Mothers' and Fathers' Responses to Children's Negative Emotions: Family and Physiological Correlates

Parental physiological regulation and coparenting conflict were examined as correlates of mothers' and fathers' reactions to children's negative emotions. A within‐family design that included 70 families (mother, father, and two siblings between the ages of 2 and 5) was used. Parents completed questionnaires about their reactions to children's negative emotions and the other parent's coparenting. Parents' respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured during a baseline task. Mothers were more emotionally supportive and less negative in response to children's negative emotions than fathers. The results from actor–partner interdependence models indicated that fathers' baseline RSA was positively associated with their own and the mothers' supportive reactions to children's negative emotions. Fathers reported using more negative parenting when mothers had higher baseline RSA. Coparenting conflict accounted for between‐family differences in parenting. The findings underscore the need for a greater focus on the complex family processes associated with mothers' and fathers' emotion‐related parenting behaviors.
Source: Family Relations - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research