotion regulation with parenting behavior and children’s emotion regulation and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Twelve meta-analyses, which included between 4 to 22 effect sizes (N from 345 to 3609), were conducted to summarize associations of parent emotion regulation with positive or negative parenting behaviors and child outcomes of emotion regulation, difficulties in emotion regulation, internalizing symptoms, or externalizing behavior. Given the range of behavioral parent emotion regulation measures used across studies, effect sizes for parent emotion regulation strategy use (skill) were analyzed separately from effect sizes for parents’ difficulties with emotion regulation. Summary effect sizes ranged from |.08| to |.28| for relations of parent emotion regulation skill with parenting behaviors and children’s adjustment. Summary effect sizes ranged from |.03| to |.42| for relations of parent emotion regulation difficulties with parenting behaviors and children’s adjustment. In general, parents with better emotion regulation skill or fewer difficulties are higher in positive parenting behaviors and have children with better emotion regulation and fewer internalizing symptoms. Evidence was less clear-cut for child externalizing behaviors. Significant effect size heterogeneity was observed in most analyses, and study characteristics (measures, child age, parent gender, sampling, and region where the study was conducted) were examined as moderators. Measures used, child age, and participant risk status moderated effect size in some analyses.