Investigation of the Mediating Roles of Children's Emotion Regulation and Emotional Lability/Negativity in the Relationship between Parents’ Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions and Their Behavioral Problems

This study investigated the mediating role of children's emotional regulation and emotional lability/negativity in the relationship between maternal strategies to manage children’s negative emotions and children's externalizing problems. A correlational study was conducted. The statistical population of this survey consisted of boys and girls aged 7 to 12 from Karaj, Alborz, Iran. Participants included 341 (233 girls and 138 boys) and their mothers who selected randomly from elementary schools in 2019. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERQ), and Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES) were completed by the mothers. SPSS software version 26 and the PROCESS macro were employed to conduct multiple regression analysis on the data. The findings indicated a significant relationship between maternal supportive and non-supportive strategies, emotion regulation, emotion lability/negativity and children’s externalizing problems. The relationship between maternal supportive strategies and children's externalizing problems was mediated by the emotion regulation of children. The relationship between maternal supportive and non-supportive strategies emotions and children's externalizing problems was also mediated by the emotion lability/negativity of children. As a result, the externalizing problems of children are directly and indirectly influenced by the emotion regulation skills and emotion lability of children, as well as the maternal supportive and non-supportive strategies. Children’s emotion regulation skills, their emotion lability/negativity and parental emotional socialization should be considered in conceptualization of children's behavior problems.