Parent's and Children's Emotion Regulation and the Work–Family Interface

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study investigates the mediating role of parent–child relationship quality on the association between parents' work‐related exhaustion and children's emotion regulation and lability. The moderating role of parent's emotion suppression is also considered.BackgroundWork‐related exhaustion has a significant impact in family life. However, few studies have investigated its relationship with both parent–child relationships and children's outcomes.MethodStructural equation modeling and path analysis were used on a sample of 120 dual‐earner couples living in Portugal with children aged 2 to 6 years.ResultsAnalysis revealed that (a) the quality of the father–child relationship mediates the link between father's work‐related exhaustion and child's emotion regulation and lability and (b) the quality of mother–child relationship mediates the link between mother's work‐related exhaustion and children's lability; (c) mother's work‐related exhaustion and emotion suppression negatively relate to mother–child as well as father–child relationship quality; (d) father's work‐related exhaustion and emotion suppression were only negatively associated with father–child (but not mother–child) relationship quality. Moreover, the indirect effect of mother's work‐related exhaustion on children's emotion regulation and lability through father–child relationship quality was only significant when mother's emotion suppression was low.ConclusionNot only is parental work‐related exhaustion associated with children's emotion regulation through parent–child relationship quality but also emotion suppression may have a moderating role on family relationships.