Trait Emotion, Emotional Regulation, and Parenting Styles

Abstract

The present study investigated relations among parenting styles and emotion regulation, trait emotion, and general well-being among 153 emerging adults. Two path models were tested, finding that parenting styles contributed to multiple pathways to emotional regulation. As expected, not only did participants who reported high levels of authoritative parenting endorse high levels of positive emotion, they also reported lower levels of emotional control and emotional self-awareness. These low levels were, in turn, associated with emotional well-being. Permissive parenting positively predicted negative emotion. Because authoritarian parenting did not directly predict trait emotion, a closer examination was conducted, showing that outcomes associated with this parenting style depended upon self-reported emotional control and trait emotion. The findings suggest that the effects of authoritarian parenting depend upon the emotional climate established in the family, a factor that may help to explain variability in outcomes for children of authoritarian parents depending upon socioeconomic status and ethnicity.