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Children’s Maternal Support-Seeking: Relations to Maternal Emotion Socialization Responses and Children’s Emotion Management

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Abstract

The present study examined children’s support-seeking of mothers (SSM) as a moderator of the association between maternal emotion socialization responses and children’s emotion management. Participants included 119 mother–child dyads (63 boys, M age = 9.61 years, 73.1 % Caucasian). Maternal emotion socialization was assessed via observed mother–child interactions and child report. Analyses indicated several main effects such that child-reported maternal reward responses were associated with stronger child emotion management, whereas perceived maternal punishment and neglect were associated with poorer child emotion management. Regarding the significant interactions, observed maternal general unsupportive socialization responses were negatively associated with emotion management. Additionally, for children low in SSM, child-reported maternal overriding of children’s emotions was positively associated with better emotion management. Support-seeking of mothers may mitigate the risk of some unsupportive maternal socialization responses and may be an adaptive strategy in middle childhood in particular contexts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, 109 Williams Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, USA

    Rachel Miller-Slough

  2. Department of Psychology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA

    Janice Lillian Zeman

  3. Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Jennifer Ann Poon

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Wesley Mark Sanders

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  1. Rachel Miller-Slough
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  2. Janice Lillian Zeman
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  3. Jennifer Ann Poon
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Correspondence to Rachel Miller-Slough.

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Miller-Slough, R., Zeman, J.L., Poon, J.A. et al. Children’s Maternal Support-Seeking: Relations to Maternal Emotion Socialization Responses and Children’s Emotion Management. J Child Fam Stud 25, 3009–3021 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0465-y

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