Linking Maternal Emotion Socialization to Boys' and Girls' Emotion Regulation in Korea

Abstract

This study investigated whether Korean mothers’ emotion socialization beliefs are related to emotional functioning in children differing across gender. We interviewed Korean mothers (N = 100) of first graders (55 boys; 45 girls) about their sensitivity, their reactions to children’s distress, and children’s emotion regulation. Two components of emotion regulation were distinguished: regulation and negativity. Results revealed that mothers’ proactive sensitivity and their supportive reactions were related to their children’s regulation, whereas unsupportive reactions were related to children`s negativity. Child gender moderated the associations between mothers’ socialization beliefs and children’s emotion regulation: mothers’ proactive sensitivity was more strongly associated with competent regulation in girls than in boys. Mothers’ unsupportive reactions were related to increased negativity only in girls. Results are discussed from a cultural perspective, focusing on gender differences in the links between maternal socialization and children’s emotional outcomes in Korea.